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Detaching the entertainment system from the car and making it just a dumb touchscreen and speakers must have really grinded the gears of auto makers. I can now

Detaching the entertainment system from the car and making it just a dumb touchscreen and speakers must have really grinded the gears of auto makers. I can now upgrade my entire entertainment system, GPS, phone, etc. by replacing a phone. They’d prefer you get another car when your system is feeling old. I don’t even understand why my 2020 car had an optional GPS add-on for thousands of dollars. Android Auto / CarPlay is one of my favourite evolutions in cars. It could have gone so much worse for the consumer.

userbinator 4y ago
had an optional GPS add-on for thousands of dollars I guess it's for people who don't know better. Even a standalone GPS won't cost that much, and as a bonus, you can take it with you.
- iamerroragent 4y ago
  Corporate contracts. Cheaper to have everything wrapped up in one vendor sometimes than having a third party install and service gps. My guess at least. I don't really know. However unrelated to this computer vendors I've noticed charge a ton for more data and memory relative to buying from part stores. So perhaps maybe just taking suckers for a ride.
- m463 4y ago
  I have a standalone garminGPS and it's superior to most every nav system - but it's a pain to plug and unplug it all the time. (it's even better than tesla's nav system - you can plan your routes, avoid specific places, etc)
- muro 4y ago
  Built-in GPS has telemetry access and can be much more precise - e.g. in tunnels. 15 years ago, drove a BMW 1 series that was more precise. Today, driving a Volvo XC90, it gets confused in an underground garage and doesn't reset using GPS signal fast enough.
  - Waterluvian 4y ago
    Phone GPS can have L1 L2 L5 these days. There’s unlikely to be much of an advantage. Phone GPS also has traffic data. And you’ve got multiple apps that compete and keep evolving unlike most car systems. The standalone GPS have a place but I suspect they’re a tiny minority for in-car usage compared to phones.
- alpaca128 4y ago
  And as another bonus, it will work even when you haven't yet started the engine. Like in our car where the damn GPS simply won't boot otherwise.
- freetime2 4y ago
  I live in Japan, and Apple and Google maps really don’t cut it here. I paid for a dedicated GPS unit in my car, and the benefits are: * Location on the map is represented far more accurately * Knows which way I am pointed and can give accurate directions as soon as I start navigation, while sometimes with my phone I need to move a bit for it to know which way I’m oriented * Works in tunnels * Tends to stick to main roads while Apple and Google maps are far too aggressive sending me down side roads or crossing over 2 lanes of traffic. * Don’t need to pause navigation or mess around with my phone when getting in and out of the car for breaks * Has detailed information about the services/stores/restaurants available at each rest stop along the highway, and distances to each stop * Detailed information about lane closures, temporary speed limit reductions due to weather, chain restrictions, etc * Displays accurate representations of street signs and 3d renderings of off ramps * Displays landmarks at intersections (e.g. turn right before the ramen shop on the right) * Much more customizable interface. I can choose whether I want it to display gas stations, convenience stores, parking, etc. on the map. How many prompts before a turn. I can enable or disable various features like split-screen turn guidance, etc. I have used both CarPlay and the built-in GPS, and overwhelmingly prefer the built-in GPS. So I disagree that it is just for people who “don’t know better”.
  - redditor98654 4y ago
    Interesting. Which car it this?
    - freetime2 4y ago
      It’s Toyota’s “T-Connect” navi kit. https://toyota.jp/dop/navi/ https://toyota.jp/dop/navi/
mianos 4y ago
I just bought a 12 year old car with very low mileage. I got the centre dash replaced with a 7" Android head unit. To me, it pretty much makes it much the same as a new car in terms of entertainment and navigation and will continue to be new each time the app changes.
m463 4y ago
> I don’t even understand why my 2020 car had an optional GPS add-on for thousands of dollars. What I don't understand is why most of the replacement head units have CD/DVD players. (not that recent cars allow you to replace anything)
copperx 4y ago
It actually played out differently than I thought. I thought that CarPlay and Android Auto would not be backward compatible with older versions, forcing you to upgrade your car along with your phone. I'm surprised it didn't work that way. I still don't understand why.
- scarface74 4y ago
  Why wouldn’t it? I can use AirPlay from a first gen iPad from 2010 with a Roku stick sold in 2022. I can also print from an old iPad to a brand new AirPrint compatible printer.
  - copperx 4y ago
    Because everybody loves planned obsolescence now. It's surprising when it's missing.
- shrx 4y ago
  I bought a car in 2022 and it was not compatible with the Android Auto version on my phone from 2017. So I had to buy a new phone as well.
- stavros 4y ago
  Because nobody would want having to buy a new car every time they changed phones.
mrweasel 4y ago
It get even weird when you consider that many of the security issues carmakers have faced have been exactly because their entertainment systems was so tightly integrated into the cars other systems. Honestly it never made sense that the info-tainment system could access the CAN bus on a car, so I'm not sure I'd ever trust carmakers to do this right anyway.

