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CarPlay Is Additive

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Re: CarPlay Is Additive

#572
post #566

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The maps? Why would I bother when I can use Carplay instead? The car's integration with Carplay? Even models that are 4 years newer than mine seem to still not have this. Not sure what's going on there.

> The maps? Why would I bother when I can use Carplay instead? Because, I quote: "they bother you". Which would explain why should you bother, right? (Also, I was specifically talking about having Android Auto/Carplay projected in gauge cluster.)

Carplay's a better fix for the map issue, since then I don't have to update them whenever I find an error. With Carplay, errors instead don't happen.

The directions being shown in the gauge cluster via carplay is still not a thing on later Kias from what I can tell, so that problem is unfixed no matter what.

Re: CarPlay Is Additive

#573
So this goes back to the loss of the DIN in vehicles. Vehicle manufacturers shot themselves in the tire decades ago when they stopped caring about DIN space and started forcing themselves to develop and then abandon the lead position on vehicle infotainment. Carplay isn't very special when you consider any 90s and early 2000s vehicle with a DIN slot or two can have all the exact same functionality as Carplay with unlimited upgrades for around $200 in hardware. The OEMs failed to innovate and outright hubris meant they would not roll-back to what worked well for everyone. Apple deserves to eat their lunch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_7736

Re: CarPlay Is Additive

#574

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not that the market is moving away, but more like car companies realized if they want to sell monthly subscriptions in the future, they need to own the software.

The car companies need to stay in their lanes on this one. You’re risking selling a >$40k piece of hardware that requires professional service every six months in order to sell me $240/yr in software subscriptions.

This is part of a broader trend I see in all consumer markets: especially in markets with just a few large important players: the companies start making very unpopular moves in the hopes that their competitors will realize the massive profit potential and follow them out of greed rather than try to steal customers by being the good guys.

Examples: self-ordering kiosks at restaurants, every change made at every airline in the last 15 years, bandwidth caps at ISPs, “resort fees” at every hotel, tipping for car services, etc.

They know that since there aren’t many options, it doesn’t matter if customers all hate it, as long as they have no choice. The automakers (at least in their fantasies) smell blood in the water for the idea of CarPlay/Android Auto, and want to kill it if they can.

Re: CarPlay Is Additive

#575
post #553

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Android Auto does try to distract me with attempts of engagement like "Is the construction site still there?" and other shit. That's not Android Auto, it's Waze doing that (and it would do it on Apple too). And it's not "an attempt at engagement", it's a cost for keeping the real-time map and traffic data that Waze is chosen for up-to-date. Use Google Maps if you don't like the interruptions.

Sometimes Google Maps does that too, I’m pretty sure.

It does, I saw it in Houston this past weekend on android auto and google maps, "police reported ahead; still there [yes] [no]"

Re: CarPlay Is Additive

#576

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would prefer knobs and buttons over a screen flow in either direction, but no modern car caters to this anymore.

I use CarPlay all the time and I almost never use the touchscreen - as you shouldn't while driving. The car has buttons and knobs, on the dash and on the wheel, to call up all sorts of options in the UI. The only time I need to touch the screen is if I want a full screen map (instead of the three-panel usual view).

I'm unconvinced. Navigating the UI via knobs seems much more distracting to me. I have to reach farther in my vehicle, but more importantly, I have to watch the screen anyway to make sure the knob ends up on the right control.

Am I missing something?

Re: CarPlay Is Additive

#577

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would prefer knobs and buttons over a screen flow in either direction, but no modern car caters to this anymore.

Even physical controls can be a downgrade if poorly implemented. R.I.P. Anton Yelchin, who brought us joy with his portrayal of Chekov in the Star Trek films, before losing his life at only 27, from a switch poorly masquerading as a brake lever.

At this point, I feel like automakers should be criminally liable for redesigning the automatic shifter UX. It's probably the 3rd/4th most dangerous control in the vehicle; why do we want people to have to relearn it every time they're in an unfamiliar car?

(I stick with a manual for my vehicles, so fortunately I'm mostly immunized against the madness.)

Re: CarPlay Is Additive

#578
post #532

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I admire the restraint the CarPlay designers have in adding features. E.g. in music apps, you can't click-through to an artist page from a song page. Annoying on the surface, but it actually naturally restricts your mucking about in menus. I bet any money that that one choice has saved lives.

Your thesis is right but in this example this is instead one of the “Alan Dye” hidden UI instances where the functionality is intentionally hidden (I presume in the name of aesthetic minimalism rather than safety, because this is what Apple design does outside CarPlay too). At least in Apple Music, I think you tap on the artist name in the now playing screen, and I think you get a menu to go to album or artist from t…

This interaction works in Apple Music on the phone, but not in CarPlay.

Re: CarPlay Is Additive

#579
All CarPlay is is sending video and audio (like a Moonlight stream) over USB Ethernet. It should be a recognized standard at this point so that you can have a custom device plug in to your car, and have your own UI. But regulations (think watching YouTube while you drive) unfortunately prevent this

Re: CarPlay Is Additive

#580
Rivian refusing to bend the knee to Apple should be met with more respect. You are free to force yourself to never buy a vehicle without Apple software, however you're just adding another shackle between your life and their massive walled garden. Should Rivian continue to innovate as Tesla did, your choice will become hard to maintain. Never is quite a long time.
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