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

jalopnik.com

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

#251

Post by user2342 »

kelnos wrote: post #33

I've never owned a car made by GM, but a decision like this guarantees I never will. I don't buy their take that the safety issues are because Android Auto and CarPlay are buggy and have connection issues and other crap that cause people to use their phone directly. I've only had a new enough car to use Android Auto for a year and half now, but I've literally never encountered a bug that required me to touch my phone…

> I don't buy their take that the safety issues are because Android Auto and CarPlay are buggy and have connection issues ...

Ack. From my experience, connection issues with Car Play are 100% due to the shitty software on the car's side and never on phone's side.

I regularly have connection problems (i.e. black screen in Car Play when entering the car - a Fiat with UConnect 5). They can _always_ be resolved by rebooting the cars's entertainment system. _Never_ by rebooting the phone.

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

#252

Post by piva00 »

imp0cat wrote: post #236
jacquesm wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Voice control is imprecise. You are forgetting about us folks whom are not native in one of the supported languages for voice control and constantly have to adapt our accents to the whims of speech recognition. And the right incantation of command for the task.

It's not impossible, just a very annoying way to control something precisely.

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

#253

Post by warbeforepeace »

MBCook wrote: post #55
system7rocks wrote: post #13

I like Apple CarPlay. I like that it simplifies things and I don't have to login with my Google account. But, the head unit I have is super laggy, because it is just a dumb android tablet. Imagine an iPad with an M1 processor. Gosh it would rock.

It really shouldn’t matter much. My 2016 car wasn’t laggy with CarPlay. I promise you that thing wasn’t fast. Or are you using wireless? I don’t know if other vehicles are better but the only times I’ve gotten to try wireless CarPlay the lag drove me nuts. If I plugged it in instead it was great.

Having rented a dozen different cars with car play i can say some manufacturers make car play feel just as painful as their in house infotainment systems.

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

#254

Post by warbeforepeace »

internet2000 wrote: post #10
xnx wrote: post #5

GM should go the other direction and ditch their software entirely in favor of Android Automotive.

They've done that. That's what this is about.

With the cheapest processor and touch screen possible.

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

#255

Post by rob74 »

gambiting wrote: post #208
contact9879 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A USB-C to headphone adapter is $5.

And occupies your USB-C port, which you might want to use at the same time for charging while listening to music(I do while I'm in bed, I'm sure I'm not the only person who does this). My biggest issue with it is that it's been sold to us on a lie - the whole nonsense about "reclaiming the space" - it's BS. There is space for it in nearly every phone on the market.

A USB-C to headphone and USB-C adapter (https://www.amazon.com/Headphone-Charger-Adapter-Charging-Co... - ok, maybe search a little longer for one that hasn't got the "brand" Subynanal printed on it ;) ) isn't much more expensive either...

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

#256

Post by mulmen »

sterlind wrote: post #243
mulmen wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, what? If my infotainment system is capable of influencing my steering or any safety-critical function then malpractice has been committed. Infotainment needs only read (one-way) capability on the vehicle.

I do wonder about the CAN bus. there's no access control on the CAN network, there's one shared bus for the whole car, and any controller can starve the bus by spamming with a high address, unless that's changed. you'd hope that there'd be some kind of filtering to prevent the infotainment system from sending (arbitrary) CAN messages, but I recall some crazy demos of researchers pwning a car's accelerator after rooti…

The Tesla Cybertruck doesn’t use CAN for steer-by-wire. It uses Gigabit Ethernet. According to my mechanic my ABS system is using something similar. CAN isn’t the only bus in the car. According to Wikipedia the LIN bus is intended to supplement CAN with non-critical components.

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

#257

Post by borispavlovic »

gambiting wrote: post #208
contact9879 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A USB-C to headphone adapter is $5.

And occupies your USB-C port, which you might want to use at the same time for charging while listening to music(I do while I'm in bed, I'm sure I'm not the only person who does this). My biggest issue with it is that it's been sold to us on a lie - the whole nonsense about "reclaiming the space" - it's BS. There is space for it in nearly every phone on the market.

There are cheap bluetooth dongles with female audio port that a pair of headphones could be plugged turning them into bluetooth headphones. Calls will most probably not work, though.

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

#258

Post by huytersd »

epolanski wrote: post #218
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…

I have like the opposite experience...AA and Carplay have always been cause of issues, having to take the phone in my hand while driving, sluggishness.. In fact I feel the opposite you say: car play has been an excuse for some automakers for subpar infotainment. That being said removing it completely is madness, because people like you are millions and want it.

Why do you have to take your phone in your hand? You just do all your actions on the screen in the car. I’ve never had to touch my phone in the car once it’s plugged in.

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

#259

Post by ageitgey »

gumby wrote: post #84

I am sure they will be as successful as VW's software revolution, cariad, that's ejected a couple of CEOs and almost brought down the CEO of the parent. Here's a link in English: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/05/volkswagens-troubled-so... but the full story is utterly scandalous. I've seen zero evidence that GM is even slightly more competent in this area.

The funny part is that while VW's bad software has been the main negative review of their otherwise great EVs, the general perception online is "Carplay/Android Auto works great, so who cares?"

I own a VW EV and use Android Auto with it. It's great. I would not have bought the car if it didn't support that. The real miracle is how well Android Auto/Car Play integrate with the car itself - speakers, microphones, steering wheel controls, heads-up display for directions - it all feels like a native experience.

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

#260

Post by urbandw311er »

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…

It’s interesting how you correctly identify that this is a massive play for control by Apple and Google, and yet you still seem to sympathise with their position!

I can completely understand why vehicle manufacturers are so wary. Just look at the history of how Apple, Google, etc companies have behaved when it comes to “partnerships”. Look at the App Store. Look at what Google did to supposedly open source Android.

It begins with some generous offer of allowing access to the UX/platform in exchange for innocent sounding things like control over user data/login. It ends with the platform completely taken over, GM being held to ransom, and no in-house systems or staff left to revert back to their own solution.

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