Android Auto might start requiring Android 11 or later soon, driver reports suggest

Will Sattelberg | Oct 5 2026 - 7:45 am PT

If you’re still holding onto an older Android phone as your daily driver, it might be losing its ability to get you where you need to be. Some users are starting to see notifications warning that their device will no longer be supported through Android Auto, suggesting the days of Android 10 are coming to a close.

Currently, Android Auto’s OS requirement is split into two tracks: wireless Auto support requires Android 11, while wired support requires just Android 9 Pie. A series of user reports over the weekend on Reddit (via Android Authority) suggest Google might be looking to unify those standards. The notification being delivered to drivers — most of whom appear to be running Android 10, not Android 9 Pie — simply states that Android Auto will “soon stop working on this phone,” without any additional context. Google has yet to update its current support page for Auto’s base-level requirements, but it’s not too difficult to read between the lines here.

Typically, I don’t think most users would see this change as a big surprise, even if cutting off support for certain phones always comes with controversy. In this case, though, it’s about as bad a time as you could pick for Google to be increasing device requirements. Some of the phones cited in these Reddit reports include Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9, and Xperia XZ2 Compact — all three of which offer experiences I’d argue are no longer available on the vast majority of modern Android devices. Add in the ever-increasing price of smartphones both new and not-so-new, and it feels a bit like a kick in the teeth to some drivers, no matter how old their hardware currently is.

If you’re an affected Android 9 Pie or Android 10 user and you need Android Auto support for your car, I would suggest starting to shop around for a replacement device running at least Android 11. While it’s a bad time to be in the market for any new gadget, there’s no obvious end to price hikes on the horizon, and picking up a phone now can save you some cash in the long run. We’ve reached out to Google for clarification on its Auto OS requirement plans and whether or not there’s a timeline for affected drivers to upgrade, and will update when we hear back.