ANDROID owners are set to lose access to Google Assistant’s Driving Mode, which allows users to make calls and reply to messages on the road.
Users who go to use the feature are being met with a drop-down banner alerting them that the feature will vanish in February.
Google hasn’t specified an exact date – so it could disappear tomorrow.
However, because the banner has only just appeared, it is expected the removal will occur later this month once Android users have had proper warning.
According to Android Police, other parts of Driving Mode, such as music controls, may remain intact despite the shutdown.
The move forms part of a broader, little-known, plan for Google Assistant, which is the rival to Apple’s Siri.
Google Assistant lost more than a dozen features in January.
Will Google Assistant’s Driving Mode be replaced?
According to a separate report from 9to5Google, Google Assistant is getting revamped on Android Auto, which could be the company’s answer to an alternative driving companion.
Android Auto brings the apps from your phone onto your car display – but it only works on newer, connected, cars.
It offers help with the same tasks as Google Assistant’s Driving Mode.
For example, you can dictate messages while following directions in Google Maps.
The new update means Google Assistant will transcribe in live-time what you’re asking it to do inside Android Auto.
The update is rolling out to all users in the coming weeks.
It’s unclear whether Google is consciously trying to move Android owners over to Android Auto.
It’s not a direct replacement, but Android owners with modern cars can use it in a similar way to Google Assistant’s Driving Mode.
