Android Auto has started showing a warning to people still running Android 10, and it reads bluntly: “Phone will no longer be supported.” Android Authority reported the notification on October 5 after users surfaced it on Reddit, and SamMobile picked the story up. As of October 5, Google has issued no announcement about a change, so treat this as an early signal.
What the warning implies
Android Auto has a minimum OS requirement, and Google has raised it before. Support for Android 8 Oreo and older devices ended in 2022. In 2024 the floor moved up to Android 9 Pie.
Per Android Authority’s reading of Google’s current support documentation, wired Android Auto still asks for Android 9 Pie or newer. Wireless Android Auto generally needs Android 11 or later. If Android 10 phones are now being warned, the obvious inference is that the wired floor is heading to Android 11 too.
That inference is the part to hold loosely. The warning text itself is real, and multiple users have now seen it. A move of the wired minimum to Android 11 has not been confirmed by Google as of October 5. No cutoff date accompanies the notification either.
Samsung phones that would be affected
The devices at risk are the ones whose software updates stopped at Android 10. On Samsung’s side, SamMobile names these models:
- Galaxy S9 series
- Galaxy Note 9 series
- Galaxy A50
- Galaxy A80
SamMobile notes there are others beyond that list. The reports so far come only from Android 10 users. Phones stuck on Android 9 are not part of this particular warning wave.
The real problem for owners
These are old phones, but they are not broken phones. A Galaxy S9 still makes calls, still runs Maps and still plugs into a car. Android Auto was part of what these phones were sold with, on hardware that cannot be pushed past Android 10.
What makes it worse is the delivery. An in-app notification with no date gives owners nothing to plan around. They cannot tell whether they have a month or a year left. In practice, the only way to keep Android Auto working is to buy a newer phone. A deprecation timeline published in advance would cost Google very little, and it would let people decide on their own schedule.
Wireless Android Auto is not a way out either, since its requirement already sits higher than the wired one. We have tracked similar cutoffs before, including the Pixel 6 being dropped from the Android 17 QPR3 beta.
Sources: Android Authority, SamMobile
