There is no need to project Google Assistant driving mode onto the vehicle's dashboard screen. Instead, it allows you to access a user interface designed for hands-free driving while relying on voice commands to control it. Another benefit of driving mode is that you can control the interface using voice commands; this helps avoid distractions when driving. Even if you receive an incoming text message or call, Google Assistant can read it for you without interrupting the navigation screen.
Driving mode is basically the existing Google Assistant update feed, but it's optimized for much larger touch targets. Under the Assistant logo, with a traffic update, a timely greeting appears, which is a basic element of smart screens, while the temperature is in the upper right part. This greeting is consistent across all devices, but I miss Android Auto's colorful gradients a little. It also makes the background and cards look unbearably white, especially at night.
As a new product introduced by Android Auto, it seems to learn from the previous user experience, but it could benefit from more advanced features that may not be Assistant features, such as user customization instead of automatic suggestions. Google Assistant's driving mode allows you to do things while navigating roads with Google Maps. Basically, you can control everything in Google Assistant's driving mode using voice commands without taking your hands off the wheel. Not to mention that Google has discontinued Android Auto for phone screens and replaced it with Google Assistant driving mode.
However, compared to Android Auto, Google Assistant's driving mode apps are few (less cluttered) and have larger cards, so you're not easily distracted. Clearly, it wasn't a new version of Android Auto for phones, but it was designed and built around the Google Assistant. As long as you have a reasonably up-to-date Android smartphone, you can use driving mode in Google Assistant and you don't need to download it through the Play Store as Android Auto. If you didn't get the note, Google has replaced the Android Auto app with Google Assistant's driving mode.
As Google likes to say, it's “soon for Google Assistant and the future will only show that its role, its prominence and its location will increase. This unique feed for Assistant's driving mode is a dramatic simplification compared to the four different pages of Android Auto. That's because you don't need to mirror your smartphone screen to the vehicle's infotainment screen if you're using Google Assistant's driving mode. When you start Google Assistant driving mode, you'll notice that it has three icons at the bottom of the screen.