4 ms·

Well this sucks. I bought a Chevy Blazer last year, and it’s the best car I’ve ever owned. Great balance of design, gas mileage, comfort, etc. I was definitel

Well this sucks. I bought a Chevy Blazer last year, and it’s the best car I’ve ever owned. Great balance of design, gas mileage, comfort, etc. I was definitely planning to make my next car the EV version of this. Part of that package is flawless CarPlay integration. It’s simplified the music and navigation experience more than I ever thought possible. The only reason I wouldn’t demand it on my next car is if something demonstrably and overwhelmingly better came along. Everything described in the article sounds worse. Subscription services tied to my car and not my phone? Needing to maintain navigation routes on my car AND my phone? Being forced to use only built in apps like Spotify instead of “whatever is on my phone that supports car play”? Waiting on my car to decide when I can get the newest navigation app or the latest update to Spotify like this is some janky non-Roku smart TV from 2012? No thanks. > GM's decision to stop offering those systems in future electric vehicles, starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, could help the automaker capture more data on how consumers drive and charge EVs. That doesn’t even make sense. NONE of those things would require an absence of CarPlay, nor would they require the presence of some omnipresent Google / GM replacement. Those metrics are all collected by the systems using them, with the infotainment simply being one possible UI for display of those metrics. Sucks. Just when I found a car brand and manufacturer that seemed to be doing things well, and I was excited for the EV version of it, they pull this. Why can’t I have nice things?

nashashmi 4y ago
I think the data collection part is a surmise from the author.
- kiawe_fire 4y ago
  Thank you. Re-reading it, I’m sure you’re correct. > GM would benefit from focusing engineers and investment on one approach to more tightly connecting in-vehicle infotainment and navigation with features such as assisted driving, Edward Kummer, GM's chief digital officer, and Mike Himche, executive director of digital cockpit experience, said in an interview. This is the actual reasoning provided by GM sources in the article. I jumped the gun. I can very much sympathize with the desire to concentrate engineering efforts, and I’m sure there are things they would love to spend time on that would be eclipsed or ignored if the user lives in CarPlay or Android Auto. But this is concentrating resources in the wrong direction, for the wrong reasons, with little useful gain.
- KennyBlanken 4y ago
  It's not supposition. Every vehicle that has telematics hardware, regardless of subscription status or options purchased, is sending a near constant stream of location, vehicle, and environmental data back to the manufacturer. The only way to stop it is to disconnect the antenna for the cellular modem or cut its power.
  - SamuelAdams 4y ago
    Yeah I noticed this on my 2023 Mazda CX-5. What’s worse - even if you don’t use the MyMazda app, telematics data is still sent to Mazda. Is there a YouTube video series that explains how to rip out these TCU’s? More on telematics control units: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telematic_control_unit?wprov=sfti1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telematic_control_unit?wprov=s...
- kotaKat 4y ago
  I mean, GM did gather the listening habits of 90,000 "volunteers". https://boingboing.net/2018/10/23/dont-touch-that-dial.html https://boingboing.net/2018/10/23/dont-touch-that-dial.html
agloe_dreams 4y ago
> if something demonstrably and overwhelmingly better came along. I'm pretty sure that is what GM's play is here. There's a lot of confusion. They are moving to Google Automotive Services, complete with Android and the Play store where you pick what is on your car. Apple music is one of those apps. > Subscription services tied to my car and not my phone? Data Subscription, it is Google play under it all. > Needing to maintain navigation routes on my car AND my phone? Google Maps is on both and would likely work as well. > Being forced to use only built in apps like Spotify instead of “whatever is on my phone that supports car play”? Google Play, how you get apps in next-gen GM Android Automotive would have the same apps. It works exactly like having a Mac/PC and a phone.
- alistairSH 4y ago
  Google Maps is on both Not mine. Oh well, another reason to skip GM.
- leipert 4y ago
  > It works exactly like having a Mac/PC and a phone Have you seen the shitshow which modern TVs are with their smart apps that stop functioning over time? A car is supposed to function for longer than 2 years and who is gonna force the manufacturer to support updates longer than that? With CarPlay I am able to bring a functioning Nav, Music and everything.
- JohnBooty 4y ago
  It works exactly like having a Mac/PC and a phone. Right. It's now two devices to manage (car and phone) instead of a single one (just your phone, which treats the car like a second monitor) Now I'd have to manage credentials on two different devices. Change my Spotify password? Two places to update it. Etc. And now I've got credentials stored in my car? That's a security situation to worry about in case of breakin/theft. It also totally kills the use case of letting multiple passengers simply plug their phones into the car's head unit. Might have my phone, my wife's phone, or the passengers' phones plugged into the head unit depending on who's doing the navigating and who's doing the DJ'ing. Now thanks to GM instead of simply swapping the cable, I guess we can take turns signing in and out of a bunch of different apps? lol, nooooooo thanks. I thought auto makers were finally wising up about a couple of things. One, it looks like they're finally slowly coming back around to physical controls where it makes sense. Two, I thought they were giving up on the idea of their own bespoke entertainment solutions in favor of giving people what they actually want, which is Airplay/Android Auto. People don't want another device to manage. They just want to plug their freaking phone in. Normally I wouldn't be irritated; I'd be happy to let the market vote. But cars are complicated beasts these days and there's an awful lot of functionality to demo and digest when shopping. There are a lot of auto features that aren't obviously terrible or obviously amazing; they only reveal themselves as such after you've lived with them for a little while.
JohnBooty 4y ago
Part of that package is flawless CarPlay integration. It’s simplified the music and navigation experience more than I ever thought possible. Yes. CarPlay and Android Auto support is absolute table stakes for me to even consider a vehicle. Personally I don't use Android and could live without it if needed, but I have friends who do and it's nice for them to be able to plug their phones in and navigate or DJ when in my car. People don't want another device to manage. They want their auto to be a display device for their mobile device, with which they are already infinitely familiar.

