Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

freep.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–220 of 395 posts

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#211

Post by xattt »

jojobas wrote: post #198
ShadowBanThis01 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the whole "integration" thing was bullshit in the first place, but a proprietary GM system? This marks a return to the days of massively overpriced AM radios. The problem now is the way these systems are physically molded into the car. Back in the day you could put a good radio in. Good luck with that now. All we really needed for the last 15 years was a recess in every dashboard in which to put our already…

There are plenty of aftermarket head units for specific cars. It's not that hard for the manufacturers to make another plastic part. You shouldn't have to though, now that there is this dual communication standard.

How do headunits like that address changing settings that can only be changed from the infotainment?

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#212

Post by Mesopropithecus »

scarface74 wrote: post #177
mlsu wrote: post #32

How does this business decision make sense? A car is a high-margin item, so the impact of even a handful of consumers choosing not to buy must be huge, right? Whereas, they would need to "monetize" (ugh) many many more units to turn back that lost profit. And as the shakeup due to EVs begins, even loyal consumers will be considering other makes. My girlfriend bought a car recently. CarPlay was not negotiable for her,…

How is a car a “high margin” item when GMs profit margin was less than 5% last year?

The raw margin (per unit) can be high even when the manufacturer is a poorly run company.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#214

Post by poisonborz »

The ship has sailed for car makers in terms of software. They lost the trust and what we are seeing are futile attempts. The only way they could win back control if some conglomerates would back some internally vetted Linux-like platform with industry third party/community support as a viable third alternative in addition to providing CarPlay/Android Auto. No single car maker can do this alone. I know it's unrealistic to expect this but there is no other option.

I wish at least Android Automotive would be developed with an AOSP-like model.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#215

Post by philsnow »

rektide wrote: post #33
mritun wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CarPlay and AndroidAuto don’t give the car any access to the phone data and that’s the “problem” GM seems trying to “fix”. CarPlay and AndroidAuto protocols basically treat car’s display as a remote framebuffer.

Wouldn't it be great if cars would just send the car data out to phones? People already have a very well configured device hooked up to all kind of extras with them in their pocket. I don't really known what Android Auto or CarPlay offer but my weak understanding is it's mostly a dumb screen & display... Maybe a microphone? If hvac & lighting & other auxiliary systems were also controllable some really pleasant well…

Car manufacturers don't want to get muscled out of "their" own market. It's like ISPs not being willing to be a dumb pipe and instead trying to upsell a dozen other services (bundled TV/phone subscriptions, ad blocking, etc).

They don't have to stop the crappy behavior because where are you going to go? Most addresses in the US have no more than one reasonable ISP available (some have zero). I'm just hoping that all the other car manufacturers don't rally around GM and announce they're all doing the same thing to try to capture/generate subscription revenue from their low-margin products.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#216

Post by MisterBastahrd »

Tagbert wrote: post #20
lockhouse wrote: post #7

I don’t understand why they can’t have their own system and still support CarPlay. They are not mutually exclusive options.

Because GM wants to charge subscriptions for all kinds of software features and don’t want any competition. They are mainly looking at this as their maps vs the phone’s maps. They are ignoring all of the other reasons on why people choose AndroidAuto and CarPlay. That is often as much about personalization as anything else.

Software features? Isn't GM primarily responsible for the OnStar network?

It seems to me that what they want to do is create an android-powered internal system that requires a subscription to their cellular service to use.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#217

Post by mike_hock »

mlsu wrote: post #32

How does this business decision make sense? A car is a high-margin item, so the impact of even a handful of consumers choosing not to buy must be huge, right? Whereas, they would need to "monetize" (ugh) many many more units to turn back that lost profit. And as the shakeup due to EVs begins, even loyal consumers will be considering other makes. My girlfriend bought a car recently. CarPlay was not negotiable for her,…

CarPlay and/or Android Auto is a non-negotiable item for me, too. Any car that has it is a no-go.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#218

Post by philsnow »

beachy wrote: post #203
explaininjs wrote: post #161

Anyone else much prefer just mounting your phone on the dash, instead of a separate carplay system? Bonus points if the mount has wireless charging. This way there’s no new UI to learn, and you never are stuck using a subpar carplay-variant UI (looking at you, Gaia)

Nope, for me using a phone is a much worse experience. 1) Small screen hard to read with ageing eyes from that distance, or to operate touch controls precisely. This alone is a deal breaker, anything that requires more focus or concentration is A safety hazard and a no go. 2) unsightly charging cables hanging around. 3) no backing camera support. Also a safety hazard. 4) no handsfree support i.e control volume, skip…

> 3) no backing camera support. Also a safety hazard.

You wouldn't even want the phone to show the backup camera; you said it's too small for your eyes. The car has to be able to show the backup camera in the console anyway.

> 4) no handsfree support i.e control volume, skip songs without looking or lifting hands from the steering wheel

I have disabled bluetooth in my cars because it's a worse experience than wired CarPlay, but if I had to, I could just go back to it and my cars support controlling the music from the physical car controls (including the ones on the steering wheel), just like when it's connected by CarPlay. This has worked for ~15 years at least.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#219

Post by philsnow »

chrsstrm wrote: post #22
exabrial wrote: post #12

The better option is: remove infotainment completely and _require_ a smartphone for anything other than FM/AM radio. * Support an open protocol for rendering images/video/animations on the screen. Sorta like... you know, CarPlay. * Have controls for what events are allowed to be sent to the connected device. Don't want your phone to know your Throttle Position? Turn that shit off. Don't want your phone to know whethe…

Sure, if you live somewhere with constant cellular connection or you're not sharing a vehicle with someone else. What really irks me is when a connected device is required to do something trivial. My dad's 2021 GMC truck recently got an OTA update that removed the built in map. I discovered this when I was driving in the country and came upon construction with closed roads. I tried to pull up the map and look for a r…

> an OTA update

crap, over actual air? I am suspicious of all OS/firmware updates because they tend to move my cheese or just outright disable/nerf features.

I wonder if GM OnStar sneaks firmware updates into your car even when you don't have a subscription.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#220

Post by newjersey »

Operyl wrote: post #121
secstate wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10-15 seconds is an eternity. I can switch the bluetooth phone connected in a 10 year old car in 10-15 seconds.

Eh, I frequently switch. I just do it while I wait for the AC to kick in, not a huge deal.

I have a much older car from 2007 so no Android Auto or Apple Carplay for me but I thought I was supposed to sit there after I start my car for at least half a minute?

Maybe not needed for newer cars?

I start the car and wait for the dashcam to chime. I start driving once it chimes. I have an older Aukey, not hard wired, so it takes about half a minute for it to chime which I thought was perfect timing.

Post reply on HN