New auxiliary driving mode is now available

Android Auto, Android Auto for phones, Drive Mode and Assistant Driving Mode – It’s not easy to keep track of the different navigation functions Google offers. Google announced Driving Assistant mode early in 2019.

However, many users had to wait a couple of years for the new Driving Mode to appear on their Android phones. Initially available only in the USA, more and more users in Germany and Austria are now receiving the new Driving Assistant mode.

Google Maps new driving mode

The Driving Assistant mode is an extension of the previous driving mode and reminds us of the Android Auto interface and functions.

In this regard, a new menu appears below the displayed navigation map. You can now see the Google Assistant microphone, the Home button, and the Driving Mode Home button.

Reduced home screen

In the main driving mode screen, the surface is reduced to the basics and displayed further. You can choose between messaging applications, phone functions, and music-playing applications.

Assistant Driving Mode can read messages from various messaging apps without having to leave the navigation mode.

How to activate the Driving Assistant mode

The new driving mode can be activated directly via the Google Assistant. After the voice command “Hey Google, open Assistant Settings”, search for “Transport” and then “Driving Mode”. The switch must be activated in “driving mode” and that’s it.

Alternatively, the new functionality can also be launched directly in Google Maps. Under “Settings”, then “Navigation Settings”, then “Google Assistant Settings.” You should then turn on Driving Mode again there.

If you start a route after activating it in Google Maps, Assistant Driving Mode will be shown by default.

It is not yet available to everyone

It is possible that the new “assisted driving mode” will not yet be available to all users in Austria. In Google’s announcement of the first international offering of the new driving mode is There is talk of an “early preview.”.

In addition, the ‘Driving Auxiliary Mode’ is initially available in English only. For all those who set their android phones in english, it is better that they get the new function soon.