Google Meet brings audio-only meetings to Apple CarPlay, leaving Android Auto drivers stuck in traffic

Google Meet is coming to Apple CarPlay, making it easier to join meetings directly from your car's dashboard. Google announced the feature on its Workspace blog as a way for users to stay connected with friends and family, or for professionals to attend meetings while driving without having to pick up their phone. In addition to taking calls, users can review upcoming meetings on the CarPlay display.

It's worth being clear about what this is and isn't. Google Meet on CarPlay is an audio-only experience with limited in-car controls. You can mute or unmute and leave the meeting, but features like Chat, Polls, Hand Raise, and Q&A are unavailable while driving. No video or presentations are displayed either, so participation is limited to listening and responding, reducing distractions while driving.

If you are hosting a meeting and need to admit or reject participants, or want to be part of a presentation, you'll have to park first and switch back to your phone. When you switch, the audio automatically moves back to your phone without dropping the call.

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Joining a meeting while driving is straightforward. Connect your iPhone to your vehicle and tap the Meet app on the CarPlay display. If the host has a waiting room enabled, you will see the usual status message until you are admitted, at which point you are dropped directly into the call with audio only. Audio can sometimes be muted automatically when joining a large meeting.

If you are already on a call when you connect to CarPlay, the audio switches over to your car's speakers, and your iPhone enters a "On-the-Go" mode to reduce distractions.

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Unfortunately, as you might have noticed, the feature is currently rolling out only to CarPlay users, with Android Auto getting no mention beyond a "coming soon" note, which is becoming a familiar story. ChatGPT added CarPlay support without bringing Android Auto along, and now Google appears to be doing the same with its own service.

That said, Meet on CarPlay is on by default. The rollout began on March 23, 2026, and is gradually reaching all Google Workspace users, Workspace Individual subscribers, and personal Google account holders.