Unpleasant surprise for Android drivers. Google has again removed a popular feature

The Google Maps navigation app is losing another useful feature. Following the recent removal of Assistant’s Driving Mode in April this year, the ability to control music playback during navigation has now also disappeared. Android users will no longer be able to launch the player directly from the navigation interface, with no replacement.

Update: Google has confirmed that this is a bug they are actively addressing. It can therefore be expected to return within a few days.

Button and settings disappeared

As reported by 9to5Google, the “Show media playback controls” option has disappeared from the latest versions of Google Maps on Android in the Settings > Navigation menu. This feature had replaced the earlier Driving Mode, which Google removed as part of its transition from Assistant to Gemini. Using a floating button, it was possible to easily control music during navigation without having to switch between apps.

The change affects both the beta version of Maps 25.29 and the stable version 25.28. Along with the controls, the option to set a default music app has also disappeared, which previously allowed choosing between YouTube Music and Spotify. This suggests that it is not a random outage, but an intentional removal of the feature.

Still works on iPhones

Interestingly, iOS users have not yet lost this option. The Google Maps version for iPhone continues to offer functional music playback controls during navigation. However, it only supports Apple Music and Spotify, not YouTube Music.

Unpleasant surprise for Android drivers. Google has again removed a popular feature Jakub Kárník News Jakub Kárník News

This situation raises the question of whether it is a deliberate disadvantage for Android users, a technical error, or a gradual introduction of a change that will later affect the iOS version of the app as well. Google has not yet provided any official explanation.

Will the feature return?

There is a chance that the removal of media controls is only temporary. Google might be working on a new version of this feature that could be integrated with Gemini instead of Assistant. However, the absence of any announcement from Google suggests that the company does not consider this change significant, or does not plan to comment on it publicly.

Do you use music playback controls during navigation?

Source: 9to5google