Rivian Explains Why CarPlay Debate Will Become 'Completely Obsolete'

[d-klumpp]

So the technology that we all use every day and that we tailor to our own needs and tastes should be ignored completely when we enter our vehicles?? That's not gonna work for me. Plus, I cannot believe less than 25% of Rivian owners desire CarPlay, but I guess that's who they select for. Instead, they should query those who have initial interest in Rivian but ultimately choose to purchase different vehicles.

 

[jole]

Rivian has good intentions, but the execution is sub par. I am sure the product vision looks great on a presentation deck and UI mockups. But as I am using Rivian UI every day, the long list of slow, unreliable, or just missing features add up. I would much prefer CarPlay Ultra where phone has already the data to things I need done.

Just for some examples:
- New AI assistant feels like early days of Siri
- You can integrated calendar, read only. But if you have multiple calendars (like home and work calendar anyone?), you are out of luck.
- Apple Music cannot do very basic stuff like show album or artist or add to library.
- Audible is there, but when syncing the position between phone and car usually takes over a minute of fiddling
- No Libby, No Apple Podcast, ... or most of the applications.

 

[Killbill2]

Read- we want to sell your data

They sell 0.2% of vehicles.

He thinks I’ll update my car every year? Or that he gets to pick my next podcast? He’d rather I spend 20 minutes learning how to politely decline rental car companies’ requests to share my data the next time I rent a car.

 

[jole]

I think Rivian product management should have CarPlay as option and then start benchmarking themselves against it. If someone uses a function from CarPlay while that is available in Rivian UI, they should ask why and improve until people _want_ to use Rivian version.

 

[quagmire]

So the technology that we all use every day and that we tailor to our own needs and tastes should be ignored completely when we enter our vehicles?? That's not gonna work for me. Plus, I cannot believe less than 25% of Rivian owners desire CarPlay, but I guess that's who they select for. Instead, they should query those who have initial interest in Rivian but ultimately choose to purchase different vehicles.

Well when the vehicles own system works well and has the functions people want, it decreases the desire for Carplay.

That is why a lot of Tesla owners are happy without it including myself. My Model 3 has Apple Music, so I am good there, the integrated navigation works great, and the UI works well. The car has everything I want and need built in.

Carplay shines when the cars own system sucks. Rivian is right there with Tesla on how their system works and setup( aka well). Do it right, and people won't desire Carplay.

 

[bluespark]

CarPlay takes over exactly the number of pixels allotted to it by the car manufacturer. As to whether Rivian's plan is a good one, I note that he cannot presently say that Rivian is able to offer all of the functionality of CarPlay.

 

[Bkxmnr]

Well... Good luck with that.

 

[frenchcamp49er]

Not before Rivian does

 

[elvisimprsntr]

Survey question: If CarPlay was not offered in our vehicles, would that affect your decision to buy a vehicle from us?

Survey answer: No. I wouldn’t buy one regardless.

Marketing: CarPlay is not a factor.

 

[frenchcamp49er]

So cross Rivian of the purchase list.

 

[repoman016]

How is this any different than the App store argument? Riot vs Apple. If apple can charge companies to display their app in the app store, than the auto makers are thinking they can get away with the same thing. Why shouldn't they be getting a cut from having people use Apple CarPlay?
For the record i disagree with the auto makers, but im trying to look on the other side of the fence to better understand it. We all know Apple is for profit, so why are they letting auto makers use carplay for free?

 

[dontwalkhand]

The day that “AI takes over my car”….is the day I no longer will have a car. I am sick of this AI **** being forced everywhere.

 

[jayb3]

For an EV, I agree that they can build a better overall UX than CarPlay. Speaking from experience, CarPlay does not have enough deep integration to route and estimate charging or provide other EV related info. There is some but it's up to the manufacturer to allow that integration with CarPlay.

Tesla is miles ahead of CarPlay and it would be a downgrade to use it for map routing. I also own a Ford Lightning and the software sucks both on the Ford and CarPlay side of things as an EV. CarPlay is fine for apps but the maps is generally frustrating to use - especially with Siri. Hopefully that changes soon.

 

[pischu12]

"people who are really serious about software should make their own hardware"

However : You have to be good at both. So good luck to Rivian ........

 

[JWD]

CarPlay is fantastic, one of the few software experiences Apple actually does right on older devices. GM phased it out also. Look at all that luxury tax money you’ll save buying something else than Rivian. If your spending $100k on a vehicle you think you’d get more than a civic has.

 

[jz0309]

Well when the vehicles own system works well and has the functions people want, it decreases the desire for Carplay.

That is why a lot of Tesla owners are happy without it including myself. My Model 3 has Apple Music, so I am good there, the integrated navigation works great, and the UI works well. The car has everything I want and need built in.

Carplay shines when the cars own system sucks. Rivian is right there with Tesla on how their system works and setup( aka well). Do it right, and people won't desire Carplay.

That is all great, but, why not offer CarPlay as an option? Even if only 10 or 20% of Tesla and Rivian owners miss CarPlay, offering as an option would be a good choice, it's not really that hard to implement...

 

[KENESS]

Today, sure. We will be rolling around in full self driving vehicles sooner than people realize, so you won't need it.

Hmm, ok, I'm having a difficult time placing your comment into a discussion of what opinions are regarding including or excluding CarPlay.... now.

