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I believe Google is playing the long game in cars software. Car companies, and the incumbent car infotainment suppliers still believe they know what drivers wan

by Zigurd 4y ago

I believe Google is playing the long game in cars software. Car companies, and the incumbent car infotainment suppliers still believe they know what drivers want, when, in reality, almost all car infotainment is much worse than Android-based software. There is too much capability and polished UI in smartphone-derived platforms. There are too many apps, especially media apps, that users want. Google maps and navigation is the "killer app" that no other car software maker can surpass. Eventually, there will be two, maybe three holdouts who can justify vertical integration and everything else will be based on Android Automotive (not Auto!). In the slipstream of Android Automotive will be Waymo's autonomous driving software, plus the Waymo ride hailing UX. That, also, will become a fallback for everyone doing robotaxis who doesn't benchmark better than Waymo.

IE6 4y ago
> I believe Google is playing the long game in cars software. Car companies, and the incumbent car infotainment suppliers still believe they know what drivers want, when, in reality, almost all car infotainment is much worse than Android-based software. It reminds me of early cellphones. Functionally from an OS perspective there was little/no difference between a "flagship" device like the Motorola Razr and the free phone you could get at the time. Verizon essentially neutered any potential for differentiation and they thought they knew the experience and features users wanted. Apple basically came along and said no. It's pretty wild to me how bad car UI/UX is still especially given how expensive they are.