userbinator 4y ago

had an optional GPS add-on for thousands of dollars I guess it's for people who don't know better. Even a standalone GPS won't cost that much, and as a bonus, you can take it with you.

iamerroragent 4y ago
Corporate contracts. Cheaper to have everything wrapped up in one vendor sometimes than having a third party install and service gps. My guess at least. I don't really know. However unrelated to this computer vendors I've noticed charge a ton for more data and memory relative to buying from part stores. So perhaps maybe just taking suckers for a ride.
m463 4y ago
I have a standalone garminGPS and it's superior to most every nav system - but it's a pain to plug and unplug it all the time. (it's even better than tesla's nav system - you can plan your routes, avoid specific places, etc)
muro 4y ago
Built-in GPS has telemetry access and can be much more precise - e.g. in tunnels. 15 years ago, drove a BMW 1 series that was more precise. Today, driving a Volvo XC90, it gets confused in an underground garage and doesn't reset using GPS signal fast enough.
- Waterluvian 4y ago
  Phone GPS can have L1 L2 L5 these days. There’s unlikely to be much of an advantage. Phone GPS also has traffic data. And you’ve got multiple apps that compete and keep evolving unlike most car systems. The standalone GPS have a place but I suspect they’re a tiny minority for in-car usage compared to phones.
alpaca128 4y ago
And as another bonus, it will work even when you haven't yet started the engine. Like in our car where the damn GPS simply won't boot otherwise.
freetime2 4y ago
I live in Japan, and Apple and Google maps really don’t cut it here. I paid for a dedicated GPS unit in my car, and the benefits are: * Location on the map is represented far more accurately * Knows which way I am pointed and can give accurate directions as soon as I start navigation, while sometimes with my phone I need to move a bit for it to know which way I’m oriented * Works in tunnels * Tends to stick to main roads while Apple and Google maps are far too aggressive sending me down side roads or crossing over 2 lanes of traffic. * Don’t need to pause navigation or mess around with my phone when getting in and out of the car for breaks * Has detailed information about the services/stores/restaurants available at each rest stop along the highway, and distances to each stop * Detailed information about lane closures, temporary speed limit reductions due to weather, chain restrictions, etc * Displays accurate representations of street signs and 3d renderings of off ramps * Displays landmarks at intersections (e.g. turn right before the ramen shop on the right) * Much more customizable interface. I can choose whether I want it to display gas stations, convenience stores, parking, etc. on the map. How many prompts before a turn. I can enable or disable various features like split-screen turn guidance, etc. I have used both CarPlay and the built-in GPS, and overwhelmingly prefer the built-in GPS. So I disagree that it is just for people who “don’t know better”.
- redditor98654 4y ago
  Interesting. Which car it this?
  - freetime2 4y ago
    It’s Toyota’s “T-Connect” navi kit. https://toyota.jp/dop/navi/ https://toyota.jp/dop/navi/

mianos 4y ago

I just bought a 12 year old car with very low mileage. I got the centre dash replaced with a 7" Android head unit. To me, it pretty much makes it much the same as a new car in terms of entertainment and navigation and will continue to be new each time the app changes.

m463 4y ago

> I don’t even understand why my 2020 car had an optional GPS add-on for thousands of dollars. What I don't understand is why most of the replacement head units have CD/DVD players. (not that recent cars allow you to replace anything)

copperx 4y ago

It actually played out differently than I thought. I thought that CarPlay and Android Auto would not be backward compatible with older versions, forcing you to upgrade your car along with your phone. I'm surprised it didn't work that way. I still don't understand why.

scarface74 4y ago
Why wouldn’t it? I can use AirPlay from a first gen iPad from 2010 with a Roku stick sold in 2022. I can also print from an old iPad to a brand new AirPrint compatible printer.
- copperx 4y ago
  Because everybody loves planned obsolescence now. It's surprising when it's missing.
shrx 4y ago
I bought a car in 2022 and it was not compatible with the Android Auto version on my phone from 2017. So I had to buy a new phone as well.
stavros 4y ago
Because nobody would want having to buy a new car every time they changed phones.

mrweasel 4y ago

It get even weird when you consider that many of the security issues carmakers have faced have been exactly because their entertainment systems was so tightly integrated into the cars other systems. Honestly it never made sense that the info-tainment system could access the CAN bus on a car, so I'm not sure I'd ever trust carmakers to do this right anyway.