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Rivian Explains Why CarPlay Debate Will Become 'Completely Obsolete'

CarPlay and Android Auto are solid options for manufactures who don't wish to bother. A bespoke experience from the car maker SHOULD be preferred. This is where they can "make their mark" and offer something compelling. It used to be illuminated ashtrays and power windows. Now we have this. The problem is they were caught off guard. Apple and Android stepped up to fill the gap. I would hope for and fully expect car makers to triple down on optimized, safe, engaging experiences for their vehicles. That would make them a decision factor in your choice of vehicle.
 
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That number dropped to 25% because all their potential buyers know they will not add CarPlay. So removing the CarPlay users out of the equation, sure the demand is lower. So AI is going to generate my music? They’re going to create message conversations between me and my mom? If I’m in a rural area what is AI going to do?
 
mattopotamus said:
Today, sure. We will be rolling around in full self driving vehicles sooner than people realize, so you won't need it.
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Not I, not ever. I'll be glad when those who don't enjoy driving stop, though. It'll make the road safer for my fellow enthusiasts and I.
 
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This whole "we don't want to offer CarPlay because..." is getting so tiring, 12 years after CarPlay's inception. People have made the choice to buy whatever phone they've bought, surely mirroring that phone onto a screen is the most seamless and user-friendly thing to do. Not modifying it in some way with "AI".
 
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He can justify it any way he wants, but that doesn't mean he is right. I was looking at a Rivian and was ready to buy, and when i did the test drive and saw that it was not CarPlay compatible, I ended up buying something else that was.

I could go on and on about the Apple eco system and how with carplay it works like magic sometimes, but the bottom line is that he has surrounded himself with people who's jobs depends and making money on not having carplay, and not listening to the customers who buy the cars.

But a recent quote about Tesla summed it up "Tesla apparently realized the lack of CarPlay was costing them sales and are working on some kind of carplay integration"
 
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I actually kind of agree with the article here. CarPlay is cool but some restrictions don't make sense. Like in Apple Music, when you tap artists and want to select an artist to play from your library, you can't while the car is moving, you only get access to "recently added". So that forces the driver to pick up their phone and do it that way. That makes it kind of easier to mount your phone and just use it that way instead of CarPlay. I understand they're trying to reduce distractions, but in reality they're just causing more. CarPlay needs to be more accessible and give you better options on what to show. I can't see the weather unless I'm on the widgets page or I tap into the Carrot App. My car's default system shows all that info no matter where you are, compass included. CarPlay does not. CarPlay could be something really special but I think at this point it needs a design overhaul so it can become more powerful.
 
The reason Rivian customers are less interested in CarPlay is because the people who bought Rivian vehicles are already filtered out as people who didn’t want CarPlay to begin with or didn’t care.
 
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Gee, what security or privacy issues would be surfaced by giving my vehicle's internet connected "AI agent" control of my iPhone?

Hard pass.
 
He basically said: We want to sell your data, after charging you an insane amount of money and a subscription fur a a subpar system.
Meanwhile I smile and take my car entertainment from car to car… rental, private, company when Rivian is already history.
 
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Having access to my Apple Music library with my highly curated playlists is just so convenient. Just like it was before with cassette, then CDs, then mp3 players. Having maps and getting texts read out is just gravy.
 
“…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,"

huh? 🤔

“To see the world as it is, not as we wish it to be, is the first step toward wisdom.” – Euripides
 
If that's not word salad, I don't know what is. As for "Rivian owners are increasingly less interested in CarPlay, according to Bensaid", well, could that be that people who want CarPlay are not becoming Rivian owners?? Speaking for myself, it's a dealbreaker. I'm in the market for a new EV but I automatically filter out those that don't support CarPlay.
 
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User choice is the way to go.

Let the user choose whether they want the Rivian UI/UX or their phone UI/UX on the screen. It's not like the screen is going to display nothing if a phone isn't connected to the vehicle.

For the car companies that refuse to play nice with CarPlay and Android Auto, they have chosen to be okay with the fact that they're excluding a certain percentage of potential customers for whom CarPlay and Android Auto support is paramount.
 
MacRumors said:
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.
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Yeah, he would say that. Did he back it up with verifiable stats? Guessing the answer is no (tho' i'm not going to sit through that podcast to find out).

Edit: "podcast" not "forecast".
 
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I don't want CarPlay to control my vehicle, but I do want it as an option for navigation and entertainment. My Beemer i5 allows it alongside BMW's control software, and I can switch back and forth. That's the way I want it...
 
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I'm ok with either CarPlay or offline, non-subscription built-in navigation. Since no one wants to build the latter nowadays, CarPlay is non-negotiable.
 
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