autoevolution
 

Bogdan Popa

13,194  ARTICLES

Personal motto:

"Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow" - Jeff Valdez, Stand-up Comedian.

Staff Writer
editor photo
Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world, and more often than not, you’ll see him writing about the whole thing with a typing speed that a traffic camera could easily issue a ticket for.

He typically carries both an iPhone and Android device because there’s no such thing as the perfect phone, and he drives a car that some say is blue, others say is green.

His guilty pleasure is finding bugs in Android Auto (cc @Google, you’d better keep an eye on his reports, as these could actually help you refine the experience behind the wheel), and he occasionally tries out all kinds of weird gadgets that many people didn’t even know they exist.

His daily tech arsenal also includes a smartwatch and earbuds because that’s how geeks rock, as well as a laptop that has nothing in common with fruit.

Bogdan’s long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space in the trunk for his kid’s toys, as well as convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as the phones that these two companies build.

When he’s not writing about cars, Bogdan’s probably trying to fit a bike in the 375-liter trunk of his car or posting tech stuff for autoevolution’s sister site Softpedia.
Google Silently Releases a Small Google Maps Android Auto Visual Update
Google Silently Releases a Small Google Maps Android Auto Visual Update

4 Jun 2020, 14:26 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Google keeps polishing the experience with Google Maps on mobile devices, but this time the company has prepared a little surprise for those running the app on Android Auto. And this makes total sense, as Google Maps and Waze, which itself is an...

 
The First App with Apple CarPlay Dashboard Support Just Got a New Update
The First App with Apple CarPlay Dashboard Support Just Got a New Update

4 Jun 2020, 14:10 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Apple’s CarPlay now allows third-party apps to take over the maps card on the dashboard, but unfortunately, developers don’t necessarily seem to be in a rush to make this happen. Obviously, everybody expects Google to update Google M...

 
Google Improves Google Maps Navigation with More Detailed Guidance
Google Improves Google Maps Navigation with More Detailed Guidance

4 Jun 2020, 13:27 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Earlier this year, Apple announced a major Apple Maps update that brings stop light warnings, basically letting drivers know in advance they’re approaching a traffic light. It goes without saying this is a super-useful feature that’s...

 
TomTom Navigation Gets New Update on Android But You’re Not Going to Like It
TomTom Navigation Gets New Update on Android But You’re Not Going to Like It

3 Jun 2020, 13:49 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / TomTom GPS Navigation is one of the apps that are supposed to serve as alternatives to Google Maps and Waze on Android devices, and this isn’t necessarily a surprise. TomTom is one of the companies that have long been involved in the navig...

 
Mastering Google Maps on Android Auto with Voice Commands
Mastering Google Maps on Android Auto with Voice Commands

3 Jun 2020, 13:29 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / One of the greatest features of Android Auto is the voice command support, which allows you to interact with many of the apps without touch input. In other words, Google Assistant, which is bundled with Android Auto and is powered by the Google ...

 
Google Maps Experiencing GPS Problems on Android Auto? You’re Not Alone
Google Maps Experiencing GPS Problems on Android Auto? You’re Not Alone

3 Jun 2020, 13:18 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / If Android Auto navigation apps, be they Google Maps or Waze, lose tracking all of a sudden, there’s a good chance the whole thing comes down to a GPS problem that others are struggling with as well. The first time I came across this glitc...

 
The Fix for Random Apple CarPlay Disconnecting Is Much Simpler Than You Think
The Fix for Random Apple CarPlay Disconnecting Is Much Simpler Than You Think

3 Jun 2020, 12:57 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Apple CarPlay disconnecting all of a sudden is something that everybody experiences sooner or later, but on the other hand, there are people out there claiming that the whole thing happens on a regular basis, down to a point where everything become...

 
Google Maps Feels Like Home on This Volkswagen Golf 7 with Android Auto Upgrade
Google Maps Feels Like Home on This Volkswagen Golf 7 with Android Auto Upgrade

3 Jun 2020, 12:34 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / If you own a Volkswagen Golf 7 and want to upgrade your infotainment system with a large display and a head unit that runs Android Auto and CarPlay, look no further than this 9-inch Alpine model. Shared on Instagram by the car audio specialists...

 
The Best Android Auto Music Player Just Got Better with a Welcome Update
The Best Android Auto Music Player Just Got Better with a Welcome Update

2 Jun 2020, 13:19 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / There are lots of music players for Android and Android Auto out there, but Musicolet is one truly special app that has already won the hearts of millions of users. And it’s all because it comes with an impressive feature lineup that makes...

