Android Auto users being pushed to Assistant Driving Mode
Assistant Driving Mode has been around for a couple of years and was developed as a replacement for Android Auto’s date display. However, Android Auto continued to be pushed even though it was on life support, while Google continued to improve Assistant Driving. Now it seems that Google is finally starting to push users from Android Auto to Assistant Driving.
Android Auto for Android phone screens was already released in 2019. Google needed to hold back Assistant Driving Mode for various reasons. However, Google’s Assistant Driving Mode was finally released in 2020 and has slowly rolled out and expanded since then. At the time of the release, this app was called ‘Stopgap’ by Google and was intended for users who needed an in-car experience but lacked a car that is compatible with Android Auto.
Today users have reported that Android Auto for phone screens has stopped working. Some Pixel users with Android 12 also noted that the app skipped the typical experience and instead flashed a banner reading: ‘Android Auto is now only available for car screens. On your phone, try Google Assistant Driving Mode instead’.
Google has also reported that Android Auto for phone screens is shutting down with the release of Android 12 and users will be asked to use Assistant Driving Mode instead. Therefore the experience will no longer be available for Android 12, and we’ll start seeing more users unable to use the app. Assistant Driving Mode will be the built-in mobile driving experience on Android 12.
Not all users report having the same issue, and some users with Android 11 and specific Pixel devices can still use the Android Auto app on the phones. The app is also still available in the Play Store. However, the listing does now say that it is incompatible with Pixel devices running Android 12.
Closing words
Android Auto for Android phone screens has been on life support for at least the last year, and it seems now is the time that the app will be shut down. Users of the app are already reporting that they are being pushed to the new in-car counterpart Google’s Assistant Driving Mode.
Thought this was going to give us some of the different or new features. All vendors giveth and all vendors taketh. What will we get instead?
You need to be more specific and less alarmist.
We have both a Moto G6 and G7 Play and Android Auto still works fine and we still use it daily. It will really suck if it stops working.
Everything in your article points to only the newest most expensive phones.
It’s Shaun. He hasn’t yet realised that the VAST MAJORITY of people couldn’t care less about the latest Android developments.
I suspect ghacks is trying to GRAB GOOGLE searches for ad revenue.
And Martin please STOP HIM doing the random BOLD junk.
It’s so unprofessional.