Google affirms it’s the stopping point of the road for Android Auto on phone screens

Several years prior, Google reported an all-new experience for drivers looking to utilize their phones hands-free without endangering others. Named “Assistant Driving Mode,” it was planned to supplant Android Auto’s dated display — until abruptly, it wasn’t. Instead, Google developed a shortcut for Android 10 gadgets, intended to keep the old Auto interface alive and well while work progressed forward Assistant Driving Mode. With the more current app gradually showing up all through different regions around the world, the old UI is in transit out.

A few clients are opening the dedicated Android Auto for phone screens app today just to think that it does not work anymore. As XDA Developers found, some Pixel gadgets running the Android 12 beta are getting pop-up notifications redirecting clients to evaluate Assistant Driving Mode. In particular, the warning takes note that Android Auto is as of now not supported on phone shows, presently dedicated a dedicated car screen to use.

Presently, it’s important that just one of XDA’s gadgets available really showed this notification. The AP staff attempted a few gadgets however failed to reproduce a similar warning. This is Google we’re discussing, so it’s possible a server-side switch that hasn’t hit most clients presently.

While this banner could essentially be some odd behavior triggered off by the Android 12 beta, in all honesty, the issue at hand’s been obvious to everyone for quite a long time. While the dedicated car UI has been refreshed and updated, Auto’s plan on phone screens has remained unchanged. The shortcut Google created back in 2019 never at any point got an update, which could be another sign it was constantly implied as a stop-gap solution.

Assistant Driving Mode feels like a significantly more modern experience — including support for taller displays — yet it’s not all good news. To activate Driving Mode, you’ll need to begin by entering a destination into Google Maps — something that isn’t generally essential in case you’re headed to a known location. Whenever you’ve begun navigation, you can swap between calls, messages, media apps, and even cancel your route altogether, yet still, an extra step isn’t needed in Android Auto.

Apparently, you’ll have the option to keep using Android Auto in regions where Assistant Driving Mode isn’t accessible. We’ve seen the feature show up in a few nations over the previous year, even though it’s as yet not available all over the place. For the present, enjoy Android Auto while you actually can — it probably won’t associate with you any longer.

In a statement delivered, Google has affirmed that Android Auto for phone screens is disappearing with the launch of Android 12 this fall.

On the off chance that your present phone isn’t getting an upgrade to Android 12, you can keep using the mobile experience until you exchange gadgets. For every other person, you’ll need to switch over to Assistant Driving Mode for your navigation needs. This change clarifies why just clients running the Android 12 beta saw the banner notification in the app.

As we featured yesterday, there are some real worries about the present state of the Assistant Driving Mode. Some of our readers raised extra points in the comments, including missing landscape support, issues with certain Android Auto apps not playing great with Assistant, and unavailability even in regions where the feature ought to be live. Ideally, some of these issues are ironed out over the next few months. Up to that point, partake in the excess long periods of Android Auto on phone screens, as it doesn’t have a lot of time left in this world.