According to a report from 9to5Google, Google is ending standalone Assistant Driving Mode, which offers an Assistant-powered dashboard that provides quick access to voice controls, contacts, navigation and other shortcuts while on the road. The feature, which Google first announced at I/O in 2019, will expire on November 21.
While Assistant Driving Mode is very similar to the Driving Mode feature built into Google Maps, which turns on automatically when you start navigating, it’s not the same. Esper’s Mishaal Rahman says that Driving Mode Assistant was already added to Maps before Assistant Driving Mode was released.
The finalization of the feature can be a bit of a nuisance for those driving a car without a digital navigation hub that supports Android Auto. The Assistant Driving Mode service was expected to replace the “Android Auto for Phone Screens” app that Google had deprecated with Android 12, but that expectation didn’t materialize.
The difference between Standalone Assistant Driving Mode and Maps Driving Mode is that you can access the standalone version by saying a voice command like “Hey Google, start Driving Mode” or by tapping the Driving Mode shortcut on your phone’s home screen. With Assistant Driving Mode disabled, you will need to access the features by starting the navigation in Google Maps, but it is true that many users have already done so.
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