Android Auto for Phone Screens has stopped working on all versions of Android, but Google has a replacement called ‘Google Assistant Driving Mode.’
Google has shut down the Android Auto for Phone Screens app, ensuring people can only use Android Auto on their in-car infotainment system and not on their phones. The move comes a few years after Google stopped offering a car-optimized UI in the Android Auto app, but the same UI with the bigger buttons and fonts was still offered via Android Auto For Phone Screens.
Google introduced Android Auto in 2015 as a way for people to use maps and play music on Android smartphones while driving. However, even though it was compatible with phones, Google always intended it for cars and kept slowly deprecating it in the lead-up to the latest development. The Android Auto for Phone Screens app is already incompatible with Android 12, so it was only a matter of time before Google also withdrew support for other versions of Android.
As spotted by 9to5Google, many users are reporting that the Android Auto for Phone Screens app is no longer functional on any version of Android. As of this week, whenever the app is launched on the phone, it redirects to the Android Auto settings page, which confirms that the service is now only available for car screens and not for phones. However, the change is not sudden or unexpected. Over the past several weeks, the app has reportedly been showing a message that said it would stop working soon, although Google never offered a specific date for the shutdown. According to a few Reddit posts, the change went live for some users earlier this week and now seems to have been implemented for all users globally.
Android Auto For Phone Screens Replacement
While Android Auto for Phone Screens is now dead for good, Google already has a replacement lined up. Called ‘Google Assistant Driving Mode,’ the new feature started rolling out in 2021 and has even received several UI upgrades, including a revamped home screen, late last year. The feature was first announced at Google I/O 2019 and can be accessed via Google Assistant by simply saying “Hey Google, launch Driving Mode” or “Hey Google, let’s drive.”
It is worth noting that Google Assistant Driving Mode is not a separate app, which means it doesn’t have a dedicated icon to launch it. Instead, it is a Google Assistant feature that can only be used by asking the voice assistant to launch it. In addition, it can’t be used in landscape mode either, which Google should look to change soon. Thankfully, though, most of the leading music streaming services are supported, although some Reddit users are still unhappy about the drastic change in UI between the older app and the new feature.
This article originally appeared on https://reviewcable.com/post/android-auto-no-longer-works-on-phones-but-theres-an-alternative
