Rumors confirmed as Google Maps driving mode starts working Show a notification that it will disappear in February. Since it is February, it may not be available at any time.

Google Assistant’s driving mode arrived a few years ago to be considered as an alternative to Android Auto for phones, which Google eliminated in 2021. Now this alternative is disappearing and with it we have something similar to Android Auto on our phone.

Say goodbye to assistant driving mode

Google killed Android Auto for phones and promised us we wouldn’t miss it because instead We can use Google Assistant’s driving mode. It looked like that would be the case for a moment when they later added a new home screen as a launcher. A year later, Google uploaded this screen.

Since then, the Google Assistant driving mode has existed as a bottom bar that appears in Google Maps during a route, but that won’t last long. When we view this bar, we see the list of applications, which includes calls, messages and multimedia applications, and now a new notification: “This view will disappear in February”.

Android Police Screenshot

There’s no additional information or links to learn more, but here’s what we can do: still pressing the button and continue using Assistant mode as before. While it’s unclear whether this will completely kill the Assistant driving mode, the truth is that it’s basically just that view today, so if it were removed there would be very little left.

At some point this month this drive mode launcher will disappear and will instead just Microphone icon in Google Maps. Two years after Android Auto was definitively shut down for phones, its legacy is the microphone icon on Google Maps.

via | Android Police

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