14 DAY TRIAL // Google rolled out its highly-anticipated makeover of Android Auto only a few weeks ago, and the company is now getting ready to make another change to its in-car system.
The upcoming release of version 4.6 will introduce a change that everyone knew it was coming but hoped it would eventually be pushed back: the first step towards the removal of the phone UI.
Right now, Android Auto comes with a dedicated app running on the smartphone, but this experience will get the ax soon, being replaced with Google Assistant’s Driving Mode.
In other words, the Android Auto app on the phone will go away, and what you’re going to get when connecting your handset to the car is the typical experience that you receive when activating the Driving Mode in Google Assistant.
Needless to say, this will kick in automatically, just like Android Auto currently does when starting your car.
Warning in version 4.6
A teardown published by 9to5google reveals that version 4.6 will include a notification that will be displayed to users when launching the Android Auto phone app. “Driving mode on the Google Assistant will replace Android Auto for phones after %s. Try driving mode now.”
The “%s” string could be a timer at the end of which the app could be disabled automatically, requiring users to switch to Google Assistant.
Google killing off the Android Auto app isn’t necessarily a surprise, as the company confirmed in May this year that this is long-term plan for its Android experience behind the wheel. The assistant taking over everything, however, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, especially as support for Android Auto is limited to certain countries.
An announcement from Google isn’t yet available, but this change might not sit well with a number of users, especially after the company seemed to be heading in the right direction with the recent overhaul.