3 ms·

Consider getting an Android, driving mode is implemented extremely well.

by c0pium 3y ago

CharlesW 3y ago
https://www.androidpolice.com/google-kills-android-auto-for-phone-screens/ https://www.androidpolice.com/google-kills-android-auto-for-...
- jabroni_salad 3y ago
  The relevant features were put directly into Google Maps rather than being a separate download.
  - CharlesW 3y ago
    I'm afraid there are indications that this is going away as well: https://9to5google.com/2023/12/27/google-maps-driving-mode-going-away/ https://9to5google.com/2023/12/27/google-maps-driving-mode-g...
    - jabroni_salad 3y ago
      >_> google pls
- c0pium 3y ago
  If you read that article, or even the subtitle, you’ll see that it’s talking about Android Auto, which is importantly different from the Google Assistant Driving Mode I mentioned. Amusingly apropos the main complaint that people seem to have with Driving Mode is that it isn’t designed to be screen-based, which would be quite dangerous, but rather voice-based which is comparatively safer.
  - CharlesW 3y ago
    Thank you, I didn't know they were different. Further Googling shows Google killed Google Assistant Driving Mode Dashboard on November 21, 2022, and is also killing Google Maps' Driving Mode in February. https://9to5google.com/2023/12/27/google-maps-driving-mode-going-away/ https://9to5google.com/2023/12/27/google-maps-driving-mode-g...
    - c0pium 3y ago
      That’s correct, now that the full Driving Mode is ready and being rolled out they’re killing all the dangerous stopgap measures they previously created. Edit: I think their strategy here confused people because most people seem to think that the goal is a zoomed touchscreen, whereas the actual goal was voice only with a nav screen if you’re navigating.
      - CharlesW 3y ago
        Apologies for yet another follow-up, but I'm trying to understand: If Google Maps' Driving Mode goes away in February as the article above suggests, and Driving Mode Dashboard went away in November, what's left?
        c0pium 3y ago
        Google Assistant Driving Mode will be left. Driving Mode Dashboard was a terribly named stopgap with large buttons. It’s almost entirely unrelated to Driving Mode. Totally agree with the point that, as usual, the branding is awful. They need to have these names reviewed by people who don’t live and breathe the product, the small nuances here are lost on GenPop.
advisedwang 3y ago
Right now, I can't get my android phone to start car mode without having navigation on (i.e. no directions, just big buttons for other apps)
- c0pium 3y ago
  That’s working correctly. Stop looking at your phone while driving. Buttons on a screen are a bad idea and should be highly discouraged for drivers. Big buttons almost make that worse because of licensing, i.e. people see a thing labeled car mode and assume that means it’s safe to use in a car. Voice interfaces are generally safer, partly because of eye line but also because they significantly constrain the space of things your phone can do and thus use less attention.
  - advisedwang 3y ago
    My phone is in a mount in my field of view - it requires less looking away than the built in touch screens new cars have in the center console. Car mode is safer: * It reads out texts to me, and asks me if I want to reply by voice. * car mode UIs means it takes less attention to skip songs or whatever. * It turns off some distracting notifications etc. They let you have these features when navigating, why not when you don't need navigation?
    - c0pium 3y ago
      That’s simply not the case. Read some studies, all of your assumptions here are incorrect. Eyeline is slightly correlated with safety when compared with a device you need to locate, however with a constant position device the effect disappears. The actual problem is cognitive load. Having your phone visible increases cognitive load even if you don’t use it. Composing text message by voice is equivalently distracting to typing one. Yes really, this has been rigorously studied. Texting by voice is only better than holding a phone and talking on it if you’re careful about using it in safer situations. And even then, the gains are pretty small. Using a touchscreen with large buttons has higher cognitive load than an equivalent voice interface, even accounting for misunderstandings. The key intuition here is that you have to decrease amount you think about or interact with your device. Stop looking at your phone, it’ll be there when you get there.

