C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Gemini has recently started arriving for Android Auto users en masse.
- One new user has shared a video of Gemini getting very confused about his car’s location.
What’s the worst Google Maps failure you ever experienced? Forget to download some offline maps before heading into a region without cellular coverage? Found yourself stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic after Maps failed to identify a shorter route? While hopefully no one’s had Google direct them to drive straight into a lake, we’re starting to question just how aware Maps might be of bodies of water in general, after one Android Auto user shares their distressing experience.
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Android Auto’s experiencing some growing pains right now, as Gemini begins to roll out broadly as a replacement for Assistant. And while that’s definitely improving the driving experience for some users, we’ve already heard from quite a few who are getting frustrated by glitchy, unexpected behavior. This new report from Reddit user Electronic_Log8951 might take the cake, though.
On the site’s Android Auto sub, they share their story of failing to get the Tim Hortons directions they were looking for. Curious what was going wrong, they asked Gemini where it thought the vehicle was currently located. According to the user, they were deep in British Columbia, Canada, at the time, hundreds of miles from the ocean. But try telling Gemini that:
As you geography fans are hopefully aware, being hundreds of miles away from the Pacific Ocean would be bad enough, but here Gemini seems to think that it’s out past Canada’s opposite coast, putting itself somewhere out in the Atlantic Ocean (better than the Arctic, we suppose?).
On the plus side, they share that Gemini also reported it being 29°C (84°F) despite their apparent maritime location, which sounds surprisingly temperate.
For as goofy as we’re treating this error (and it is pretty darn funny), we also know just how many of you rely on Gemini, Android Auto, and Google Maps for correct information, so it’s very easy to see this as distressing, as well. The best thing any of us can do is help alert Google to any gaffs like this, using Android Auto’s built-in reporting tools to share the bug with Google developers. That way, hopefully our next Android Auto excursion keeps us firmly on dry land.
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