I need Google maps more then most as have poor sense of direction. But so dangerous looking at phone. Love to just have Google maps built into the car.
Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment
51–60 of 130 posts
Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think there's a larger story, which I'll explain through a personal anecdote. I purchased the Samsung Gear 3 LTE smartwatch because I've always hated how mobile phones get in the way of personal interaction, but then was very disappointed to find out it ran Tizen and not Android Wear, which means no Google Assistant. So one the one hand you have Google Assistant: great voice recognition and queries against the Goog…
Do you really think Google has a stake in the wearables market? Last I heard they were ready to pull out with most of the market going to Apple.
Heard where? Highly doubt Google is going to pull out of the wearable space.
Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nope. There's a current mismatch between automotive hardware life cycles and consumer software life cycles. This Volvo hardware is going to be a minimum of 3 years old before it ships and will have to function for 10 years+. How good is your 10 year old phone? How does it match up to the average consumer experience today? How's the speakers, camera, audio, OTA software, and display compare to what's available today?…
This, Android things, for example, is only offering guaranteed updates for 3 years which is not nearly enough support time... and people usually Volvos for 15-20+ years... Even Microsoft understands this better.
Is there a reason why head-unit of the infotainment system cannot be easily upgraded?
Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment
#54I need Google maps more then most as have poor sense of direction. But so dangerous looking at phone. Love to just have Google maps built into the car.
How is looking at them on the car any safer?
Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment
#55Finally a car manufacturer realizes it can't out-compete a software company at making good software. The reason infotainment sucks so hard is that car companies want to "own the experience" and also want to cut costs, so they underinvest and create poor experiences.
Nope. There's a current mismatch between automotive hardware life cycles and consumer software life cycles. This Volvo hardware is going to be a minimum of 3 years old before it ships and will have to function for 10 years+. How good is your 10 year old phone? How does it match up to the average consumer experience today? How's the speakers, camera, audio, OTA software, and display compare to what's available today?…
Counter-example: My vehicle's infotainment unit (new in 2016) has received exactly zero updates. If Android is supported for "only 2-3 years" that's still a step up, not a step down from the status quo.
PS - I should clarify that the engine's computer received at least two recall updates. But Android doesn't try and replace that.
Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment
#56Here's a demo of the Volvo system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BuRMdjij4g
Here's Audi's system
Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment
#57I need Google maps more then most as have poor sense of direction. But so dangerous looking at phone. Love to just have Google maps built into the car.
How is looking at them on the car any safer?
Unrestrained Objects can cause or worsen accidents (e.g. phone under the brake pedal). Plus there's better integration with steering wheel controls and a closer microphone for voice control.
Phones themselves aren't a problem if used safely, such as running Android Auto (full screen app version) and having it mounted so it can hear voice commands.
The problem is that people try to jerry-rig a poor man's version using Google Maps app, a phone sitting loose in the cup holder, and no voice commands ("let me pick it up briefly to pick a route").
It is the difference between ideal usage and real world usage. Built into the vehicle gives you closer to ideal usage every single time.
Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
This, Android things, for example, is only offering guaranteed updates for 3 years which is not nearly enough support time... and people usually Volvos for 15-20+ years... Even Microsoft understands this better.
Is there a reason why head-unit of the infotainment system cannot be easily upgraded?
Everything in a car has to be certified for safety. Infotainment systems integrate deeply with cars - they consume and expose a lot of information that isn't guaranteed to be expressed over standard protocols, and most of them aren't even in consistent sizes or shapes.
Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nope. There's a current mismatch between automotive hardware life cycles and consumer software life cycles. This Volvo hardware is going to be a minimum of 3 years old before it ships and will have to function for 10 years+. How good is your 10 year old phone? How does it match up to the average consumer experience today? How's the speakers, camera, audio, OTA software, and display compare to what's available today?…
This, Android things, for example, is only offering guaranteed updates for 3 years which is not nearly enough support time... and people usually Volvos for 15-20+ years... Even Microsoft understands this better.
An Android Things IOT device is guaranteed 3 years of updates. This is hosted on GCP and Google picks up the cost for this. However, if an OEM wants to extend the service beyond 3 years they have the option to do so (for a price I think).
Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think there's a larger story, which I'll explain through a personal anecdote. I purchased the Samsung Gear 3 LTE smartwatch because I've always hated how mobile phones get in the way of personal interaction, but then was very disappointed to find out it ran Tizen and not Android Wear, which means no Google Assistant. So one the one hand you have Google Assistant: great voice recognition and queries against the Goog…
Do you really think Google has a stake in the wearables market? Last I heard they were ready to pull out with most of the market going to Apple.
Wear OS currently accounts for about 18% of the wearable market share. There's also a WearOS session scheduled for I/O so they're still interested. The major hurdle has been the SoC. WearOS devices are still using the antiquated 28nm Snapdragon 2100 SoC which was created in 2014.