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§ 01 Android · Android Auto 2026

MapMagic

Platform

Android · Android Auto

Year

2026

Role

Solo Developer
UI Design

Status

In Progress

Home screen

Home

Search

Search

Navigation

Navigation

Favorites

Favorites

Android Auto

Android Auto

Overview

A personal Android navigation app built around a clean head unit experience — full Android Auto support, turn-by-turn navigation, and a favorites system that works the same on your phone as it does on your dash.

MapMagic started as a frustration with navigation apps that feel cluttered and unfamiliar when cast to a car screen. The goal was simple: build something that looks intentional on both form factors from day one, rather than squishing a phone UI into a head unit template.

The app is built with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose throughout, leaning into the declarative UI model to share as much logic as possible between the phone and Auto surfaces. Routing and search are powered by the Mapbox Navigation SDK, which gave enough flexibility to customize the turn card UI and maneuver overlays without fighting the SDK.

The favorites system persists locally using Room and syncs state across surfaces in real time — tapping Home on your phone and having it immediately available on the head unit was one of those small details that made the project feel complete.