A few years ago, Google significantly increased the minimum requirements for Android Auto: after needing at least Android 6.0 Mashmallow, we moved to Android 8.0 Oreo. Today, the requirements are increasing again: you need to have at least Android 9.0 Pie. This version of Android was released in 2018, six years ago.
Still running Android Oreo 8.0 on the phone you use to connect to the car with Android Auto? You’ll need to use a different one, as the increased requirements mean that sooner or later they will stop receiving updatesuntil at some point it “breaks” or simply prevents you from continuing to use it.
Android Auto requires Android 9.0 Pie
The Android Auto support page is clear: you need Android 9.0 Pie or above to use it. As of 2022, the minimum version of Android required to use Android Auto was Android 8.0 Oreo.
So it’s only a matter of time before Android Auto Stop going to mobile with Android 8.0 Oreosince end of support means end of updates. According to Google’s latest Android version distribution data, this will only affect 5.8% of the total Android phones that are still running Android Oreo. In versions prior to Oreo, Android Auto was no longer included.
As of May, Android Oreo was on 5.8% of active mobile phones
The less bad news is that Latest Android Auto updates are always supportedas is the case with the latest Android Auto 12.5 beta. However, it’s only a matter of time before Android Auto updates stop reaching this version of Android.
Android Auto for Oreo will then be left to its own devices and it is inevitable that it will stop working. In the past, when Android Auto dropped support for Marshmallow and Nougat, the system would eventually display the text “To continue using Android Auto, update your phone to the latest version of Android,” refusing to work. It’s predictable that the same thing will happen, although we still don’t know when.
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By | 9to5Google
In Xataka Android | Android Auto: 23 tips and tricks to get the most out of Android in the car
