Android Auto redesign clues emerge in the 18.0 beta update, with code pointing to a new launcher asset under the Cielo codename.
Google has started rolling out Android Auto 18.0 to users enrolled in its beta program. Although the version number sounds like a major milestone, the release provides no noticeable user-facing features, focusing instead on standard background bug fixes. An application teardown shows that Google is still preparing its next Android Auto redesign behind the scenes. Within the installation package, a newly added asset labeled cielo_launcher points to the internal project name for this overhaul.
The launcher label strongly indicates that Cielo will succeed Coolwalk, the codename Google assigned to the previous Android Auto dashboard redesign introduced in 2023. During that earlier development cycle, a similar coolwalk_launcher file appeared in the application code well before the public debut. Coolwalk was an invented name, while cielo means sky in Italian and Spanish. Google has not clarified whether that word connects to specific system capabilities.
Mentions of Cielo have circulated in internal application flags for several months. Android Sage spotted references in version 15.9, while earlier traces date back to version 15.7 in November 2025. Earlier updates referencing the codename also mentioned revised screen layouts. Those entries point to an interface designed to occupy more of the vehicle display and support widgets.
The version 18.0 beta does not signal an immediate launch for the redesigned interface. Teardown findings indicate that Google is only laying the foundation for future updates. Features discovered within decompiled application files remain experimental, meaning Google could modify or discard them before any public rollout.
The build also retains older Coolwalk flags for an unfinished light and dark theme. Google has spent considerable time developing that display option behind the scenes, yet the setting remains inactive in this release. With no public release schedule announced for the theme or the Cielo interface, drivers updating to version 18.0 will notice no immediate visual changes.
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Cristian Penisoara is a Guides Writer and Android specialist at Droid Tools. An Android user since version 2 and a professional event photographer, he combines technical curiosity with a detail-oriented approach - every guide he publishes is tested step-by-step on a real device before it goes live.
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