The list of apps compatible with Android Auto continues to grow. So, entertainment options beyond navigation and entertainment apps are also increasing, and if you want to watch videos, since this year both YouTube and more recently Prime Video are now officially compatible. Of course, in both cases, at the expense of consuming data. So what if you want to watch videos without spending your mobile internet fee? Here the options become scarce and another potential problem arises: video files are often heavy. So our scenario is this: I want to watch videos on Android Auto without wasting data or taking up space on my phone. Yes, it is possible and we will tell you how to do it: you will need your mobile phone, your car with Google infotainment system and a USB stick.

First let’s assume you have . A console with Android Auto that doesn’t let you load videos directly from your car’s USB. There are more complete displays, both standard and retrofit, that allow this, and a good example is the Carpuride we tested a few months ago. Even though they don’t technically play it in Android Auto, they do play it on the screen, which is what interests us in practice.

As we progress entranceWith Android Auto it is possible to play videos from compatible platforms and streaming services (even from the web) as well as multimedia files available on our phone. But there is another option watching videos that do not require saving files on our Android mobile phoneThis ensures we don’t waste available space; It is especially important if our phone only needs storage or the purpose is to record several video files, which are often heavy.

Watch videos on Android Auto without wasting data and taking up space on your mobile phone

Thus, we will connect the mobile phone to the Google infotainment system wirelessly. Leave the USB-C port empty and insert a USB memory there (ideally USB-C type, otherwise with adapter). Obviously for this to be possible we will need our car to be compatible with wireless Android Auto (or a device that enables this).

After inserting the USB memory into the phone port and then wirelessly inserting the mobile phone into the car console, the next step remains: playing the video from the mobile phone and using an application that duplicates the screen in Android Auto.

So you can use alternatives such as AA Mirror, Screen2Auto or Local Video Player. The first two are just transmitters to launch content from mobile screen to Android Auto when video is playing and there is a third party player with launch function Chromecast style content.

In fact, with Local Video Player you will just need to access the gallery (or in this case the explorer to get to the USB stick), tap on the video of interest on your mobile phone and select ‘ from the sharing menu.watch in carIt will use that app to automatically cast the video to the Android Auto screen.

In all cases, all three apps are installed from the AA Store. Attention Screen sharing requires recording permissions on the phoneis usual for such procedures.

Cover | Montage with own photos and images from Vectorportal.com, CC BY

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