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Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

theturnsignalblog.com

171–180 of 537 posts

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Phone navigation apps are surprisingly bad in Japan (Google ones in particular). Not unusable, but the in-car GPS is more competitive than in other markets IMHO. Also with an aging population a phone screen is just too small for many. BTW, to parent's point VW has been trying different approaches with a top mounted GPS/infotainment unit that can be omitted on cheaper trims.

Aging population prefers low quality tiny screens with awkward interfaces?

They're not tiny, at least not compared to a phone.

https://www.daihatsu.co.jp/lineup/move_canbus/03_exterior_in...

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#172
post #81
post #4

CarPlay mostly works, and although it has issues it's definitely user-focused. CarPlay doesn't prevent car makers from tracking vehicle activity. In the end, consumers don't give a shit about the in-vehicle infotainment. It sucks, or it's AA/CarPlay. The first generation of iDrive showed that rich people people will buy cars in spite of the in-car stuff. In fact, most car infotainment sucks, yet people still buy cars…

I wonder how much of those frustrations has to do with Japanese market share of car industry; I think the touchscreen infotainment is not there because car manufacturers value it as integral and central part of car experience but simply because otherwise their product loses against one of Japanese brands. Japanese road network is a disorganized weighted node graph and absolutely not a grid, and a bulletproof navigati…

> That doesn't have to be a touchscreen but usually are […]

With back up cameras being mandated in the US (and other jurisdictions?):

* https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/backup-cameras-now-required-...

There needs to be a screen: I'm not sure what the incremental cost is of it being touch-sensitive. And I think a lot of designers (or cost cutters) may have figured that since they have to have software anyway, it may easier/cheaper to deal with software buttons than with moving parts like physical buttons and dials.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

That’s a ridiculous statement - he was responding to substantive points raised by the article. I’m a huge Apple fan, but let’s be fair here and not flame others.

It's funny that calling someone an Android user is considered a flag-worthy insult.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#174
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happened is there are no real "budget" cars anymore. Mandatory safety, engine, emission, backup cameras (yes, they're mandatory) has steadily driven the base price of a car so high that the added cost of creature comforts doesn't actually increase the price of a car that much relative to the total price. Why would someone spend spend $40k on a bare bones car when they could get a well-equipped car for $45k? That…

Tell us you haven't been in a contemporary Corolla without telling us you haven't been in a Corolla recently.

A corolla isn't a budget car.

The cheapest configurable Corolla here (Australia) is $35,857. More than 50% of the median yearly wage ($65000)

To me that's not a budget car. The closest thing would be a Kia Picanto for about $18500

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#175
post #102

It's pretty funny to me to see an Apple user complaining about lack of interop with other ecosystems. You've chosen your walled garden; now it's time to realize you're stuck in it. The author seems to blame everyone but Apple for this, though. Apparently it's Google's fault that his preferred podcast app isn't available on Android. What about the app developer, who has decided not to support Android? And it's the aut…

Imagine a world where Apple and Google (and others) worked together and made a open standard that is as good as what they both have today.

Bluetooth but for cars.

Such a missed opportunity.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I so much prefer hooking up my phone, rather than having to authenticate every device I own to all the services I want to use. And given that most of the services that I want to use in the car are also services on my phone, e.g., GPS maps, music, podcasts -- why would I want to have to use a whole new app for this purpose? I love that when I search for something with Google Maps it knows, typically in a letter or two…

You make a great case for why your car should have Google Maps built in. That wouldn’t require you to hook your phone to the car. Having to hook the phone to the car is s giant leap backward. We’ve got Gmail: email from any device. We don’t say: My phone has all my email, I hook it up anytime I want to read mail, if the battery is dead or I forgot my phone, I’m screwed. No, we use Gmail from a tablet, phone, PC, etc.…

Guess I'll just have to learn to love paying for two cellular data plans!

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#177
> But it won't be possible to sell a subscription for a feature when all is controlled by Apple CarPlay

Good I bought the car, now get out of my life. I’m not paying hundreds of dollars for GPS map updates when I can plug in my phone and use any other mapping app’s evergreen maps. Also, subscriptions for heated seats are patently absurd.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#178
post #72

>Continuing with the above example, let's imagine I just downloaded a new podcast app on my phone (one that is also available in the automotive Play Store). The next day I have to go on a long drive and I want to listen to a podcast episode I downloaded on my phone. When I enter my car, I have to go to the Play Store, find the app, download it, log in, and then download the episode. When I use CarPlay, I only have to…

The author is talking about Android Automotive which is different than Android Auto.

Auto is driven from your phone whereas Automotive is running on your car directly.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#179
It’s amusing when the author says “when the phone crashes.”

My 2022 Subaru Outback head unit frequently crashes or is really unresponsive. My iPhone never crashes.

Car infotainment systems are garbage. I’d never buy a car without CarPlay. It’s maybe the #1 measure I have for vehicle quality when I rent on vacation.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#180
post #150
post #4

CarPlay mostly works, and although it has issues it's definitely user-focused. CarPlay doesn't prevent car makers from tracking vehicle activity. In the end, consumers don't give a shit about the in-vehicle infotainment. It sucks, or it's AA/CarPlay. The first generation of iDrive showed that rich people people will buy cars in spite of the in-car stuff. In fact, most car infotainment sucks, yet people still buy cars…

>In the end, consumers don't give a shit about the in-vehicle infotainment. It sucks, or it's AA/CarPlay. My ideal "infotainment" is a button that lets me pair bluetooth and volume/skip controls on my steering wheel. I have a phone mount, like almost everyone does. I don't need a display on my dashboard. AA/CarPlay (and everything else) are genuinely just distracting annoyances that take up space. Especially in newer…

If find the Bluetooth interface too limited because it requires interacting with the touchscreen on the phone. I want to use the large screen on the car with an interface that is optimized to work while in the car not small controls on a small phone.
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