When Android Auto was released in 2015, it was available on all smartphones running on Android 5.0 (and above). A couple of months later, Google bumped the minimum OS requirement for running Android Auto to Android 6.0 (and above). Earlier this year, the company changed the basic requirement for a phone to support Android Auto to Android 8.0 (and above). Well, Google has now started enforcing its latest policy by stopping older phones from accessing Android Auto.
Over the past few weeks, people running Android Auto version 7.0 to 7.7 on their smartphones are noticing a pop-up in the app asking them to update the app for them to be able to use the feature. However, people with smartphones running on Android OS that is older than Android 8.0 cannot update the app because Android Auto 7.4 is the last version of the app that's compatible with phones that are running the version of the OS that is older than 8.0.
So, they can neither access the app nor update it to the new version. Basically, they are being cut off from using Android Auto altogether. In other words, smartphones running on the Android version that is older than Android 8.0 will not be able to access Android Auto anymore. That being said, this won't be a problem for the majority of people as Android 7.0 and prior releases of the OS make up for only 15% of total Android smartphones as of May 2022. If you are an Android Auto user, make sure that your Samsung phone is running Android 8.0 (or newer).
Meanwhile, Google is working on the project ‘Coolwalk' for Android Auto, which is a significant platform redesign and is expected to arrive soon.
