Photo: Google
There’s a lot going on in the Android Auto world these days, and while the delay of Coolwalk is on everybody’s lips, it looks like users are in for more bad news.
This time, Google is going for a controversial decision that affects the Assistant Driving Mode dashboard, a feature that was powering the replacement of the very popular Android Auto for phone screens.
Here’s a summary of the latest events to get a clearer picture of what’s happening.
Originally announced at I/O 2019, the Assistant Driving Mode dashboard was supposed to replace Android Auto for phones. If you've never used the mobile version of Android Auto, you probably don’t know how popular it actually was, but its demise was received with much frustration by users out there.
Forced to use the Assistant driving mode, a feature that many considered to be half-baked, users hoped Google would eventually improve it in a way that would turn it into a worthy successor to Android Auto for phones.
This didn’t happen, and what’s more, it looks like Google is now making a change that essentially leaves the company without a worthy replacement for Android Auto for phone screens. The company is reportedly retiring the Assistant Driving mode dashboard on November 21, therefore sticking entirely with the car-optimized experience in Google Maps.
At some level, Google still considers the Google Maps-powered driving mode a replacement for Android Auto for phone screens, as its UI includes a basic bar for quick access to popular apps like YouTube Music and Podcasts.
But on the other hand, this driving mode comes with a series of major limitations, and the first of them is the integration into Google Maps itself. This means the driving mode can’t be used with another navigation app, such as Waze, not to mention the lack of bigger fonts that make sense in a car, more advanced voice commands, and support for more music and podcast apps.
Here’s a summary of the latest events to get a clearer picture of what’s happening.
Originally announced at I/O 2019, the Assistant Driving Mode dashboard was supposed to replace Android Auto for phones. If you've never used the mobile version of Android Auto, you probably don’t know how popular it actually was, but its demise was received with much frustration by users out there.
Forced to use the Assistant driving mode, a feature that many considered to be half-baked, users hoped Google would eventually improve it in a way that would turn it into a worthy successor to Android Auto for phones.
This didn’t happen, and what’s more, it looks like Google is now making a change that essentially leaves the company without a worthy replacement for Android Auto for phone screens. The company is reportedly retiring the Assistant Driving mode dashboard on November 21, therefore sticking entirely with the car-optimized experience in Google Maps.
At some level, Google still considers the Google Maps-powered driving mode a replacement for Android Auto for phone screens, as its UI includes a basic bar for quick access to popular apps like YouTube Music and Podcasts.
But on the other hand, this driving mode comes with a series of major limitations, and the first of them is the integration into Google Maps itself. This means the driving mode can’t be used with another navigation app, such as Waze, not to mention the lack of bigger fonts that make sense in a car, more advanced voice commands, and support for more music and podcast apps.
Google News