Over the past few weeks, I've been experimenting with sideloaded Android Auto apps that unlock features Google doesn't officially offer through its in-car infotainment platform.

So far, I've tried AA browser, an app that lets you surf the web in your car, and CarStream, an app that lets you watch YouTube through Android Auto. I've also played around with Screen2Auto, a screen-mirroring app, though I've found it unreliable and downright frustrating at times. More recently, though, I discovered a new sideloaded app called Fermata Auto, an all-in-one app that features local playback, YouTube, web browsing, and even screen mirroring.

In my experience with Fermata Auto so far, I've mostly found it to be more reliable than apps like CarStream and AA Browser. It's also great to have web browsing and YouTube available directly in a single reliable app, rather than switching between two different ones.

First you need to install Android Auto Apps Downloader

This gives you easy access to sideloaded Android Auto apps

To get Fermata Auto up and running, you'll need to do a few other things first, especially if you haven't sideloaded an app on your Android device before. I followed these steps on my Pixel 10 Pro. They'll likely be similar but might be a bit different depending on what Android device you're using.

First, you need to make sure you have Android's Developer Mode enabled:

1. Open the Settings app on your Android device (in my case, I'm using my Pixel 10 Pro).
2. Tap About Phone.
3. Open Software Information (with my Pixel 10 Pro, this option is on the main About Phone screen).
4. Find your phone's Build Number, and tap it seven times in a row.
5. If you've done this correctly, you'll see a message stating "Developer Mode Enabled" (you'll also see a notification that you have only three taps left when you're close).

Now you need to turn on Android Auto's Developer mode:

1. Open the Settings app on your Android phone.
2. Navigate to Connected Devices (it's the second option).
3. Tap on Android Auto (on my Pixel 10 Pro, I also need to tap Connection Preferences first).
4. Scroll down and tap Version until Developer Settings are enabled (you'll see a notification that you have only three taps left when you're close).

Now it's time to install the Android Auto Apps Download (AAAD) app. Since you've already enabled various developer modes, this should be a smooth process. If you encounter an "unknown sources" installation warning, you'll need to bypass it to install AAAD. Now, scroll through AAAD and find Fermata Auto. Tap the app to download it, then follow the on-screen prompts to install the APK.

Fermata Auto should instantly appear on your Android Auto dashboard. If it doesn't, try disconnecting your phone from your vehicle and then reconnecting it. You also might need to add it to the Android Auto Launcher. You can do this by going to Settings > Connected Devices > Connection Preferences > Android Auto > Customize Launcher, then checking the box next to Fermata Auto.

Here's where things get a bit complicated, as is often the case with sideloaded Android Auto apps. Several different Fermata Auto apps will appear in your Android Auto launcher as part of the package available through AAAD, including FS Fermata Mirror, Fermatta Mirror, Fermata Auto, and Fermata Media Service.

I wasn't able to get FS Fermata Mirror working, which mirrors your full phone screen, so I removed it from my Android Auto launcher. Fermatta Mirror mirrors a specific app, but compatibility is spotty. While apps like the Xbox app and Firefox mirrored well, Netflix and other streaming apps wouldn't work at all. Then there's Fermata Media Service, an app for playing content directly saved on your device, and finally Fermata Auto, the main app in the package. It allows you to browse the internet and watch YouTube videos.

For Fermata Auto to work, you'll need to accept several somewhat scary-looking permissions that pop up on your device when you launch the app in Android Auto (as always, do this at your own risk). If these permissions don't appear, you'll need to look for them yourself. In my case, I needed to navigate to Settings > Apps > Fermata Auto > Three Dots > Allow Restricted Settings on my Pixel 10 Pro (if you can't find it, first tap See all apps or App info).

The option to enable these permissions should then appear when you launch Fermata Auto again (if it doesn't, try restarting your phone and unplugging/plugging back into Android Auto). For Fermata Mirror to run properly (I wasn't a big fan of this app), you'll need to go to Apps > Fermata Auto > Allow Display Over Other Apps (this is the same process I went through for Screen2Auto).

Fermata Auto is now my go-to app for in-car YouTube and web browsing

I've never found much point in screen mirroring with Android Auto.

Fermata Auto's on-screen keyboard is a bit laggy in my Ioniq 5, but I assume that's the case with most vehicles given how under-powered their infotainment systems often are. This can make typing on the screen somewhat annoying. Thankfully, there's a bookmark feature that lets you add various sites to your phone for easy access. You can also log in to your YouTube account ahead of time so that your watch history and subscribed channels instantly appear, allowing you to avoid messing around with your vehicle's infotainment screen.

In my experience, Fermata Auto has been very reliable and snappy in the few situations when I've browsed the web with the app while waiting in my car when I've arrived early at an appointment. Where the app truly shines is with YouTube. Videos take over the side of the screen Fermata Auto is running on and generally look excellent. I watched parts of Nintendo's recent Direct and was impressed at how great it looked on my vehicle's 1080p screen.

If you're like me and rarely actually need to browse the web or stream a YouTube video on your vehicle's display, when you do, you want it to actually work, not crash all the time or fail to launch properly. In my brief experience with Fermata Auto's core app so far, it's been very reliable and a notable step above other similar sideloaded Android apps I've tried.