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GM confirms $130k Cadillac won’t have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto
- javajosh 3y agoI won't be happy until I can stream my driving experience on Twitch, with the option to occasionally hand over control of my vehicle to chat.
- CamperBob2 3y agoYou laugh, but I've always thought that would have been a good intermediate step towards full self-driving. Provide the option to delegate it to humans in a building 1000 miles away, similar to how the US military conducts drone warfare.
- TacticalCoder 3y agoLatency makes it totally impossible to do that securely. Reaction times in case of a problem is the difference between life and dead and you cannot "outsource" that to someone 1000 miles away: network latency, monitor latency, input method latency (I send an "emergency braking order", network latency a second time. Impossible within our current understanding of physics: I mean... You could do it, but the added delay for reaction times would literally have many people killed. Guiding a drone / missile is kiddie stuff compared to remotely driving a car in trafic.
- javajosh 3y agoYeah I wasn't expecting real time control, but rather high-level objectives and alterations to the self-driving module. E.g. "hit the next pedestrian lol" or "swerve into oncoming traffic lmao". Chat wouldn't actually execute these directives.
- CamperBob2 3y agoThere are workarounds for that -- think satellite service augmented by local pseudolites -- at least until the customer drives into a tunnel without said pseudolites. At that point you'd fall back to a limited self-driving model like what many cars have today. Agreed that it isn't something you could do solely over the public Internet.
- petarb 3y agoIt’s interesting to see how a lot of new gas cars have Apple CarPlay / Android Auto but all of the new EV cars are going towards custom OS which essentially leads to worse user experiences for manufacturers who aren’t well versed in software.
- SkyPuncher 3y agoIt's honestly insane. CarPlay does everything I want and the best part is it just works. A large part of that "it just works" is the fact that it's all based directly on my phone. * That restaurant we just decided to go to. Already in navigation. AND! the maps are all current with road closures/traffic issues. * The music that I was playing, it just keeps going * The garage door opener/lock/etc that I just added to HomeKit - automatically pops us.
- lotsofpulp 3y agoThe best part is I do not have to worry about a third party vendor getting access to my smartphone’s data. For better or worse, the smartphone is a vault of almost everything about a person, including the ability to impersonate them. Obviously, Apple and Google already have access to all of this, but I see no reason to let yet another entity have it.
- shuckles 3y agoCarPlay is essentially a form of AirPlay, so the car is receiving a video stream from your phone, not data. (Of course, they could try to extract data from the video stream, but I doubt they have the technical skills to do that in the near future.)
- outside1234 3y agoExactly. This is one of those terrible decisions that GM will have to retract. The only question is when. There is no way they are going to be able to compete with Apple or Google. Literally the worst software engineer at either of those companies is better than anyone GM has. Will make an interesting Harvard MBA case study.
- makestuff 3y agoThis sounds like someone is trying to empire build at GM to create their own version of carplay so they can be promoted.
- outside1234 3y agoIt is even worse than that - the CEO has this pipe dream that they are going to build a Netflix sized subscription business: https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/06/gm-aims-to-build-netflix-sized-subscription-business-by-2030 https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/06/gm-aims-to-build-netflix-s...
- belval 3y ago> “Our research indicates that with the right mix of compelling offerings, customers are willing to spend $135 per month on average for products and services,” said Wexler. Assuming this is not a maintenance contract, who in their right mind will spend 135$ per month on "products and services" for their car?
- outside1234 3y agoNobody I think the CEO's gambit here is that she can keep the reality distortion field up long enough to land $100-150M in compensation by waving hands and saying the word AI.
- AwaAwa 3y agoThis is the cross industry playbook, and I'm really tired of it.
- refulgentis 3y agoTesla FSD is $100/month, OnStar is $30-$50.
- JohnFen 3y agoThe phrase "people with more money than sense" comes to mind.
- exabrial 3y agoIt's a battle of control of what information the consumer sees and the stream of what private information is pilfered back. Apple/Google have a deathgrip on smart phones by disallowing root, and automakers have taken note of the playbook. I used to say "in the future your car is unlikely to start start without wifi", but now that promise has come true, I'll just say "your fridge is unlikely to make ice without wifi".
- lotsofpulp 3y ago> "in the future your car is unlikely to start start without wifi", but now that promise has come true Source?
- exabrial 3y agoMe
- gdny 3y agoThere is precedent of not being able to use some main oven features without wifi: https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/do-you-need-wifi-to-cook-a-roast-a9457457941/ https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/do-you-need-wifi-...
- branon 3y agoGood! Hopefully it will have no touchscreen either, only tactile buttons.
- greenthrow 3y agoNope. Quite the opposite. Touchscreens aren't going anywhere.
- oo0shiny 3y agoHate to be the bearer of bad news... https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24841937/IMG_0100.jpeg https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24841937/I...
- solarmist 3y agoIs that a concept or a real shipping vehicle? Oh god. It's the Cadillac from the article.
- gottorf 3y agoA more awful UX for a multi-ton driving machine, I cannot imagine.
- AirMax98 3y agoBrutal. Operating these controls seems equivalent/worse for eyes-on-the-road than texting while driving.
- lamontcg 3y agoThat is obscene and should be illegal for car manufacturers to build and sell that in the US (or World).
- bloodyplonker22 3y agoInstead of just reading the headline and writing a one sentence response, you could have taken one second to click the article and you would have seen the massive touch screen it has.
- hbbio 3y agoIt should have no screen at all and high-quality pushers and displays... or Carplay/Auto because there is no way an old car company like GM can build software properly.
- brewdad 3y agoThe screen is essentially required by law thanks to backup cameras. I agree that I don't trust any auto manufacturer to make quality software and keep it updated.
