Acura Connected Services: Google Built-in, AcuraLink and Wi-Fi

Most of what a new car does, you find out on the test drive. The connected side is different. It is the part you set up on day one, use every day afterward, and only really understand when something needs renewing.

It is also where Acura's three SUVs, the MDX, the RDX and the ADX, are least alike. Two of them can be had with Google built into the car itself. One of them does not use a touchscreen at all. And the feature you want may sit behind a particular version rather than a particular model.

The equipment details below come from Acura's published specifications for the 2026 model year. Where a car is already on the lot, have us confirm the details against that exact vehicle before you count on any one line.

Hand holding a phone running the AcuraLink app, showing an MDX with its range, tyre pressures, odometer and remote lock controls

Find What You Need

The Versions, First

Some of what follows separates one model from another, but a great deal of it separates one version from the next, so the version names have to come first. Acura calls them grades, which is the same idea most people call trim levels. These are the 2026 versions, in the order Acura lists them.

Model	Its Versions
MDX	MDX · MDX with Technology Package · MDX A-Spec · MDX with Advance Package · MDX A-Spec with Advance Package · MDX Type S with Advance Package
RDX	RDX · RDX with Technology Package · RDX A-Spec · RDX with Advance Package · RDX A-Spec with Advance Package
ADX	ADX · ADX A-Spec · ADX A-Spec with Advance Package

Two names do a lot of work in that list. A-Spec is Acura's sportier appearance treatment. The Advance Package is the equipment step, and it is the one that matters here, because several connected features arrive only with it. A car can be an A-Spec without the Advance Package, and on the ADX that one distinction decides several of the features below.

Where AcuraLink Is Listed

AcuraLink Connected Services appears across all three SUV ranges, but the specification lists it differently by model and separately from remote engine start.

Every 2026 MDX, RDX and ADX lists AcuraLink Connected Services on every version. On the MDX, Acura's specification also lists Security and Remote Services alongside it.

Remote engine start is its own line in the specification, and it is listed only on the RDX's two Advance versions. It is a separate item from "Remote Services," and having one does not mean having the other.

What Each SUV Comes With

Feature	MDX	RDX	ADX
Main display	12.3-inch touchscreen	10.2-inch dual-content display, meaning it can show two things side by side, worked by a touchpad rather than by touching the screen	9-inch touchscreen
Display behind the wheel	12.3-inch HD Precision Cockpit, a screen in place of traditional dials	7-inch color display between traditional dials	10.2-inch screen in place of dials
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto	Every version	Every version	Every version
AcuraLink Connected Services	Every version, plus Security and Remote Services	Every version	Every version
Google built-in	Every version	Not listed	A-Spec with Advance Package only
Alexa built-in, Amazon's voice assistant	Every version	Every version	A-Spec with Advance Package only
Wi-Fi hotspot, so the car puts devices online	Every version	Every version	Every version
Wireless phone charger	Every version	Every version except the base RDX	Every version
Head-Up Display	10.5-inch, on the three versions with the Advance Package	10.5-inch, on the two Advance versions	Not listed
Remote engine start	Not listed	The two Advance versions	Not listed
HD Radio, free digital broadcast radio	Every version	Every version	A-Spec with Advance Package only
SiriusXM, the paid satellite radio service	Not listed	Every version	Not listed
Acura Navigation with 3D View, built into the car	Not listed	Every version except the base RDX	Not listed

"Not listed" means the feature does not appear in Acura's published 2026 specification for that model. That is a statement about the specification rather than a promise about any particular car, so ask us to check the vehicle itself.

One wording note, because Acura's own document is not uniform: the MDX and RDX specifications say "Wi-Fi hotspot" while the ADX says "hotspot capability." On all three it needs a data plan before it will actually connect anything, which is covered further down.

Google Built-in and the Three Years

Google built-in is the feature most likely to surprise someone comparing the three.

On the MDX it is standard on every version. On the ADX it arrives only with the A-Spec with Advance Package, alongside Alexa built-in and HD Radio. For the RDX, it is not part of Acura's published 2026 specification.

Gray Acura RDX crossing a bridge with its headlights on

Before comparing those three answers, it is worth being clear that Google built-in and Android Auto are two different things, and they are easy to confuse.

Android Auto borrows your phone. Your apps appear on the car's screen, and it needs the phone with you and connected.
Google built-in is in the car. Google's maps and voice assistant run on the car's own screen and its own connection, so they work whether or not a phone is in the vehicle.

Because it runs on the car's connection, Acura includes three years of unlimited in-vehicle app data with it. Ask us what date those three years run from on a specific car, because on anything already registered, part of the term may already have passed.

Here is the honest part. Three years is a real term with a real end. When it finishes, the built-in apps that depend on that data need a paid plan to keep running. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not affected, because they use your phone's connection rather than the car's, so as long as your phone has service you still have maps and music.

Nobody enjoys discovering that in year four. It is worth knowing in year one.

Acura RDX cabin at night, with the centre display and True Touchpad Interface lit by red ambient lighting

Two Ways to Work a Screen

The MDX and the ADX use touchscreens. You press what you want, the way a phone works.

