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

231–240 of 438 posts

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

#231

Post by rezonant »

mushufasa wrote: post #27
alsodumb wrote: post #3

Wait, so they're saying CarPlay and Android Auto are buggy on their cars, most likely because of their errors in getting the mirroring part right, so instead of fixing the issues, they think switching to their in-house system that they will design from scratch, that'll probably have hundreds of bugs, that's most likely gonna suck, is a better option? They could've just said we're out of excuses we just want to make m…

but think of all the promotions and headcount for the internal teams...

Followed swiftly by the biannual layoffs. It's fine just reapply at the beginning of the fiscal year after they've shown investors how responsible they are.

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

#232

Post by rezonant »

makeitdouble wrote: post #23
upon_drumhead wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Samsung fridge is running Tizen! It's awful!

It's still baffling to me why Samsung fridges aren't just an API server exposing info to Samsung apps to present it on any other (potentially Samsung) device. Leaving a space on the door to attach a Samsung tablet could even work, and the user gets to update the tablet whenever they want.

Actually my Samsung Bespoke fridge is just that. The REST API docs are even in the printed manual!

To be fair it doesn't actually do much. (We got the one without the in-door tablet so we could use the glass front as a whiteboard!)

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

#233

Post by beAbU »

esafak wrote: post #149
alexvoda wrote: post #136

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.

In older cars (early 00s and before) you could lock the glove box with your ignition key.

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

#234

Post by xenonite »

rezonant wrote: post #221
nneonneo wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, which manufacturer? I suspect that CarPlay quality varies a lot by manufacturer; e.g. it sounds like GM really never tried very hard to get their CarPlay implementation to work well.

It is definitely true that the display and input latency on the headend screen is in control of the car manufacturer, so not all Carplay/AA implementations are equal. I've seen it on rental cars-- some are great and some are crap. But the software on the screens is great! Not something that can be said about, for instance, Ford SYNC (TM).

I would be astonished if there is no spec for the maximum allowed latency in Carplay/AA.

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

#235

Post by palemoonale »

sublinear wrote: post #177
bastard_op wrote: post #156

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 kn…

Nope, isn't as easy as it has been during the 90s.

Ever had to deal with abominations like CAN-but-not-really-CAN like PSAs own VAN? Having to find out which model has which bus? Non-standard size cutouts / bays? Alone the FW versions i had to test of Alpine / OEM adapter products to get steering wheel controls working. The PDC i couldn't.

And MOST is a different topic.

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

#236

Post by imp0cat »

jacquesm wrote: post #213
gambiting wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just an anecdote - I own a Volvo XC60(with Sensus not AAOS) and 99% of the time I'd rather just use the built-in OS than Android Auto - AA is slow to respond and imprecise(clicks are almost always recognized as swipes rather than clicks, problem which doesn't happen in the built-in OS), and every time you need to do something it locks you out for 5 seconds to look at the road, even though it's my passenger using it.…

> every time you need to do something it locks you out for 5 seconds to look at the road Whoever came up with that wasn't entirely right in the head: so now people will stare at the device for another five seconds wondering what they did wrong. Sound of impact.

Or just push the button on your steering wheel and use voice control. You (mostly) do not have to touch the screen at all.

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

#237

Post by rezonant »

xenonite wrote: post #234
rezonant wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is definitely true that the display and input latency on the headend screen is in control of the car manufacturer, so not all Carplay/AA implementations are equal. I've seen it on rental cars-- some are great and some are crap. But the software on the screens is great! Not something that can be said about, for instance, Ford SYNC (TM).

I would be astonished if there is no spec for the maximum allowed latency in Carplay/AA.

It must be a fairly high maximum, or the car companies just pulls a Volkswagen every time Apple comes by to check.

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

#238

Post by tirant »

gambiting wrote: post #205
bastard_op wrote: post #156

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…

Just an anecdote - I own a Volvo XC60(with Sensus not AAOS) and 99% of the time I'd rather just use the built-in OS than Android Auto - AA is slow to respond and imprecise(clicks are almost always recognized as swipes rather than clicks, problem which doesn't happen in the built-in OS), and every time you need to do something it locks you out for 5 seconds to look at the road, even though it's my passenger using it.…

Same here with a BMW and iDrive8.5 I’ve never used CarPlay with it. BMW infotainment system just works, and its navigation system is superior to Google Maps (more up to date and better high traffic alternatives). Said that, I’d still like to have CarPlay in case BMW stops updating its system after 5-10 years.

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

#239

Post by yourusername »

Rayhem wrote: post #93
jimmaswell wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't take much more than not going for the cheapest offshore team possible to make better car media center code than we get. I'm sure most of us could easily do it ourselves in a month or less. It seems like such a simple problem. Play songs and interface with some controls/radio receiver/etc while being at least a tiny bit conscious of efficiency.

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.

I don't think that's right. VAG's software is terrible and crashes all the time. I've been locked out of adjusting my AC on a long drive because the infotainment system crashed.

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

#240

Post by mulmen »

hgomersall wrote: post #189
mulmen wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good for them? Why should a good infotainment system cost $25B/year in perpetuity? Doesn't anyone solve problems anymore?

From the article: they want a slice of the $25 billion subscriptions.

Sure but who wants that? GM could be right that people want a car that hasn’t been enshittified.

The problem with chasing $25bn in subscription fees is you don’t know the opportunity cost of alienating your customer base.

Post reply on HN