Google Assistant Driving Mode, the in-car experience launched as a replacement for Assistant Driving Mode Dashboard, is also set to end. Google has announced that it will shut down the entire Assistant Driving Mode Dashboard on November 21, according to a report by 9To5Google. This will blow to those who had adopted the driving mode, as it was a voice-enabled driving mode on Assistant that personalized suggestions for navigation, messages, calling, and media and brought all relevant activities front and center.
The report said that the new in-car experience, Driving Mode, another name for the car-optimized experience in Google Maps for Android, will continue to exist. Shortcuts for calling and messaging are included on the home screen, along with audio controls and media choices.
Google Assistant Driving Mode was built to launch with a simple voice command and do much of what Android Auto could. However, it was not widely adopted, as Google has decided to discontinue it.
Users could connect their phones to the car’s Bluetooth to launch the Driving Mode feature on Assistant. If the phone was not connected to the car, they could say, “Hey, Google, let’s drive.” The feature also allowed users to remotely control cars remotely, enabling them to ask Google to adjust the car’s temperature before getting in.
The Google Assistant Driving Mode Dashboard shut down after Google had already announced that it would be going away. With more cars than ever having Android Auto baked in and Google offering a replacement through Google Assistant, the demise of the Driving Mode feature may be noticed by many.
Whether Google will bring any other in-car experience to the market remains to be seen. The focus is now on Google Maps and integrating more features into the Driving Mode experience.
