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

jalopnik.com

171–180 of 438 posts

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

#171
GM was created by financially engineering a bunch of car companies together and stamping different name plates on the same vehicles and my whole life they've made terrible cars in the USA. They are run by accountants not car people. From not bothering to make quality vehicles, because they claimed the majority of new car buyers don't drive a car past 100,000 miles to not offering Supercruise on any of their other models, because they had to wait for the Escalade refresh. Dropping the features we actually want is another in a long line of terrible decisions consumer not friendly decisions by their company.

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

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla software experience far outshines CarPlay and Android Auto.

Wake me up when you can open the glove compartment without drilling down a menu on a touchscreen because that is certainly not what I call good UI.

I've never been in a Tesla but does that mean that you can't pull it open with your hands?

I'll put that into a checklist of things to try whenever I'll buy my next car.

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

#173
post #69

Genuine question: Are there any auto manufacturers that do a good job of just supporting CarPlay and Android Auto and getting out of the way?

VW Passat 2019 is very good with Android Auto and Carplay, now that I've got it connected.

Pixel 4a needed a specific cable which did not work with a Pixel 6a. No cable worked so I now use a Motorola wireless connector and it works well with both phones.

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

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I was talking to folks who did this in the southeast. Compensation was the problem, not location.

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

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you give examples of this? I was recently looking for a car and saw the discounts and credits for a Tesla and thought it was finally time to go electric. Then I started researching the interface and saw so many people talking about how clunky it was and they decided to just use bluetooth with their phone to listen to music rather than the interface or even worse hacks where they setup a web server on their phone…

My personal opinion: 1. The navigation works really well for me. Including routing via superchargers 2. The UX of not needing a key. The bluetooth phone key works so much more reliably than other car manufacturers (n=1) 3. The screen is very responsive. Touch UI is fast. 4. The backup and side camera view is the best I’ve seen on cars. 5. Record the last X minutes from all cameras when you honk (someone backed into m…

> The UX of not needing a key. The bluetooth phone key works so much more reliably than other car manufacturers (n=1)

But do you still have a key?

My phone ran out of battery some 80 km far from home last Thursday because I forgot to charge it. I could enter my car and drive back home because I open it and start the engine with a traditional physical key.

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

#177

Automobile companies tried for years to make a decent infotainment system in cars, and almost universally they were all terrible no matter how expensive the vehicle. Finally Android Auto and CarPlay gave everyone what they wanted - decent access to music on their phone, call capabilities that actually work, and program integration with things they actually use with internet service they already have. Then manufacture…

For what it's worth, most vehicles still have aftermarket dash panels and wiring harnesses so you can install whatever you want. Way less of a compromise than buying an older vehicle, but I wouldn't expect some of the control integrations with the steering wheel and other displays to work though.

Really in retrospect nothing has changed from the days double-din was standard apart from some extra steps. Does anyone know if there are projects that reverse engineer these misc integrations for various manufacturers? Is it all just CAN bus or something proprietary?

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

#178
post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wake me up when you can open the glove compartment without drilling down a menu on a touchscreen because that is certainly not what I call good UI.

I don't get that either. The rest of Tesla's UX is so good, I don't know how they botched this. Is it a cost optimization? Any PMs over there care of chime in? edit: Locking the glovebox is a great use case, but not the typical one.

I'm not a PM, but I found this really weird initially, too. Then I realized I could start safely storing things in the glovebox conveniently - behind a code, no physical key necessary. It changed my mind and I started considering it well thought out.

I am somewhat surprised it's not one of the actions you can customize on the hotbar. I have no doubts that if people complained about it, Tesla would add it.

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

#180
post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am dreading the future of cars, where they somehow are worse than a car I could buy right now but also I have to pay a monthly subscription for the worse experience. The enshittification of everything is making me want to go berserk.

There's no obligation to buy a new one. Keep your existing cars on the road or replace them with other low mileage used ones. I bet repair costs on used are less than depreciatiom + finance costs on new, and there's pleasure to be gained from a retro aesthetic.

This is what everyone said to me when phones started losing their headphone jacks (purely so that phone makers could sell overpriced wireless earbuds).

But eventually old phones stop working on the new network and you realize every major new phone has followed suit in the cash grab. sigh

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