Google Maps rolling out Android Auto speed limits and speedometer that show even without navigation

While the speedometer has been hit or miss for some Android Auto users as of late, Google Maps is now confirmed to be rolling out speed limits and a speedometer that show at all times, even when you don’t have a destination selected.

Speed limits in Google Maps launched back in 2019, with the live speedometer appearing later and only starting to show up on Android Auto a few months ago. Earlier this month, though, the speedometer vanished for some users.

Google is now confirming two things.

First, the disappearing speedometer is being investigated by the Android Auto team. In other words, it appears to be a bug of some kind rather than an intentional removal or rollback of the feature.

More interesting, though, is that Google is rolling out the ability to see the speed limit of the current road as well as the live speedometer on Maps via Android Auto even when a destination is not set. There have been intermittent reports of this for a few weeks now, but Google is confirming that it’s actually rolling out.

…the ability to have the speedometer, speed limit, and traffic signals/stop signs showing without a destination set is still rolling out. Thus, not everyone will have this particular feature yet.

The exact timeline for when this will be widely available remains to be seen, but it’s great to see nonetheless. Drivers are very often using Google Maps navigation, but shorter or more familiar trips don’t always require setting a destination – but it’s still nice to see speed limits and the speedometer at those times.

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