The RDX does not. It uses the True Touchpad Interface, a pad on the center console that matches the screen corner for corner: press the top left of the pad and you select what sits at the top left of the display. Your hand stays on the console, and nothing on the screen is ever out of reach, including both halves when the display is showing two things at once.

There is no better or worse here, but the difference is real, and it is one of the few worth settling in the driver's seat rather than on paper. People who take to the touchpad like that their arm rests naturally. People who do not tend to want to reach out and touch the navigation map, which a touchpad will not let them do. Fifteen minutes in the seat answers it.

All three connect a phone without a cable on every version, so whichever screen you end up with, that part is the same.

Sound

Audio depends on both the model and the version, so a step up on one car is not the same step on another.

Model	What Each Version Carries
MDX	Acura Premium 11-speaker on the base MDX; Bang & Olufsen 19-speaker on the MDX with Technology Package, MDX A-Spec, MDX with Advance Package and MDX A-Spec with Advance Package; Bang & Olufsen Ultra 31-speaker on the Type S with Advance Package
RDX	Acura Premium 9-speaker on the base RDX; ELS Studio 12-speaker on the Technology version; ELS Studio 3D 16-speaker on the A-Spec, Advance and A-Spec Advance versions
ADX	Acura Premium 8-speaker on the base ADX and on the A-Spec without the Advance Package; Bang & Olufsen 15-speaker on the A-Spec with Advance Package

Bang & Olufsen speaker grille set into the door trim of an Acura cabin

Acura Premium is Acura's own system and the starting point on all three. Bang & Olufsen and ELS Studio are the named upgrades, and which of the two you get depends on the model rather than on how much you spend. Worth knowing before comparing on paper: moving up a version can change the speaker count as well as the equipment, so two cars close on price can be a long way apart on sound.

Wi-Fi and Subscriptions

Some of this costs money later and some of it never does, so here is the whole picture in one place.

What	Who Pays, and When
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto	Nothing extra. They run on your phone's own plan
The car's Wi-Fi hotspot	Needs a data plan. Ask what plan the car comes with and what it costs after any introductory period
Google built-in	Three years of in-vehicle app data included, then the built-in apps that depend on it need a paid plan to continue
SiriusXM, listed on the RDX only	A paid satellite radio subscription, usually with a trial included on a new car
HD Radio	Free. It is ordinary broadcast radio in digital form, not a subscription

Terms change often enough that we would rather you asked us than took a number off a page, and we will tell you exactly what is on the car in front of you.

Gray Acura SUV driving along a highway at dusk with its lights on

Getting It Set Up

Connected features are the ones most often left half-finished at delivery, because they need accounts rather than switches. Before you drive away, ask for your phone to be paired, the AcuraLink app to be installed and signed in, and Google built-in to be signed in where the car has it.

If any of that was skipped, or you bought elsewhere and never got it working, our service center can finish it, usually while you wait.

You can see all three SUVs together on the new Acura SUVs page, the MDX and RDX each keep listings of their own, and current offers across Central Indiana are on our specials page.

Frequently Asked Questions

The MDX has it on every version. The ADX has it only on the A-Spec with Advance Package. It is not part of Acura's published 2026 specification for the RDX. Because availability depends on the version and not just the model, check it against the exact car before you commit.

No, and it is the most common mix-up. Android Auto borrows your phone and puts your apps on the car's screen, so it needs the phone connected. Google built-in lives in the car and runs on the car's own connection, so it works with no phone present. Every MDX, RDX and ADX has wireless Android Auto on every version, whether or not it also has Google built-in.

The built-in apps that run on the car's connection need a paid plan to continue. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are unaffected, because they use your phone's service, so you keep maps and music through the phone either way. Ask us what date the three years started on a specific car.

Yes. All three list one on every version, though Acura's document words the ADX's as "hotspot capability." On any of them it has to be on a data plan before it will connect anything, so ask what comes with the car.

It is how the RDX works its screen without you touching the screen. The pad on the center console matches the display corner for corner, so each part of the pad reaches the matching part of the screen. The MDX and ADX use touchscreens instead. It is worth trying rather than reading about.

Acura's 2026 specification lists it on the RDX's two Advance versions, the RDX with Advance Package and the RDX A-Spec with Advance Package. It is not listed for the MDX or the ADX. It is a separate thing from the MDX's Security and Remote Services, so having one does not mean having the other.

The MDX lists a 10.5-inch unit on its three versions with the Advance Package, and the RDX lists the same size on its two Advance versions. On both, it arrives with the Advance Package rather than a rung earlier.

Google built-in needs a paid plan once its three years of included data run out. The Wi-Fi hotspot needs a data plan. SiriusXM, which Acura lists on the RDX only, is a paid service, usually with a trial on a new car. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto do not need a car subscription, and HD Radio is free broadcast radio. Anything else varies by car, so ask and we will check it.

Yes, and it is worth asking. It is the part of a new car most often left half-done, and it usually takes minutes rather than a scheduled appointment. Ask when you pick the car up, or bring it back to our service center and we will finish it.

Ed Martin Acura