Android Auto also doesn't let you type while driving. Source: I was the one who wrote the system UI and Keyboard integration. It's still there last time I checked.

I literally just used android auto, while driving, to type in an address in Waze using the on screen keyboard(well, my wife was driving). Stock android on a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

What was the discussion like around passengers controlling the UI?

Passengers can just grab the phone and do whatever they want.

Except apps like Waze will show you "this app is being controlled by Android Auto" and won't let you do anything on the phone's screen, you have to use the Android Auto display to interact with it.

Which is something the driver can do too, which is why this stupid restriction is making the system less safe.

If they do, it’s not on Apple or the car manufacturer for making it unsafe. There are a laws all over the world about having an infotainment system and distractions.

There's a bug. I don't know how to replicate it, but a week ago the keyboard popped up while I was in (slow) motion (I was trying to select a previous saved destination) and I tapped on a random key to see if it worked, and it did. This was the only time in 5 years of me using Android Auto that it happened.

I don’t think it’s universal, I have a car from 2023 and both Android Auto and Apple integration let me change the maps destination.

You can’t type on the keyboard though. You can push large buttons to look for and choose gas stations, restaurants, etc.