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Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

theturnsignalblog.com

211–220 of 537 posts

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#211
post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate to say it but monetize subscriptions, not new car sales. It's got to be worth as much as a seat warmer.

Wait I gotta be missing something. Are seat warmers a subscription now? Damn, indeed I missed that section > With their own software platforms, they are desperately trying to find recurring revenue streams, whether it's a subscription for seat heating or driver assistance systems ..........

> Are seat warmers a subscription now?

They almost became a subscription, but BMW backpedaled at the last second[0].

0. https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/7/23863258/bmw-cancel-heated...

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#212
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…

>> 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 [Android A]utomotive Play Store). They lost a capitalization which makes it a bit ambiguous but their scenario is this: There are two app stores being discussed: iOS (for CarPlay), and Android Automotive (the infotainment system's play store). If you have Android Automotive on an info…

Any car that supports android auto (not automotive), no matter what software it’s running, is technically capable of supporting CarPlay.

If it doesn’t, that’s a choice the automaker made. Either to disable it or to not write that part of the software.

I know Android Automotive already has all the code to support it. So for an android automotive car to not support CarPlay is 100% a decision.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#213

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.

CarPlay is still wholly dependent on the car’s infotainment stack. If your Suburu’s system is crashing, CarPlay can’t insulate you from that.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#214
post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Alright, but then comparing CarPlay 1 to Android Automotive is comparing apples and oranges. The author should be comparing CarPlay 1 to Android Auto and CarPlay 2 to Android Automotive.

Sure but I’m just providing more info to the other person? I’m not defending the author. I think many of their criticisms on both sides have flawed arguments and misconceptions .

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#215
post #108

If you're in the market for a new-to-you car, then I recommend looking at the model years where they switch from wired car-play to wireless car-play and buying the previous model-year. Typically this difference of one model-year can add thousands to the cost of the vehicle, especially because wireless car-play is so coveted. The experience of wireless is fantastic, but is it worth several thousand dollars? Maybe, but…

I haven't used wireless yet, so maybe I just don't know what I'm missing, but I kinda just don't see why I'd ever need it. I'm going to plug in my phone anyway to charge, so what's the draw?

I hate it. In my car (admittedly the only one with wireless I’ve ever tried) there is an extremely noticeable delay between input and action.

Tapping on the screen for the next song or pressing the steering wheel button to do the same can take a half second or more. Doing it on the phone is nearly instantaneous, just a very tiny audio delay.

Using a cable? Never any delay at all. Unnoticeable.

Between that and the fact that it can really burn battery I’m happy to plug it in every time.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#216
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.

personally, i am hoping for (and working slowly toward) modernized AACS so that eg. a raspberry pi can be used to control most modern car head units unmodified: https://github.com/tomasz-grobelny/AACS

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#217
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't used wireless yet, so maybe I just don't know what I'm missing, but I kinda just don't see why I'd ever need it. I'm going to plug in my phone anyway to charge, so what's the draw?

It’s kinda convenient for short trips (thus no plugging required) because it just works: it shows up on screen immediately when you get into the car, no extra movements. Also, I think cars with wireless CarPlay are equipped with wireless charging for a convenient combo. But boy it’s enraging to use with multiple phones when you share a car with someone. It will stay connected to other person phone, while in range, an…

Yeah my RAV4 has a nice wireless charging feature which I expected to make lots of use of. Just place the phone on a little nonslip pad and it charges as I drive! Perfect and so convenient.

Except I misunderstood that my year didn’t have wireless CarPlay, so I have to choose between CarPlay and wireless charging :( Hopefully my next car will have both.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#218

If you're in the market for a new-to-you car, then I recommend looking at the model years where they switch from wired car-play to wireless car-play and buying the previous model-year. Typically this difference of one model-year can add thousands to the cost of the vehicle, especially because wireless car-play is so coveted. The experience of wireless is fantastic, but is it worth several thousand dollars? Maybe, but…

In my experience wireless car play is a nothingburger -- you end up plugging in your phone to charge it anyway. If it's not plugged in, the wireless interaction draws so much power that you need to plug it in. Stable configuration is therefore: plugged in. (yes you can sometimes have the combination of wireless CP and wireless charging, but wireless charging also sucks).

Wireless CarPlay = heat.

Wireless charging = heat.

Both = furnace.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#219
post #53

If you're in the market for a new-to-you car, then I recommend looking at the model years where they switch from wired car-play to wireless car-play and buying the previous model-year. Typically this difference of one model-year can add thousands to the cost of the vehicle, especially because wireless car-play is so coveted. The experience of wireless is fantastic, but is it worth several thousand dollars? Maybe, but…

The wifi dongle audio quality was reminiscent of the old iPod FM Transmitters that would plug into the cigarette lighter. Not to mention the annoying delay.

Really? I never had any audio issues, but wireless is built in. So I don’t think it’s an inherent issue.

The delay though… ouch.

Re: Apple's risky bet on CarPlay

#220

When I worked for an Auto maker (left 2 years ago), the cluster was an independent system from infotainment. They could follow messages from each other on the bus (it wasn’t CAN bus, we’d moved on from that) but basically there wasn’t a way for CarPlay to talk to the Cluster. I’m willing to bet that the soonest any large OEM could offer CarPlay 2 would be next year. The development process is just too slow to turn ar…

CarPlay features in the instrument cluster is already a thing in some cars: https://youtu.be/HB4CODQmYl8?t=140
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