Android phones don’t last forever, and neither does the software they rely on. If you’re using a phone running Android 8 or older and you’re also using Android Auto as your car’s navigation and entertainment platform, you could be in for a nasty shock. Google is reportedly enforcing a minimum operating system requirement for phones for the first time.
9to5Google reports that users on phones running an operating system older than Android 9.0 (which debuted in late 2018) are seeing errors when trying to access Android Auto in their car. This requirement was announced this summer, but apparently the grace period has ended. At least one user with a 2017 LG V30 got a nasty surprise when he tried to use the system, a pop-up saying “This phone no longer supports Android Auto.”
The message stated that the phone needed the latest version of Android… which could be a particularly tantalizing instruction considering the V30 has been out of software support for so long that the manufacturer doesn’t even make smartphones anymore.
According to StatCounter, just over 4 percent of Android users worldwide are using a version older than Android 9.0. Of course, not all of these users will own a car, and of those that do, not all will be compatible with Android Auto or even want to use it.
Both Google and Samsung are promising longer software support for new devices, in an effort to compete with Apple’s best support for older phones. But this is a good reminder that the longer you hold your phone, the more software comes into action.