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Google Plans to Shut Down Android Auto for Phone Screens App with Android 12
21 Aug, 2021 / 04:31 PM / Reeny Joseph

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Google has confirmed it’s shutting down the standalone “Android Auto for Phone Screens” app with Android 12. Instead, anyone who wants a driving-friendly interface for their Android phone should use the Google Assistant driving mode, which is available within Google Maps, or the native Android Auto interface available in select cars.

“For those who use the on phone experience (Android Auto mobile app), they will be transitioned to Google Assistant driving mode,” Google said in a statement. “Starting with Android 12, Google Assistant driving mode will be the built-in mobile driving experience. We have no further details to share at this time.” Google says that the experience isn’t changing for anyone using Android Auto in compatible cars.

Google’s confirmation came after XDA Developers reported that some users were seeing a message in the Android Auto for Phone Screens app that said the service is “now only available for car screens” and pointed phone users towards Google Assistant driving mode as a replacement. Meanwhile, 9to5Google reports that the Android Auto for Phone Screens app now says it’s incompatible with Pixel devices running Android 12.

Recall that among the innovations of Android 12, the next iteration of the Google operating system, the new version of the OS supports the activation of Google Assistant with a long press of the power button. Now it became known that the assistant will receive support for a voice command to turn off the device.

Since in Android 12, a long press of the power button activates the voice assistant; a question arises about the options for turning off the device. We speculate that the developers will add a power button to the quick settings menu; but the source says it won’t be the only option. Enthusiasts have looked at the beta code for the Google search app; and found indications that Android 12 will have more ways to turn off the device.