eye.surgeon
Active Member
The new Ford Sync 3 puts the Tesla infotainment system to shame in every respect except screen size.
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AirPlay - Tesla falls further behind in Infotainment
- Thread starter Boatguy
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- Model S User Interface
Gizmotoy
Active Member
I'm not sure this is really true, though. It is accurate to say that it's been several years before the automakers have started getting these features into their production cars. However, I think this is mostly because that's their development lifecycle. When your model is that you sell a car and basically never add features to it once it's off the lot, and it takes several years to design and deliver a new vehicle, then it's unsurprising when it takes several years for a new technology to be rolled out. I don't think there's any reason for that to cause concern.
I think a lot of people were disappointed because it could have clearly illustrated how agile and superior Tesla's OTA updates could be. They had all the hardware they needed and could have been first to market, but they had other priorities.
BertL
Active Member
I always get into trouble on this forum trying to generalize and shorten my already way-too-long posts most of the time.
. We can all speculate, and I'm sure every Mfgr and every vehicle has varying issues, but IMHO, unlike Tesla who got to essentially start from scratch with their design and systems architecture, most other mfgrs have many different subsystems and components sourced from all over the place that they have cobbled together over the years. As such, I'd say that is likely harder and takes longer for them to then try to connect it all to a new single interface like CarPlay and maintain it across their fleet of models and variations, than it would theoretically a newcomer like Tesla who has designed the entire thing themselves in the last handful of years, and maintains tight control over all (or most) of their firmware and interfaces.We can all have our opinions, but that's just my view from the peanut gallery. I absolutely agree with you some of us are disappointed that Tesla has not seemed to leverage this systems "ownership" beyond perhaps the larger AP and Battery Tech plays these days. Those are great, but not something IMHO most owners feel attached to and care about on a daily basis after they purchase, like the way Infotainment is touched, used, and thought about by most owners and their passengers every time they enter, exit and ride in their vehicle -- especially when something does not seem to work right or not be there and they deal with the problem over-and-over-and-over. It's a human factor thing that as I've said elsewhere, may not be as techie and intellectually stimulating to someone like Elon, but Infotainment and the UI is what a majority of owners continually care about and that can move their overall ownership experience up (or down) a few notches despite how wonderous the rest of the vehicle may be. That's why to me, it would be "cheap" for Elon to prioritize a small team to provide continual improvements to Infotainment and what surrounds it. In the scheme of things, the cost is minimal because the ability to get updates to the fleet is already there and the engineers to do the design, coding and testing can literally sit behind desks with almost no other capital expenses involved to get positive press like building new hardware requires. Elon's philosophy is just different than mine. As I successfully did for years in my business days, I'd spend a little to potentially gain a lot in the hearts and minds of my owners, demonstrating continual improvement in areas like Infotainment where my owners use it all the time -- especially for the growing numbers that are not as techie as perhaps we earlier adopters are -- not doing e.g. occasional Easter eggs that get a quick chuckle and blurb in the press, never to be used again and that can't be expanded into something even bigger one day.
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I think it's a back handed compliment!@BertL When I see your name and before I even scroll all the way down, I know I'll have a good 10 minutes of reading. You are by far the #1 longest poster that I know. You should be writing for a news blog.
@BertL calls it right -- the goodwill of putting out regular OTA improvements to make this the best user interface there is -- it is all possible, probably not too expensively, but not Elon's priority. When he starts selling his cars to the masses, he won't be able to rely on the good faith of true believers, and will have to deliver a competitive infotainment system, not just something that gets "oohs and ah" on the demo drive, and then a week after the purchase, has the driver start scratching his head about Tesla hype.
ATQuoteService
The Best Auto Transport Company
I don't think Tesla will support Apple CarPlay. They will be competitors shortly and they will not want to use the others tech. I do think that Tesla need to get a little better with the phone features in the car. They should have an image viewer, email, have the playlists showing on the screen, etc.. Also, I feel that Tesla should allow for other companies (and there own company) to develop Apps for the Model S and X. Having a dedicated Gmail App, Calculator App, Fandango.... you get my point. Not only can Tesla make money off of the Apps using a similar structure as Apple, but they can really keep in the race with car infotainment.
What Apps would you all want in your Tesla's?
What Apps would you all want in your Tesla's?
