Have a vehicle? Google has this message for you

With the arrival of the latest version of Google’s UI, Android 12 very soon, the tech giant has released some upsetting news. In a recent update, the company has said that it will be pulling the plug on its standalone app, ‘Android Auto’ when Android 12 rolls out. As per the Verge, Android Auto will be replaced by none other than Google Assistant.

Anyone who wants a driving-friendly interface on their Android smartphone can soon use the Google Assistant driving mode, which is available within Google Maps. In a statement, Google said, "For those who use the on-phone experience (Android Auto mobile app), they will be transitioned to Google Assistant driving mode. 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."

Also read: Looking for a smartphone? Check Mobile Finder here.

One upside for people using Android Auto is that Google has confirmed that their experience will not be changing. This confirmation came after a news outlet 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.

Also, reports have it that the 'Android Auto for Phone Screens' app now sends a message that says it's incompatible with Pixel devices running on Android 12.

This phasing out of Android Auto was a move that was long foreseen. It was a fairly useful tool when it was released, but over the years, especially from 2019 when Google started incorporating its various features into Android 10 as system-level basic features, it slowly made the app increasingly redundant, and it lost its user base.

As per The Verge, Google's plan for these users was a new Google Assistant driving mode, but this software was delayed. In fact it was announced in 2019, but it only started rolling out last year.