 
New Google Maps Version Now Available on CarPlay, There's Good News and Bad News
New Google Maps Version Now Available on CarPlay, There's Good News and Bad News

2 Jun 2020, 12:44 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / While Google Maps remains the top navigation app on CarPlay (despite Apple insisting so hard for Apple Maps), there’s one feature that everyone wants but which the search giant has apparently forgot about: support for the dashboard. Apple ...

 
Android Auto Black Screen After Android 10 Update Is Not a Feature, It’s a Bug
Android Auto Black Screen After Android 10 Update Is Not a Feature, It’s a Bug

2 Jun 2020, 12:24 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Android Auto no longer working after the update to Android 10 is a known bug that Google itself is investigating, but as it turns out, some are coming across a slightly different issue after installing the latest version of the mobile operating sys...

 
Don’t Update Your iPhone If You Use CarBridge Instead of CarPlay
Don’t Update Your iPhone If You Use CarBridge Instead of CarPlay

2 Jun 2020, 11:41 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Apple has recently released a new iOS update that blocks the most recent jailbreak tool for the iPhone, essentially making it impossible to unlock the device and get access to advanced apps like CarBridge. So if you planned to use CarBridge on y...

 
Google Silently Updates Google Maps with a Mysterious New Feature
Google Silently Updates Google Maps with a Mysterious New Feature

2 Jun 2020, 11:23 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Google has been hard at work on refining the experience with Google Maps lately, and the company has released several silent updates, some of which brought a little bit more than the typical bug fixes and performance optimizations under the hood. ...

 
What Google Maps? Apple Wants Augmented Reality to Power Apple Maps
What Google Maps? Apple Wants Augmented Reality to Power Apple Maps

1 Jun 2020, 15:54 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / AR support for maps app is something that many have tried to do, but at this point, everybody hopes that Google, Apple or the other tech giants out there would focus more on such capabilities for their already super-popular mapping services. App...

 
Google’s Latest App Updates Could Actually Fix a Critical Android Auto Issue
Google’s Latest App Updates Could Actually Fix a Critical Android Auto Issue

1 Jun 2020, 15:33 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / As many Android Auto users already know, the experience with the app has been far from flawless lately, but the good news is that Google is already working on a series of fixes that are expected to see daylight rather sooner than later. Some of ...

 
Google Releases Waze Update for CarPlay, Highly Anticipated Fixes Likely
Google Releases Waze Update for CarPlay, Highly Anticipated Fixes Likely

1 Jun 2020, 15:13 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / While the Google-owned Waze is one of the apps that drivers most often turn to in order to beat the crazy traffic in crowded cities, this is also one of the navigation tools that have been dealing with a series of super-frustrating issues lately. ...

 
Dedicated Android Auto Music Player Updated with a Truly Useful Feature
Dedicated Android Auto Music Player Updated with a Truly Useful Feature

1 Jun 2020, 15:09 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Auri Music is one app that’s quickly gaining more fans, simply because it’s built based on user feedback and it provides Android Auto adopters with the features they need. Specifically built to run on Android Auto and allow users to ...

 
Google Quietly Releases Google Maps Updates for Android and Android Auto
Google Quietly Releases Google Maps Updates for Android and Android Auto

1 Jun 2020, 11:26 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Google has just released new versions for Google Maps on Android and, of course, these updates are also good news for Android Auto users. Google Maps is the number one navigation app on Android Auto right now, while the second most-used app on t...

 
2016 Subaru Impreza Gets Welcome Third-Party Upgrade Enabling Android Auto
2016 Subaru Impreza Gets Welcome Third-Party Upgrade Enabling Android Auto

31 May 2020, 07:27 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Pioneer makes some of the best head units out there, and for just a few hundreds bucks, you can get one to bring new-gen systems like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to many car models out there. One of them is the 2016 Subaru Impreza, which can ...

 
Waze Navigation App Once Again Wreaking Havoc on CarPlay
Waze Navigation App Once Again Wreaking Havoc on CarPlay

30 May 2020, 18:47 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / While the Google-owned Waze navigation app is one of the best of its kind out there, it doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is always running exactly as expected. CarPlay users know this best, as Waze has recently experienced several ...

 

Stories by Bogdan Popa