BertL
Active Member
You may be right -- today. Elon and Tesla can make their own decision for now, IMHO while they primarily cater to a majority of cash-rich enthusiasts where Infotainment may not be a more major determining factor in purchase of their vehicle. IMHO as Tesla enters mass markets and want to compete with a growing number of EV players who are much more mature competing against others, Elon won't be able to stay only on his vision, but will have to compromise more to balance what the masses really want and demand, with pushing his vision forward -- especially for Tesla if they continue to only make money off car sales, not also service.
Some notable auto brands were long-time hold-outs especially in the early years when CarPlay and Android Auto were lets just say "more than problematic, and far from maturity", saying they would only implement their own Infotainment interfaces for all sort of reasons, but as more and more mfgrs are implementing these sort of common consumer-oriented interfaces across their model line, I suggest Tesla may have to change their approach. The variable is, Tesla COULD implement something as good or better, but they have made almost no movement in that direction after several years, and the longer they wait, the further behind they get, and it will take even more resource to catch-up, let alone move ahead and maintain a unique 1-off interface.
Other brands, like say Toyota/Lexus that initially went the route of doing their own thing, suffered(s) from lack of functionality, appearing to be behind the times compared to others except every 6-7 years when there is a major model refresh and they (temporarily) catch up. Additionally, their own unique app interfaces couldn't gain traction with sufficient 3rd party players, so IMHO as a previous Lexus owner, there wasn't much in terms of useful and reliable apps that became available. Using their own interface and smartphone connectivity still didn't help the consumer who would likely prefer having a common interface for basic Infotainment function and capabilities across mfgrs for families with multiple auto brands in their garage. I'm a pretty technical guy, but it was hard keeping track of the nuances to use and access similar Infotainment functions in my Lexus and MBZ as I switched between them. I bet it's even harder for some others.
Check out this site, scroll down and see what major auto mfgrs in both the luxury and mass market area Tesla wants to participate in, that's not committed to the CarPlay (and likely Android Auto) interfaces.
Some notable auto brands were long-time hold-outs especially in the early years when CarPlay and Android Auto were lets just say "more than problematic, and far from maturity", saying they would only implement their own Infotainment interfaces for all sort of reasons, but as more and more mfgrs are implementing these sort of common consumer-oriented interfaces across their model line, I suggest Tesla may have to change their approach. The variable is, Tesla COULD implement something as good or better, but they have made almost no movement in that direction after several years, and the longer they wait, the further behind they get, and it will take even more resource to catch-up, let alone move ahead and maintain a unique 1-off interface.
Other brands, like say Toyota/Lexus that initially went the route of doing their own thing, suffered(s) from lack of functionality, appearing to be behind the times compared to others except every 6-7 years when there is a major model refresh and they (temporarily) catch up. Additionally, their own unique app interfaces couldn't gain traction with sufficient 3rd party players, so IMHO as a previous Lexus owner, there wasn't much in terms of useful and reliable apps that became available. Using their own interface and smartphone connectivity still didn't help the consumer who would likely prefer having a common interface for basic Infotainment function and capabilities across mfgrs for families with multiple auto brands in their garage. I'm a pretty technical guy, but it was hard keeping track of the nuances to use and access similar Infotainment functions in my Lexus and MBZ as I switched between them. I bet it's even harder for some others.
Check out this site, scroll down and see what major auto mfgrs in both the luxury and mass market area Tesla wants to participate in, that's not committed to the CarPlay (and likely Android Auto) interfaces.
Tesla will need a high quality navigation system as the AutoPilot capabilities move closer to self-driving - since it will be the navigation software that will tell the AutoPilot software where to go.
What might be better for Tesla is to fully outsource the navigation software to a 3rd party, that has expertise in this area. That's not what Tesla did with the current navigation software - which is a messy integration of software and data from Navigon, Tesla and Google.
And with Tesla planning to have over a half million cars on the road in the next few years - already outselling any individual luxury car - Tesla's market should be large enough now to solve the infotainment/navigation challenges.
What might be better for Tesla is to fully outsource the navigation software to a 3rd party, that has expertise in this area. That's not what Tesla did with the current navigation software - which is a messy integration of software and data from Navigon, Tesla and Google.
And with Tesla planning to have over a half million cars on the road in the next few years - already outselling any individual luxury car - Tesla's market should be large enough now to solve the infotainment/navigation challenges.
