Android Auto Drops Support for Older Phones,โข Forcing Upgrade Path
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA โ- Android Auto is ending support for smartphones running Android 8.0 (Oreo), effective with the latest โbeta โrelease (version 15.5). Users with devices on the older operating system will no longer receive updates and will need to upgrade to Android โฃ9.0โค (Pie) or later to continue using the in-car infotainmentโ system.
The change, initiallyโ announced over a year ago, was โdelayed to give usersโ time to transition. However, Google is now enforcing the requirement. this means owners of many devices from 2016-2017 willโ either need to update their phone’s operating system – if possible โฃ- or purchase โคa new smartphone to maintain compatibilityโฃ with Android Auto.
According to Google data, the impact is expected to be limited. Onyl 1% of active โคAndroid devices currently run Android 8.0, with an additional 3% running Android 8.1. โฃWhile a small percentage this โstill represents a significant number of devicesโฃ given the billions of Android โฃphones in use globally.
“Anyone who bought a new smartphone in recent years is ofโ course in the right place,” the article states,implying newer devicesโ are unaffected.
the decision to drop support for Android 8.0 isn’t entirely โฃunexpected.โข Many apps have alreadyโค ceased compatibility with the older OS, and devices running it often no longer receive critical โคsecurity updates,โฃ raising concerns about user safety.
(Note: The featured article link regarding Swift Controls was omitted as it’s a separate topic and not centralโ to the core mission of rewriting the articleโ about Android Auto support.)