Who knows what will happen in the future. This discussion is about now.

Also, MAYBE we won't need the Maps app, because the car will take care of the driving and routing. But there is still the... everything else. CarPlay isn't about the car itself for the most part, it is about your info/entertainment while IN the car. Being driverless doesn't change that.

 

[macdisciple]

Just give me the option. If your product is better for me, I will use it.

 

[Kidseeghost]

…

 

[TechRemarker]

On the latest episode of The Verge's Decoder podcast, Rivian's software chief Wassym Bensaid explained why the EV maker still refuses to offer Apple CarPlay.

In short, Bensaid said Rivian does not want CarPlay to fully take over the software experience.

"The challenge with screen mirroring solutions is that they take over every single pixel in the car," he said.

Instead, Rivian prefers to offer its own interface with "end-to-end integration."

Bensaid added that "deep AI integration into the car" will eventually make the debate over offering CarPlay in vehicles "completely obsolete." He believes that Rivian owners will be able to access the core functionality of many apps through an AI agent, rather than needing to rely on CarPlay or Android Auto.

"I really believe that the way you interact with apps which are mono-threaded, single buttons, single icons, a lot of that will be now completely reshaped into a world where it will become an agentic integration that presents itself into a wholesome user experience to the user," Bensaid explained. However, he admitted that an AI agent becoming an "alternative solution" to CarPlay apps will take time to materialize.

Already, Rivian owners are increasingly less interested in CarPlay, according to Bensaid. He said that Rivian's internal statistics showed that more than 70% of customers wanted CarPlay when their vehicles first launched around five years ago, but he said a recent survey showed that figure is apparently less than 25% now.

"With the level of features that we have shipped to customers, with the level of end-to-end integration, with the level of convenience that we are bringing, CarPlay is, or Android Auto to that extent, is no longer the topic of discussion," he said.

Article Link: Rivian Explains Why CarPlay Debate Will Become 'Completely Obsolete'

"Internal statistics...". How about what actually unnbias third party data shows?
Existing customers who have bought a car who may prefer CarPlay are probably less likely to say they dislike their car because of it, which would mean they made a wrong choice, since it didnt offer it, it still doesnt and won't any time soon. If the question to the user is, there is an update today for CarPlay, do you want to switch to having that option in addition to the current one, or stay limited to only one... I imagine that number would not be less than 25%.

 

[jz0309]

For an EV, I agree that they can build a better overall UX than CarPlay. Speaking from experience, CarPlay does not have enough deep integration to route and estimate charging or provide other EV related info. There is some but it's up to the manufacturer to allow that integration with CarPlay.

Tesla is miles ahead of CarPlay and it would be a downgrade to use it for map routing. I also own a Ford Lightning and the software sucks both on the Ford and CarPlay side of things as an EV. CarPlay is fine for apps but the maps is generally frustrating to use - especially with Siri. Hopefully that changes soon.

I use directions far more often than I go on a trip where charging is required.
For me, setting my destination on the phone prior to leaving and then just have it available via CarPlay is much simpler than having to use the cars nav system ... YMMV

 

[Kidseeghost]

…

 

[Radeon85]

What a load of BS, CarPlay doesn't have to take over every pixel in the car, just simple CarPlay will do. I want my phone on the car's display as my maps are there, my favourite locations, all of my history, my music and any other apps, which there are quite a few now that use CarPlay. If a car doesn't offer it, I don't want it, even if I rent one on holiday, that feature is a must, or again, I don't want it.

 

[TFrank2]

Having the software chief opine about the merits (or lack thereof) of CarPlay when his own software is known for being incredibly glitchy, and for some darn near unusable, is peak tone deaf.

 

[thelion7]

On the latest episode of The Verge's Decoder podcast, Rivian's software chief Wassym Bensaid explained why the EV maker still refuses to offer Apple CarPlay.

In short, Bensaid said Rivian does not want CarPlay to fully take over the software experience.

"The challenge with screen mirroring solutions is that they take over every single pixel in the car," he said.

Instead, Rivian prefers to offer its own interface with "end-to-end integration."

Bensaid added that "deep AI integration into the car" will eventually make the debate over offering CarPlay in vehicles "completely obsolete." He believes that Rivian owners will be able to access the core functionality of many apps through an AI agent, rather than needing to rely on CarPlay or Android Auto.

"I really believe that the way you interact with apps which are mono-threaded, single buttons, single icons, a lot of that will be now completely reshaped into a world where it will become an agentic integration that presents itself into a wholesome user experience to the user," Bensaid explained. However, he admitted that an AI agent becoming an "alternative solution" to CarPlay apps will take time to materialize.

Already, Rivian owners are increasingly less interested in CarPlay, according to Bensaid. He said that Rivian's internal statistics showed that more than 70% of customers wanted CarPlay when their vehicles first launched around five years ago, but he said a recent survey showed that figure is apparently less than 25% now.

"With the level of features that we have shipped to customers, with the level of end-to-end integration, with the level of convenience that we are bringing, CarPlay is, or Android Auto to that extent, is no longer the topic of discussion," he said.

Article Link: Rivian Explains Why CarPlay Debate Will Become 'Completely Obsolete'

That’s a fair point but no Car Play is a deal breaker for me.

I have a 2020 Fiesta and I love my Car Play.

When I eventually need a new car first question will be is there car play?

If they say no, I’ll be like next…