Using it on the road

Plan while you are parked

Everything that needs typing or reading — planning a drive, reading the timeline, opening a section — is for before you set off, or for when you have stopped. Once you are moving, the briefing is the part of Windshield Weather made for the road: play it before you pull away, and it tells you what is ahead without anyone looking at a screen.

Where each car screen stands

Windshield Weather is built for three kinds of car screen. During the beta they are at different stages:

What the car screen shows

On the car’s screen, Windshield Weather shows less than on your phone, on purpose:

• Your drives, and for each one its sections with their ratings in words and shapes.
• One section at a time, in a few short lines.
• The briefing, with a play button — its facts, never its text.
• The map, with your route and, if you turn it on, the radar.

It never gives directions. Keep using your usual navigation app for the way there.

Built for glances

• No reading at the wheel. The briefing’s text is never shown on the car’s screen; you listen to it.
• Radar stands still on Android car screens. They show the newest radar picture only. CarPlay plays the loop, with a small timeline.
• Lists shorten while you drive. The car decides how many rows it will show while moving, and the most important ones are kept.
• Sign in on your phone, not in the car. Android Auto asks you to sign in on the phone; cars with Google built in use a code you enter on another device.
• Permission requests wait until you are parked. On Android car screens, the request for your location can only be started while parked.

A forecast is not a road report

Windshield Weather tells you what the weather is expected to be doing along your route. It does not know about closures, accidents, roadworks, road treatment or the state of the surface. Follow road signs and local authorities, and drive for the conditions you actually meet.