- outside1234 3y agoThis seriously took GM off the list for me. Only two things I absolutely have to have in my next commuter car: 1. It's electric. 2. It has CarPlay. So no Chevy Bolt now. I guess it is a Ford Mach-E then.
- MisterBastahrd 3y agoI'm not going to buy a car that is going to charge me a subscription for internet service to use the apps I can already use through Android Auto. Will never happen.
- CamperBob2 3y agoWow. Gotta feel bad for the engineers and other developers who put a lot of sweat and tears into this car, only to have its market prospects fucked beyond all belief by rent-seeking bean counters at the head office.
- ra7 3y ago> Instead of CarPlay or Android Auto, drivers will instead rely on the Escalade IQ’s included Google built-in infotainment software. It's called Android Automotive OS (not to be confused with Android Auto). Many OEMs are now using Android Automotive for infotainment, but also support CarPlay/AA. This is a terrible move, but GM is just trying to copy Tesla by controlling the entire UX and putting it some of it behind a subscription (like Tesla's Premium Connectivity).
- JohnFen 3y agoDarn. I got excited for a moment thinking that a major car manufacturer was selling a car that didn't have any infotainment features at all. Oh well.
- csdvrx 3y agoSame :(
- brewdad 3y agoWith backup camera being mandatory, all cars are going to have a screen. If you have to have a screen anyway, might as well load it up with infotainment from strategic partners.
- JohnFen 3y ago> If you have to have a screen anyway, might as well load it up with infotainment from strategic partners. I understand this from the carmakers point of view. They want to extract every dime from my pocket that they can. But I don't want it. Having a screen for the backup camera is fine, but I don't want any ongoing services connected to it.
- gopher2000 3y agoWhy wouldn't you want any infotainment features? Surely it's a positive if done well.
- 3y ago
- greenthrow 3y agoThere is so much misinformation and just completely baseless speculation in this thread. Come on people, at least read the article before commenting. This is sad.
- baggy_trough 3y agoCarPlay is a must have for me. I have zero interest in whatever monstrosity Google has concocted here.
- monkmartinez 3y agoIf they allow CarPlay or AA, they are essentially passing on a subscription service that could bring in additional revenue post sale. It's greedy and dumb. I have seen quite a few add on modules for Tesla's that enhance the head unit functionality for minimal cost/effort. Eg. Wired and wireless "boxes" for Tesla's that allow CarPlay and Android Auto on aliexpress for $70.
- sockaddr 3y agoTo me it feels like GM realizes that Apple is commoditizing them. Making the car essentially a dumb-terminal for the Apple experience (as they want to do for other cars we well). GM now has a choice: (1) allow apple to make the GM car experience just like every manufacturer or (2) try to preserve some GM-ness in the experience. GM's actions seem logical to me. But there's no way in hell I'm ever buying a GM if they stop me from using CarPlay. It's well demonstrated that they can't make good software.
- ben7799 3y agoThe GM "interior experience" has always been poor, tough place to be in. Either commoditize that experience or double down on your own and hope you can pull off what the company has never been able to pull off.
- GenerWork 3y agoI know some people at GM who work on in car interfaces. I remember asking one a few years ago why people would prefer an in-house solution over Carplay/Android Auto, and the answer I got was that there's a solid chance people won't. Guess we're about to find out.
- gopher2000 3y agoThe big downside to me with CarPlay/Auto is that it doesn't leverage screen real estate properly. At least not yet. I end up with CarPlay/Auto on the main entertainment screen but with the manufacturer's system on the HUD and main cockpit screen - which I'd rather look at.
- GenerWork 3y agoCarPlay should be fixing that in next gen (so a year or two from now) releases. Apple showed a Carplay screen that went from the drivers instrument cluster to the center of the dash where it usually lives now.
- fnord77 3y agoI hate that it is becoming normalized to pay rent to use features on a car you bought. I'm sure data is being sold, too.
- ancorevard 3y agoAny car without CarPlay is dead to me.
- ChicagoDave 3y agoGoogle. Snort. There’s zero chance this ends well. Maps will be fine, but Spotify, Tidal, MLB apps need to be available or your losing customers. And no one is paying an extra subscription on their car for entertainment.
- tomkaos 3y agoHope you don't have to enter your Spotify account/password on the car screen to just listen music. I already have in my phone all my service and account, I don't want to relogin on everything on TV or car screen. I don't care about smart TV since a have a Chromecast.
- ag56 3y agoI just got a Rivian R1S and lack of CarPlay is by far the worst thing about the car. The built in Spotify app is janky, podcasts and music can’t continue where it left off, built in map seems to only direct me to busy roads. It’s so annoying I’m thinking of selling (for a profit). Why is this happening? Car executives aren’t stupid, and must realize software is not core to their business. Unless they plan to start selling phones down the line they can never ‘win’ this battle. It’s clearly a huge waste of internal effort. Does Apple try and take a % of the car sale as a license fee? Even if the fee were $2000 per car… that could be passed on to the car buyer. I would pay $2000 today to get CarPlay into my Rivian.
- lotsofpulp 3y agoFrom what I have read, Apple does not charge carmakers anything to support CarPlay functionality.
- yaky 3y agoInstead of Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, or some “custom OS”, all I want is a standard video input that will be displayed on a screen. To make this even better, route the touch input of the screen back to the device, in some simple way (for example, as a mouse position, not sure of any touch protocols). Any software has a pretty good chance of getting deprecated or irrelevant during the lifetime of a car. Just think of what is still actively supported in the mobile world from 10 years ago. My 2013 car doesn’t have Android Auto or CarPlay, but has built-in “apps” for Stitcher and Pandora, which I never used. The bluetooth connection still works, but is really flaky with newer iPhone (a 2013 Android worked exceptionally well, however).
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]