These dedicated Google Assistant car mics might be on the way out

If you interact with Google Assistant through the JBL Link Drive or Anker Roav Bolt, we have bad news: the microphones might be shutting down soon, if the code found in the Google app beta is any indication. The folks at 9to5Google stumbled across the code strings in an APK teardown that provided insight into the future of Google Assistant in cars.

The string is titled “assistant_car_accessory_deprecation” and reads: “By the way, Google Assistant on your car accessory will be discontinued in coming weeks. To keep using Assistant, invoke queries either on your Mobile or via Android Auto.” These accessories originally came out in 2019 as a way for drivers with older vehicles to use Google Assistant, so even the oldest adopters would have only had these for six years.

That’s not surprising, given Google’s history of shuttering projects, but there’s another reason beyond that. Android Auto has become more popular in recent years and has risen to be a competitor to Apply CarPlay. Google Assistant is also taking a step back; most of its functionality will be replaced by Gemini.

Of course, APK teardowns aren’t a guarantee of what’s to come. They reveal in-progress code, and the final product may or may not be released in an update. While it’s likely these devices will eventually lose compatibility, there’s no word on when that will happen. Google has yet to update its support documents to suggest either the Link Drive or the Roav Bolt will lose support.

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Google does suggest users switch to Android Auto, however. The Assistant Driving Mode still exists, but its functionality is much more basic than it originally was. If you want a more fully-featured experience, Android Auto is the best option.

In response, some users have suggested making the device activate Gemini instead of Assistant, but it isn’t clear what the future will hold for these accessories.