First, my apologies for mis-titling this thread with AirPlay rather than CarPlay.
Second, excellent point @bob_p! Can you imagine being in a fully autonomous vehicle with Tesla's current navigation system? What a nightmare that would be? At least we have the power to overrule its foolishness (as I just did about 2hrs ago to reach the Reno airport).
Autonomous driving would be DOA if people had to watch their car take ridiculous routes, reverse course to go back to SCs, etc. etc!
To support autonomous driving, the AP software will need much higher resolution maps - and those maps will have to be up-to-date (like the Google maps are today), since the software is likely to rely much more on the map data than a human driver.
And, as mentioned, the routing will have to be much better than the current software...
Where does that fit on Tesla's "roadmap"?
And, as mentioned, the routing will have to be much better than the current software...
Where does that fit on Tesla's "roadmap"?
singleview
Member
I tend to agree. I am on the verge of buying a Tesla Model S... and from what I have seen with the most current competition out there, and the generally otherwise superb vehicle that the MS is... I REALLY think that Tesla should adopt/ or at least have the option to plug into Android Auto .. and FOCUS instead on continuing to excel in more awesomeness in driving and other related extras like more intelligent nav, route planning etc.
In case you have not seen this: Android Auto and
singleview
Member
SO.... is Tesla working towards addressing some of these limitations, or not? Do we know for sure?
I'm on the verge of purchasing a Tesla Model S. I'd have thought (and it's now 2016) that with how Tesla is perhaps more of a technology company than other auto companies... that they'd have this down! That they'd allow for the most current features to be available on the Tesla.. and EXCEED that well beyond the competition... especially with the advantage that Tesla has in being able to offer software upgrades via WiFi.
Do we know if v8 will address some of these lapses in the infotainment area for the MS?
[That's me hoping for Tesla to lead the way, again...]
BertL
Active Member
...problem is, and I don't want to get into an Apple vs Google thing, but IMHO Tesla would have to implement BOTH Android Auto and CarPlay. The numbers just simply say an auto mfgr can't exclude one or the other smartphone platform if they want to reach the broadest market and not incite some sort of favoritism that would turn off the others.
For those so inclined, I'll let others search for the poll here on TMC several months ago which showed a rather startling imbalance between the two platforms with then current MS owners -- but of course that didn't stop fans of both providing their opinions.
For those so inclined, I'll let others search for the poll here on TMC several months ago which showed a rather startling imbalance between the two platforms with then current MS owners -- but of course that didn't stop fans of both providing their opinions.
BertL
Active Member
No, no one knows for a fact that isn't inside Tesla or under non-disclosure.SO.... is Tesla working towards addressing some of these limitations, or not? Do we know for sure?
I'm on the verge of purchasing a Tesla Model S. I'd have thought (and it's now 2016) that with how Tesla is perhaps more of a technology company than other auto companies... that they'd have this down! That they'd allow for the most current features to be available on the Tesla.. and EXCEED that well beyond the competition... especially with the advantage that Tesla has in being able to offer software upgrades via WiFi.
Do we know if v8 will address some of these lapses in the infotainment area for the MS?
[That's me hoping for Tesla to lead the way, again...]
There are many threads here on TMC with wish lists, discussions of needed Tesla priorities, etc., etc., etc. The community also went through a detailed exercise last Fall to prioritize a list of top requirements which were (secretly) passed to some unknown Tesla insider. There has been no formal acknowledgement from Tesla of that work, but I don't think most of us thought there would be. You'll also find a number of posts and threads referencing Infotainment bugs that Tesla has acknowledged in writing will be resolved "in a future firmware release", but many of those have existed for months or years without resolution thus far. My point being, if you want more background on all this, get your favorite beverage and start scanning threads. You'll find most of us hope as you do, that Tesla will lead the way again.
Gizmotoy
Active Member
Bert really hit the major points. I'll add, though, that if you can't live with the Infotainment system as it currently stands, you might consider looking elsewhere until they get it sorted instead of buying and hoping it gets updated. There's no official indication it's a priority, so you could very well be disappointed.
I decided the USB Drive support, while severely lacking in several key ways, was good enough. "I can live with it a year or so until they get proper audio support," I thought. Year 3 of that wait starts soon.
I think the other benefits outweigh it and would have bought anyway, even knowing what I know now, but you should consider that decision for yourself.
