Earlier this week, Google told us that Maps’ integration into the Assistant’s Auto mode it will no longer be available. Apparently, however, the situation is far more complex than that. The technological giant, in fact, is closing the entire dashboard of the option announced at I / O 2019. So let’s try to understand what is happening in more detail.
Assistant’s Auto Mode, goodbye!
Google has officially announced that it will close the entire Assistant’s Auto Mode dashboard next time November 21. This home screen offers users multimedia tips and quick access to audio controls, as well as shortcuts for calls and text messages. But soon it will no longer be available. Instead, the car-optimized experience in Google Maps for Android, which Google also calls “Driving Mode”, will still remain available.
For those who do not know, to access this function is enough start car navigation, which will display a black bar for accessing the Assistant and a series of App icons for music streaming – YouTube Music, Google Podcasts and others -. In addition, the mode within Google Maps also features voice shortcuts to send SMS and initiate calls. In short, a much simpler and more intuitive operation than that of the Assistant’s Auto mode.
With this change, however, Google definitively ceases – or almost – to have a direct successor to Android Auto for telephone displays. Sure, the “Driving Mode” within Google Maps had already been seen as a step back from Android Auto, but users have shown a particular appreciation for the feature, using more and more day by day. But this is a rather important change for the tech giant. Now the question to ask, however, is another: will the Auto mode of Assistant really miss anyone?