Google quietly shuts down Device Assist support app

Spare a thought for Device Assist. It didn’t even get to celebrate its second birthday.

Google quietly pulled the plug on Device Assist, an app that helped Nexus and Android One users make the most of their devices. Launched in late 2014, the app alerted users about potential issues that it detected on the device. In a cruel twist, it now alerts users about its own demise.

Google has a record of shutting down services, inevitably upsetting faithful users in the process. But Device Assist is no Google Reader: the app lived anonymously and it’s now going quietly into the night.

The problem with Device Assist was that it wasn’t really helpful for its intended audience. While tips on how to change display brightness or how to clear up storage space may be useful to some users, Nexus – and Android One – users tend to be more savvy than the general population. We don’t have any usage stats, but it’s likely that supporting it was simply not worth the trouble anymore.

Device Assist is no longer available in the Play Store, thought it remains functional for the users who had it installed.