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Apple Car: Bad Idea After All

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191–200 of 407 posts

Re: Apple Car: Bad Idea After All

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> imagine car manufacturers are somewhat tired of always building HUDs and in vehicle control systems. So gradually standardizing on a way to take all the displays/touchscreens in a vehicle and let them be run by Carplay seems like the future. What is then remaining as distinctive feature of a car vendor? The design? With their custom entertainment system they can confront they driver with their own brand identity an…

Who buys cars for their HUD? I buy cars for their performance, miles per gallon (or electric equivalent), brand value, etc.

Not sure, but a car with good physical controls might jump to the top of the list.

Re: Apple Car: Bad Idea After All

#192
post #152
post #26

So I've always wondered if Apple actually building a 'car' was ever really the goal. It seems like a skunkworks where they try crazy things and then incorporate into Carplay. Future seems to be ever expanding Carplay support. I use it and probably would not buy another car that did not have it integrated. I imagine car manufacturers are somewhat tired of always building HUDs and in vehicle control systems. So gradual…

Almost every new car sold in the developed world has a display in the dashboard, but very few actually have a Heads-Up Display (HUD) projected in the driver's line of sight. It's mostly just premium models from GM and BMW that come with this feature. It's a shame that more cars don't have a HUD as it really does help to reduce driver distractions.

> It's mostly just premium models from GM and BMW that come with this feature.

Some Mazda SUVs (e.g. CX-3) had a HUD starting back in 2018 or earlier.

Re: Apple Car: Bad Idea After All

#193
post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> imagine car manufacturers are somewhat tired of always building HUDs and in vehicle control systems. So gradually standardizing on a way to take all the displays/touchscreens in a vehicle and let them be run by Carplay seems like the future. What is then remaining as distinctive feature of a car vendor? The design? With their custom entertainment system they can confront they driver with their own brand identity an…

Same energy as complaining about not being able to provide customer with "dazzling box cover art design" because digital downloads made shelf boxes irrelevant. Cars have handling, space, looks... just about everything else other than the dash/touchscreen is meaningful competition space.

Yeah, we sold cars for the better part of a century without digital entertainment systems, so we can go back to that not being a differential.

Particularly when it seems like none of these bespoke entertainment systems raise the bar, and instead the standard seems to be “not annoying and in the way.”

Re: Apple Car: Bad Idea After All

#194
post #189
post #26

So I've always wondered if Apple actually building a 'car' was ever really the goal. It seems like a skunkworks where they try crazy things and then incorporate into Carplay. Future seems to be ever expanding Carplay support. I use it and probably would not buy another car that did not have it integrated. I imagine car manufacturers are somewhat tired of always building HUDs and in vehicle control systems. So gradual…

Imagine not being able to control basic aspects of your car like heating and stuff because you forgot or choose not to use a smartphone!

[deleted]

Re: Apple Car: Bad Idea After All

#195

A full Apple Car has always seemed unrealistic to me. Cars are a fundamentally different industry then consumer electronics and software. Apple would be starting from scratch, and facing a lot of entrenched competition with huge budgets and infrastructure. And for what? What could Apple do that GM, Toyota, or Tesla couldn't? Maybe a better UX for the dashboard. And while many car UXs are absolutely terrible, improvin…

As if Apple is just a tiny little startup looking for VC funds to get into the automotive industry and couldn't possibly compete with Ford. >And for what? Control over the entire driving experience. Just like they are obsessed with controlling the experience of a phone or a tablet and refuse to relegate aspects to partners. >improving them isn't some insurmountable challenge for existing manufacturers You say this bu…

> Control over the entire driving experience.

Impossible. The driving experience is also controlled by other road users and traffic laws, for example.

> To note, I'm not convinced the Apple Car will happen, but I'm frankly confused by people with the perspective that they have no leverage and nothing to offer here.

The Apple Watch looks sexless. Most people don't want a car like that.

Re: Apple Car: Bad Idea After All

#196
post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost every new car sold in the developed world has a display in the dashboard, but very few actually have a Heads-Up Display (HUD) projected in the driver's line of sight. It's mostly just premium models from GM and BMW that come with this feature. It's a shame that more cars don't have a HUD as it really does help to reduce driver distractions.

> It's mostly just premium models from GM and BMW that come with this feature. Some Mazda SUVs (e.g. CX-3) had a HUD starting back in 2018 or earlier.

[deleted]

Re: Apple Car: Bad Idea After All

#197
post #189
post #26

So I've always wondered if Apple actually building a 'car' was ever really the goal. It seems like a skunkworks where they try crazy things and then incorporate into Carplay. Future seems to be ever expanding Carplay support. I use it and probably would not buy another car that did not have it integrated. I imagine car manufacturers are somewhat tired of always building HUDs and in vehicle control systems. So gradual…

Imagine not being able to control basic aspects of your car like heating and stuff because you forgot or choose not to use a smartphone!

Is there a car on the market where this is the case? I'm not sure why that would be anything to worry about. I don't think any manufacturer except potentially Apple would require this for safety and competitive reasons.

Re: Apple Car: Bad Idea After All

#198

A full Apple Car has always seemed unrealistic to me. Cars are a fundamentally different industry then consumer electronics and software. Apple would be starting from scratch, and facing a lot of entrenched competition with huge budgets and infrastructure. And for what? What could Apple do that GM, Toyota, or Tesla couldn't? Maybe a better UX for the dashboard. And while many car UXs are absolutely terrible, improvin…

[deleted]

Re: Apple Car: Bad Idea After All

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> imagine car manufacturers are somewhat tired of always building HUDs and in vehicle control systems. So gradually standardizing on a way to take all the displays/touchscreens in a vehicle and let them be run by Carplay seems like the future. What is then remaining as distinctive feature of a car vendor? The design? With their custom entertainment system they can confront they driver with their own brand identity an…

Who buys cars for their HUD? I buy cars for their performance, miles per gallon (or electric equivalent), brand value, etc.

The only reason I’m considering upgrading my 2011 Audi to a newer one is the technology. The car itself is great but it’s got crappy stop start features, crappy audio/infotainment tech, bad A/C etc.

Re: Apple Car: Bad Idea After All

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno, a billion dollars a year (for 8 years) for CarPlay skunkworks seems like a bit much even for Apple..

Apple refuses to fund development of their own apps and platforms, yet sinks a billion into Carplay?

Something, something, "put the armour where the holes aren't."

If you are selling a lot of phones and tablets and laptops with your apps and platforms as they are, you don't want to invest billions in making them better just to make your existing customers stop complaining. They bought your product anyways, clearly whatever they're complaining about wasn't a deal-breaker.

You only want to invest in your own apps and platforms in areas where improvements would drive meaningful business outcomes. So you need to look at features that would cause someone who would otherwise buy a Samsung phone to buy an iPhone. Or you need to find people who didn't but an iPhone or iPad or AppleTV or OS X laptop and figure out if there is something that can be added to the product to get people to switch.

In the case of a dominant player like Apple, those are hard to find in the mainline product. Big new sources of revenue are most likely to come from entirely new product areas (thus their investment in phones, watches, tablets, and set-top boxes) or from going down-market and making commodity products.

They're allergic to cutting margins to the bone, so we're left with trying to find new markets, and that is why they invest so much in an automobile skunkworks while being much more careful about investing in the products that are already successful.

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