A hidden Work Mode tile in Android Auto hints at new work-app controls for your car screen, but it does nothing yet and Google has not said if it will launch.
A hidden Work Mode tile has turned up in Android Auto, the Google app that shows your phone's apps on your car screen. It could point to new controls for work apps. For now it does not work, and Google has not said when or if it will launch.
Android Authority took apart Android Auto version 18.0.664204 and found the tile. The team managed to bring it up, and it showed a briefcase icon over the app drawer. Tapping it did nothing. The find suggests Google may be testing new controls for Work Profiles.
A Work Profile keeps employer-managed apps in a separate space on your phone and marks them with briefcase badges. On phones you own, your personal apps and data stay outside the company's management. It is not the same as signing in to a second Gmail account.
To check, look for separate Personal and Work tabs, or small briefcase icons in your app drawer. If neither appears, you probably do not have one. You can also look in Settings > Passwords and accounts.
Work Profiles already cause limits in the car. Microsoft says Teams supports audio calls and meetings through Android Auto, but not if the app sits inside a managed Work Profile. With Google Meet, an active Work Profile call can show on the dashboard, but upcoming meetings and call history from that profile will not.
Support could make it easier to join calls between appointments. It could also give the office another way into your car. A Work Mode switch might silence work alerts on the drive home and leave personal calls and navigation alone. Google has not said the tile will do that. It has not been shown to pause notifications or launch work apps.
If your employer set up a Work Profile, you can pause work apps today. Use the Work tab in the app drawer or, on supported devices, a work tile in Quick Settings. Pausing stops work apps and their notifications and leaves personal apps alone.
Even if the feature arrives, drivers may not get every company app. Android Auto limits what apps can do while driving, and employers decide which apps live inside a Work Profile. On company-owned Android devices, IT admins can also limit how long a Work Profile stays paused. Going past that limit may suspend access to personal apps and data.
Android Auto's Work Mode tile is only a hidden test for now, but if your employer manages your phone, you can pause work apps today from the Work tab.
A browser that Android Authority calls the best on Android is not in the Play Store, but it can still be installed with a few extra steps.
Read more: A top Android browser is not in the Play Store, but you can still install itA Tom's Guide poll found only 5 of 200 readers shop for AI in earbuds and headphones. Sound quality won easily, so check AI claims before you pay extra.
Read more: Few shoppers want AI in headphones, but brands keep adding itA leaker says the iPhone 20 could fold the Action Button into Camera Control, leaving one button for both jobs. It is an early, unverified rumor.
Read more: Next year's iPhone may merge its two extra buttons into one
