Android Auto is best known for accessing your phone from the dashboard of a car – so you can easily access Google Maps, music apps, and data without using your phone. But for years, Google has also been offering an Android Auto experience right on a phone for people who don’t have a compatible dashboard unit. More recently, Google has also been working on an “Assistant Driving Mode” (pictured above), which launched earlier this year after some delays. Now that the Google Assistant is out of driving mode, the company will no longer offer the old Android Auto experience on phones running Android 12.
A statement from Google shared with 9to5Google confirms this plan. The Google Assistant driving mode is our next evolution of the mobile driving experience, ”the statement said. “For the people using Android Auto in supported vehicles, this experience is not going to go away. For those using the phone experience (Android Auto mobile app), they will be switched to the Google Assistant driving mode. From Android 12, the Google Assistant driving mode is the integrated mobile driving experience. We currently have no further details to share. “
Before Google confirmed this change, some Pixel owners with Android 12 received a notification when they tried to run the Android Auto app on their phones. It was said that Android Auto was now “only available on car screens” and advised them to try the Google Assistant driving experience instead. Given that the new Google Assistant experience will clearly take center stage in the future, the switch is probably not a big deal for most people. However, unless you upgrade your phone to Android 12, you can keep the Android Auto app running at least for now.
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