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

GM says it's dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because they're unsafe

jalopnik.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 438 posts

Re: GM says it's dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because they're unsafe

#111

Post by seanmcdirmid »

blcArmadillo wrote: post #106
Rayhem wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an incredibly myopic take bordering on arrogance. The infotainment system of a vehicle needs (as in, is mandated) to be as safety compliant as the rest of the vehicle's software so your steering doesn't lock out when the display crashes. Writing software for safety critical systems is not a task most developers are familiar with.

This is not correct. The main infotainment system is not considered safety critical. There are some functions such as rear view camera that are but often this is handled by a real time os that overlays the video on top of the infotainment output. The infotainment system crashing will not take down your steering or braking.

Can confirm that. My xdrive unit in my BMW died a few months after buying, and everything worked, I could even hear the parking sensors even if I couldn’t see the camera feed anymore because that was piped through the X-drive unit.

Re: GM says it's dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because they're unsafe

#112

Post by larusso »

During 2020/2021 I was on the lookout for a new car. It was important to me that it support Apple CarPlay. My last car was the last model in the lineup that didn’t support the first wave of back then tethered CarPlay support and I hated to use my old iPod classic as a media device because loading up new music was kinda laborious. Tesla etc fell out because I actually use Apple Music and a switch to Spotify just so I can listen to music in the car was and is still a no go for me. I also stayed away from the new android based systems. So this move just means that another car brand is out as a potential option. Not that GM is big in Europe. I guess that also means Opel/Vauxhaull is out of the picture too.

Re: GM says it's dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because they're unsafe

#113

Post by [deleted] »

drdaeman wrote: post #104
brandonagr2 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you missed them, but there are actually physical buttons in a Tesla, I use the tactile physical buttons constantly, the scroll wheels to control volume / audio and cruise. The other common buttons are turn signals which are under your left thumb and have tactile feedback. What other buttons are you pushing constantly?

IIRC, AC controls are only available through the touchscreen, not through any physical dials or buttons. (In my Honda, I operate AC by touch - I remember the physical button layout for the essentials like rear window heating, and the knobs have a grove that can be read by fingers without looking).

[deleted]

Re: GM says it's dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because they're unsafe

#114

Post by shric »

threatofrain wrote: post #19
ungamedplayer wrote: post #4

Call it what it is.. they like the control of their in car entertainment systems and they don't want external companies taking that part of the pie. It's okay gm, we understand. Let's hope you are able to make a compelling competition to this, otherwise your sales will suffer. Traditional car software is very very poor for whatever reason. I don't think that car manufacturers have the mindset and capability to make e…

Unfortunately consumers don't really punish companies for doing these kinds of things, at least I presume that's the story since high-end cars often have very shitty in-car computer experiences, like BMW or Porsche.

I bought a 2017 Mercedes a few months ago and was disgusted to find that I was unable to update my map data beyond 2020. In the first week of ownership I had driven on to roads that didn't exist in their map.

Also, it appeared to have no network connection so would not pick routes according to traffic.

I spent $600 on an aftermarket CarPlay and Android Auto device and couldn't be happier.

Re: GM says it's dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because they're unsafe

#115

Post by shiroiuma »

dreamcompiler wrote: post #20
ungamedplayer wrote: post #4

Call it what it is.. they like the control of their in car entertainment systems and they don't want external companies taking that part of the pie. It's okay gm, we understand. Let's hope you are able to make a compelling competition to this, otherwise your sales will suffer. Traditional car software is very very poor for whatever reason. I don't think that car manufacturers have the mindset and capability to make e…

I expect they don't want to pay what great software engineers cost, and even if they did, most such engineers probably wouldn't want to put up with GM's bureaucracy. It's probably kinda the same story with great mechanical and industrial engineers, which is why approximately nobody finds GM cars exciting.

>I expect they don't want to pay what great software engineers cost, and even if they did, most such engineers probably wouldn't want to put up with GM's bureaucracy.

IMO, the bureaucracy isn't that big a problem; all big companies have this problem. The big problem for GM is their locations: who the heck wants to move to Detroit? Or any of the other places their suppliers tend to locate?

Re: GM says it's dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because they're unsafe

#116

Post by wannacboatmovie »

J_Shelby_J wrote: post #24

what will win; the best ux design teams in the world or the finance bros that have become GM. No question mark because it’s not a question. The sooner that realize they’re a tape deck aux in with a motor attached, the better for everyone involved.

Then why can't "the best ux design teams in the world" design CarPlay apps that work?

Regardless of GM's ulterior motives here (follow the money), they're not wrong.

CarPlay stinks. It indeed has caused me distracted driving while I execute a complex task such as, oh I don't know, choose a song/playlist. The worst offender by far is Amazon Music, which is nearly unusable, though Apple isn't too far behind. The mapping apps are just as bad and getting worse. Want to report a hazard etc. in Apple Maps? You have to tap a chevron and wait for a fold-out menu to appear, it's like 3 taps deep. By this point you have passed the hazard and become one yourself as you fight these terrible UIs designed by... you guessed it, "the best ux design teams in the world".

And yes 90% of it are the apps but at its heart CarPlay is just display mirroring.

The UX of most CarPlay apps is downright TERRIBLE.

Re: GM says it's dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because they're unsafe

#118

Post by aetch »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #78
MBCook wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. I got my first car with CarPlay in 2015. That’s 8 years ago. iPhones are always faster than the infotainment systems in cars due to development cycles and cost. Now my iPhone is eight years newer than the one that was already better than my car. So it’s obviously faster. Apple has delivered numerous new features in those eight years, the car never received a single update. That wasn’t even an ability on the car.…

My wife's car, a Tesla, gets updates more often than my phone, a Samsung.

You compared the most updated infotainment system to the least updated phone. For most people it’s something like Ford vs iPhone or Chevy vs iphone

Re: GM says it's dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because they're unsafe

#119

Post by AmVess »

mike_d wrote: post #9

This is just nonsense to justify locking consumers into Ultifi, their new Android based infotainment system. GM has stated they expect to generate $20-25 billion in app and subscription revenues by 2030 [1]. GM is about to figure out people are more loyal to their phone than their car. 1. https://gmauthority.com/blog/2022/08/gm-ultifi-to-generate-2...

These people are certifiably insane. How are they not aware that people carry their entire digital lives in their pockets and purses and aren't going to swap that for whatever pile of garbage GM will come out with?

Further, how are they going to handle rental fleets? Do they think people will fork over $20 on top of a rental fee just to use their junk service?

Re: GM says it's dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because they're unsafe

#120

Post by msh »

mulmen wrote: post #90
ungamedplayer wrote: post #4

Call it what it is.. they like the control of their in car entertainment systems and they don't want external companies taking that part of the pie. It's okay gm, we understand. Let's hope you are able to make a compelling competition to this, otherwise your sales will suffer. Traditional car software is very very poor for whatever reason. I don't think that car manufacturers have the mindset and capability to make e…

My 2010 BMW has excellent infotainment software. Better than any new car I have driven (all rentals). Navigation is easily controlled with the iDrive knob. Previous destinations are sorted in reverse chronological order. New destinations are easy to enter. Adding destinations works as expected (insert/append). When the fuel gauge reaches 1/8 of a tank the car prompts to add a gas station on the route which can be acc…

It would be useless to me personally.

I hate radio. I don’t listen to much music. When driving I mostly listen to podcasts and audiobooks which sounds like is not really practically possible.

Post reply on HN