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Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment

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Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment

#71

Post by nathantotten »

jlward4th wrote: post #9

The switch to Google Maps will definitely be nice since their current maps are crap. Not sure about the other pieces but it probably can't get worse than it currently is. I have the newest XC90 and the on-screen stuff is absolutely horrible. I run into many bugs every day and the response from support has been abysmal.

Agree. I have the same vehicle and am simply astounded at how bad the entire UI is. How can a company like that with such a good brand ship something so awful in their flagship product?

Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment

#72

Post by nathantotten »

dawnerd wrote: post #24
jasonjayr wrote: post #22

Considering the lifecycle of a car vs an Android device, they better just build in a touch screen w/ a HDMI + USB connection, and let the compute brains get swapped out inexpensively ...

already solved for, just support android auto or carplay and let the consumer decide.

Volvo already supports both. I can’t speak to android auto, but the CarPlay experience is awful. I’ve also used CarPlay in several GM vehicles with similar disappointing results.

Honest question, are there people that have had good CarPlay experiences?

Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment

#73

Post by Sylos »

So, can I replace these or are they embedded-embedded?

The Google Assistant seems to have custom code, so it would be understandable, if I can't replace that, but then it's hopefully at least possible to turn it off.

If not, I'm not buying a Volvo in my lifetime.

Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment

#74

Post by majormajor »

nathantotten wrote: post #70
chaostheory wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has already been solved well by both Google and Apple. https://www.android.com/auto/ https://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/ This is yet another example of a car company unable to realize that they just don't make good car infotainment dashboards. This will just lead to further fragmentation of the Android ecosystem.

Have you used carplay? It is awful. Takes 30 seconds to start. Crashes frequently, unresponsive often. I don’t necessarily blame apple for this, but they clearly didn’t put strict enough requirements on the hardware that runs CarPlay.

My experience is the same. For day to day, bluetooth phonecar connection beats Carplay or Android Auto. Wireless autoconnect is key, should've been in the V1 of those standards.

I never bother with Carplay for less than a 1 hour trip.

Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment

#76

Post by zamalek »

Dwolb wrote: post #32
nimish wrote: post #13

Finally 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?…

Android Auto is essentially a remote terminal over USB. It upgrades with your phone.

Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment

#77

Post by xirdstl »

nathantotten wrote: post #70
chaostheory wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has already been solved well by both Google and Apple. https://www.android.com/auto/ https://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/ This is yet another example of a car company unable to realize that they just don't make good car infotainment dashboards. This will just lead to further fragmentation of the Android ecosystem.

Have you used carplay? It is awful. Takes 30 seconds to start. Crashes frequently, unresponsive often. I don’t necessarily blame apple for this, but they clearly didn’t put strict enough requirements on the hardware that runs CarPlay.

Aside from the startup time, I don’t have any of those problems. I love CarPlay and would not consider buying a car without it

Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment

#78

Post by xirdstl »

nathantotten wrote: post #72
dawnerd wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

already solved for, just support android auto or carplay and let the consumer decide.

Volvo already supports both. I can’t speak to android auto, but the CarPlay experience is awful. I’ve also used CarPlay in several GM vehicles with similar disappointing results. Honest question, are there people that have had good CarPlay experiences?

Yes, I love CarPlay in my car and the rentals I’ve used it in

Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment

#79

Post by ancorevard »

majormajor wrote: post #74
nathantotten wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you used carplay? It is awful. Takes 30 seconds to start. Crashes frequently, unresponsive often. I don’t necessarily blame apple for this, but they clearly didn’t put strict enough requirements on the hardware that runs CarPlay.

My experience is the same. For day to day, bluetooth phone car connection beats Carplay or Android Auto. Wireless autoconnect is key, should've been in the V1 of those standards. I never bother with Carplay for less than a 1 hour trip.

CarPlay connects wirelessly through both Bluetooth and WiFi. I’m enjoying it a lot. Never need to pull my phone out my pocket.

Re: Volvo to Use Google Assistant, Play Store and Maps in Next-Gen Infotainment

#80

Post by partiallypro »

chaostheory wrote: post #66
derefr wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The TV ecosystem solved this by splitting the screen apart from the set-top/streaming box (and then put them together again in the form of smart TVs, but most people I know just disable the internal smarts and use their own stick anyway.) Why not just specify a "dashboard control tablet" form-factor, and have an empty spot there, expecting the user to supply their own (and replace it every year or two, as people tend…

This has already been solved well by both Google and Apple. https://www.android.com/auto/ https://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/ This is yet another example of a car company unable to realize that they just don't make good car infotainment dashboards. This will just lead to further fragmentation of the Android ecosystem.

Maybe a dumb question, but do companies often support -both- AndroidAuto and AppleCar play? Or do they do lock-ins and partnerships...because if they lock you in, it really defeats the purpose.
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