Consider getting an Android, driving mode is implemented extremely well.

by c0pium 3y ago

Consider getting an Android, driving mode is implemented extremely well.

https://www.androidpolice.com/google-kills-android-auto-for-phone-screens/ https://www.androidpolice.com/google-kills-android-auto-for-...

jabroni_salad 3y ago
The relevant features were put directly into Google Maps rather than being a separate download.
- CharlesW 3y ago
  I'm afraid there are indications that this is going away as well: https://9to5google.com/2023/12/27/google-maps-driving-mode-going-away/ https://9to5google.com/2023/12/27/google-maps-driving-mode-g...
  - jabroni_salad 3y ago
    >_> google pls
c0pium 3y ago
If you read that article, or even the subtitle, you’ll see that it’s talking about Android Auto, which is importantly different from the Google Assistant Driving Mode I mentioned. Amusingly apropos the main complaint that people seem to have with Driving Mode is that it isn’t designed to be screen-based, which would be quite dangerous, but rather voice-based which is comparatively safer.
- CharlesW 3y ago
  Thank you, I didn't know they were different. Further Googling shows Google killed Google Assistant Driving Mode Dashboard on November 21, 2022, and is also killing Google Maps' Driving Mode in February. https://9to5google.com/2023/12/27/google-maps-driving-mode-going-away/ https://9to5google.com/2023/12/27/google-maps-driving-mode-g...
  - c0pium 3y ago
    That’s correct, now that the full Driving Mode is ready and being rolled out they’re killing all the dangerous stopgap measures they previously created. Edit: I think their strategy here confused people because most people seem to think that the goal is a zoomed touchscreen, whereas the actual goal was voice only with a nav screen if you’re navigating.
    - CharlesW 3y ago
      Apologies for yet another follow-up, but I'm trying to understand: If Google Maps' Driving Mode goes away in February as the article above suggests, and Driving Mode Dashboard went away in November, what's left?
      - c0pium 3y ago
        Google Assistant Driving Mode will be left. Driving Mode Dashboard was a terribly named stopgap with large buttons. It’s almost entirely unrelated to Driving Mode. Totally agree with the point that, as usual, the branding is awful. They need to have these names reviewed by people who don’t live and breathe the product, the small nuances here are lost on GenPop.

advisedwang 3y ago

Right now, I can't get my android phone to start car mode without having navigation on (i.e. no directions, just big buttons for other apps)

c0pium 3y ago
That’s working correctly. Stop looking at your phone while driving. Buttons on a screen are a bad idea and should be highly discouraged for drivers. Big buttons almost make that worse because of licensing, i.e. people see a thing labeled car mode and assume that means it’s safe to use in a car. Voice interfaces are generally safer, partly because of eye line but also because they significantly constrain the space of things your phone can do and thus use less attention.
- advisedwang 3y ago
  My phone is in a mount in my field of view - it requires less looking away than the built in touch screens new cars have in the center console. Car mode is safer: * It reads out texts to me, and asks me if I want to reply by voice. * car mode UIs means it takes less attention to skip songs or whatever. * It turns off some distracting notifications etc. They let you have these features when navigating, why not when you don't need navigation?
  - c0pium 3y ago
    That’s simply not the case. Read some studies, all of your assumptions here are incorrect. Eyeline is slightly correlated with safety when compared with a device you need to locate, however with a constant position device the effect disappears. The actual problem is cognitive load. Having your phone visible increases cognitive load even if you don’t use it. Composing text message by voice is equivalently distracting to typing one. Yes really, this has been rigorously studied. Texting by voice is only better than holding a phone and talking on it if you’re careful about using it in safer situations. And even then, the gains are pretty small. Using a touchscreen with large buttons has higher cognitive load than an equivalent voice interface, even accounting for misunderstandings. The key intuition here is that you have to decrease amount you think about or interact with your device. Stop looking at your phone, it’ll be there when you get there.