I use Android Auto in my living room now – and it solves my biggest productivity problems
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- It is possible to use Android Auto outside of your car.
- The slim design is less distracting than a phone.
- You can control media, check messages, ask AI, and more.
Do you have an old phone or tablet sitting in your junk drawer? You can turn it into a distraction-free smart home hub — with the help of Android Auto. Inspired by posts on XDA and How-To Geek, I recently installed Android Auto on an old phone. I really enjoy it! Not only is it useful, but it might actually be my new favorite use of Android Auto. Here’s how it works.
How to use Android Auto outside of your car
The premise is simple — you install an app on your old device to act as a receiver (or head unit) and another app on your current device to stream Android Auto to that receiver. Once connected, you’ll have a small Android Auto dashboard at your fingertips.
Also: 3 Android Auto automations that make my drives so much easier – and how I set them up
There are several application options, including Headunit Updated again Headunit Reloadedbut I went with Revived because it was the cheaper option at $3.99. There are absolutely no setup directions or other instructions, so getting things going was a bit of a challenge even though I consider myself tech savvy. After several attempts to follow How-To Geek’s instructions, however, I was up and running.
Why you need Android Auto in your home
At this point, you probably have the same question I had in the beginning: Why? Android Auto is a reflection of your phone, which is useful in the car, but your phone is fine when you’re at home. In short, it brings Android Auto’s biggest strengths — hands-free focus and a sleek dashboard — and puts them in some places you want undisturbed.
I will readily admit that my phone is my biggest productivity killer and I let it distract me all too often. Whether it’s a social media alert received while I’m working on something, a notification when I turn on the next episode of my podcast in the background, or a few rounds of a mobile game when I go to send a quick text. Whenever I pull out my phone, there are many potential distractions vying for my attention.
Also: Got a spare PC? How I turned mine into a free open source home hub
Having a small Android Auto dashboard at my side eliminated the need to constantly pull out my phone. It has my Spotify for music or podcasts, I can use Gemini to ask a quick question or send a message, I can easily see incoming messages and decide if they warrant a quick response, and more. Best of all, all of this is packed into a small display.
The screen is always on, so I don’t have to keep opening my phone for a small task, and it’s easy to switch between apps.
One of the biggest advantages: Because your old phone only works as a launcher and projection from your older phone, the hardware doesn’t really matter. Even if your old device has a slow processor or an older version of Android, it should be able to handle things well.