nashashmi 4y ago

I think the data collection part is a surmise from the author.

kiawe_fire 4y ago
Thank you. Re-reading it, I’m sure you’re correct. > GM would benefit from focusing engineers and investment on one approach to more tightly connecting in-vehicle infotainment and navigation with features such as assisted driving, Edward Kummer, GM's chief digital officer, and Mike Himche, executive director of digital cockpit experience, said in an interview. This is the actual reasoning provided by GM sources in the article. I jumped the gun. I can very much sympathize with the desire to concentrate engineering efforts, and I’m sure there are things they would love to spend time on that would be eclipsed or ignored if the user lives in CarPlay or Android Auto. But this is concentrating resources in the wrong direction, for the wrong reasons, with little useful gain.
KennyBlanken 4y ago
It's not supposition. Every vehicle that has telematics hardware, regardless of subscription status or options purchased, is sending a near constant stream of location, vehicle, and environmental data back to the manufacturer. The only way to stop it is to disconnect the antenna for the cellular modem or cut its power.
- SamuelAdams 4y ago
  Yeah I noticed this on my 2023 Mazda CX-5. What’s worse - even if you don’t use the MyMazda app, telematics data is still sent to Mazda. Is there a YouTube video series that explains how to rip out these TCU’s? More on telematics control units: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telematic_control_unit?wprov=sfti1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telematic_control_unit?wprov=s...
kotaKat 4y ago
I mean, GM did gather the listening habits of 90,000 "volunteers". https://boingboing.net/2018/10/23/dont-touch-that-dial.html https://boingboing.net/2018/10/23/dont-touch-that-dial.html

agloe_dreams 4y ago

> if something demonstrably and overwhelmingly better came along. I'm pretty sure that is what GM's play is here. There's a lot of confusion. They are moving to Google Automotive Services, complete with Android and the Play store where you pick what is on your car. Apple music is one of those apps. > Subscription services tied to my car and not my phone? Data Subscription, it is Google play under it all. > Needing to maintain navigation routes on my car AND my phone? Google Maps is on both and would likely work as well. > Being forced to use only built in apps like Spotify instead of “whatever is on my phone that supports car play”? Google Play, how you get apps in next-gen GM Android Automotive would have the same apps. It works exactly like having a Mac/PC and a phone.

alistairSH 4y ago
Google Maps is on both Not mine. Oh well, another reason to skip GM.
leipert 4y ago
> It works exactly like having a Mac/PC and a phone Have you seen the shitshow which modern TVs are with their smart apps that stop functioning over time? A car is supposed to function for longer than 2 years and who is gonna force the manufacturer to support updates longer than that? With CarPlay I am able to bring a functioning Nav, Music and everything.
JohnBooty 4y ago
It works exactly like having a Mac/PC and a phone. Right. It's now two devices to manage (car and phone) instead of a single one (just your phone, which treats the car like a second monitor) Now I'd have to manage credentials on two different devices. Change my Spotify password? Two places to update it. Etc. And now I've got credentials stored in my car? That's a security situation to worry about in case of breakin/theft. It also totally kills the use case of letting multiple passengers simply plug their phones into the car's head unit. Might have my phone, my wife's phone, or the passengers' phones plugged into the head unit depending on who's doing the navigating and who's doing the DJ'ing. Now thanks to GM instead of simply swapping the cable, I guess we can take turns signing in and out of a bunch of different apps? lol, nooooooo thanks. I thought auto makers were finally wising up about a couple of things. One, it looks like they're finally slowly coming back around to physical controls where it makes sense. Two, I thought they were giving up on the idea of their own bespoke entertainment solutions in favor of giving people what they actually want, which is Airplay/Android Auto. People don't want another device to manage. They just want to plug their freaking phone in. Normally I wouldn't be irritated; I'd be happy to let the market vote. But cars are complicated beasts these days and there's an awful lot of functionality to demo and digest when shopping. There are a lot of auto features that aren't obviously terrible or obviously amazing; they only reveal themselves as such after you've lived with them for a little while.

JohnBooty 4y ago

Part of that package is flawless CarPlay integration. It’s simplified the music and navigation experience more than I ever thought possible. Yes. CarPlay and Android Auto support is absolute table stakes for me to even consider a vehicle. Personally I don't use Android and could live without it if needed, but I have friends who do and it's nice for them to be able to plug their phones in and navigate or DJ when in my car. People don't want another device to manage. They want their auto to be a display device for their mobile device, with which they are already infinitely familiar.