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

jalopnik.com

271–280 of 438 posts

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

#271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

And it gives you yet another device to charge, reduces your sound quality and introduces audio delay. None of which is a problem with wired headphones.

I'm feeling like a dinosaur pointing out that I still have headphones which just work and there is literally nothing wrong with them. I own two pairs of bluetooth headphones too, and they are great - but let's not kid ourselves, there are drawbacks to it too.

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

#272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an observation point - I drive a company car (a BMW) and will be looking for a new car next year. I would not even considers Volvo until they support wireless CarPlay. GM must very much believe in appeal of their car to piss off android and iOS users simultaneously.

Tbf, I don't know why people get hung up on this, I see this on Volvo forums all the time as well - you can literally get a £50 adapter, leave it plugged in inside your armrest and voila, you have wireless carplay. It literally "just works". Should the car already come with it installed? Yes. Is it a big deal to rectify? No.

I am not buying a 60k EUR worth new car to fiddle with adapters. It is almost 2024, wireless carplay is a figured out thing since years. If they cannot solve it, they will not get my money, it is as simple as that. If anything, customers should punish manufacturers more for such bullsh*t, not less. Because current behavior let them believe they can get away with anything, thus this thread.

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

#273

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. I…

Yea but CarPlay and android auto work :)

I have little compassion for poor GM not being able to upsell me a touch screen system that doesn’t work

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

#274
Yay, let's wait for GM's latest stab at an interface, no doubt running on an out of date OS off an underpowered embedded processor and a flash card they got off ebay in 2005, using an icon pack they found on a chinese pirate site and apps nobody needs. Oh and it will cost them $1Bn to develop. Then they'll open it up to the internet and spam your phone with instructions to go spend money at the dealers again.

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

#275

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.…

As an observation point - I drive a company car (a BMW) and will be looking for a new car next year. I would not even considers Volvo until they support wireless CarPlay. GM must very much believe in appeal of their car to piss off android and iOS users simultaneously.

I have wireless android auto with a built in conveniently placed holder for the phone that does wireless charging, and 95% of the time I still plug the phone in anyway.

Not really sure why!

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

#276
I don't disagree that they are unsafe - but I'm more inclined to blame touchscreens as a whole for taking attention off the road, rather than bugginess of the software, when generally the built in car system tends to be more buggy than Android Auto or Apple Carplay.

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

#277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an observation point - I drive a company car (a BMW) and will be looking for a new car next year. I would not even considers Volvo until they support wireless CarPlay. GM must very much believe in appeal of their car to piss off android and iOS users simultaneously.

I have wireless android auto with a built in conveniently placed holder for the phone that does wireless charging, and 95% of the time I still plug the phone in anyway. Not really sure why!

Me neither - I have not used a cable connection once in 3 years I have my current car. Do not even have a lightning cable in the car. But hey, people are different!

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

#278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I do have the keycard in my wallet but often travel without it. On longer trips, my wife is usually with us so we have two phone keys and the likelihood of both of us forgetting to charge are slim ( also, the wireless pads in the car is where you usually store it )

Additionally, if I were to be stranded somewhere there are 2 other people with phone keys that I could contact for them to remotely open the car, or just find a charger somewhere.

I have had more bad luck losing physical phone keys in the past.

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

#279
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.

I bet repair costs on used are less than depreciatiom ...

There are more considerations than simply cost of repair. Used cars break more than new cars. You are more likely to need some sort of backup plan if you have a used car. I'd be fine here in Norway: My 25 year old car is only used a few times a month. Otherwise, my partner and I walk and/or use public transportation. But I'm lucky enough to live in an area with a fairly robust public transport and pedestrian path system.

I couldn't be this secure when I lived in Indiana. Most places had little public transport, and fewer had affordable public transport (taxis only, though they likely have uber now). These options only worked if you stayed in town - but if you were like a lot of Midwestern folks, you have to drive to work and working in the next town over wasn't uncommon.

Which means: Something happens to your car, you might wind up unemployed or minimally, it pushes you ever closer to being unemployed. Hope your kid doesn't get sick and you have to miss even more work.

I'll also add that "another low mileage car" will still be expensive and you won't generally save yourself a car payment. I was lucky to find mine and if it weren't for a friend finding it, I wouldn't have it at all.

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

#280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an observation point - I drive a company car (a BMW) and will be looking for a new car next year. I would not even considers Volvo until they support wireless CarPlay. GM must very much believe in appeal of their car to piss off android and iOS users simultaneously.

Tbf, I don't know why people get hung up on this, I see this on Volvo forums all the time as well - you can literally get a £50 adapter, leave it plugged in inside your armrest and voila, you have wireless carplay. It literally "just works". Should the car already come with it installed? Yes. Is it a big deal to rectify? No.

>you can literally get a £50 adapter, leave it plugged in inside your armrest and voila, you have wireless carplay. It literally "just works".

I'm thankful for whichever Chinese engineers reversed the protocol for CarPlay to make this work. But my experience with these adapters is they are more fiddly than you're describing.

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