Android Auto and Apple Autoplay not doing that well...

[MartinAustin]

Phil LeBeau ‏@Lebeaucarnews 4m4 minutes ago
Survey of buyers by J.D. Power finds Apple CarPlay (37%), Android Auto (38%) are least desired tech features offered in new vehicles.

GOOD

Unless it's a complete overhaul of the way the car is operated, adding new gizmos to the dashboard of a car creates a problem that wasn't there before - not an improvement -IMO.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/25/drivers-arent-interested-in-all-those-high-tech-features.html

 

[gizmoboy]

I agree with this. Integrations into auto systems tend not to be that great compared to native solutions of equal quality. Slow adoption and evolution of the features is also hampering the tech.

 

[AnOutsider]

yay, so can we stop crying for it in the Model S?

 

[wayner]

Except that I am betting that Tesla owners are WAY more geeky than average. One of the things I didn't like about my previous car (2013 Lexus GS350) was the poor quality of the in dash display and apps, despite the fact that it was a 10" display which was the latest and greatest from Lexus' perspective. IMHO it looked like a 20 year old screen from a Commodore 64.

 

[GaryREM]

CarPlay 37%, Android Auto 38%. Why did they ask the question that way?

Should have asked for either. The real total is going to be between 37% and 75%, so there numbers aren't clear.

"On the flipside, the survey shows that car and truck buyers have become so accustomed to using their mobile phones for navigation and streaming music that they would rather stick with those devices than transition to in-car infotainment systems."

 

[wayner]

"On the flipside, the survey shows that car and truck buyers have become so accustomed to using their mobile phones for navigation and streaming music that they would rather stick with those devices than transition to in-car infotainment systems."

But how many of them have a 17" touchscreen in their cars?

 

[liuping]

CarPlay 37%, Android Auto 38%. Why did they ask the question that way?

Should have asked for either. The real total is going to be between 37% and 75%, so there numbers aren't clear.

"On the flipside, the survey shows that car and truck buyers have become so accustomed to using their mobile phones for navigation and streaming music that they would rather stick with those devices than transition to in-car infotainment systems."

Agreed. If you ask iPhone owners about Android Auto, they will very likely list it as a least wanted feature, and likewise for Andriod owners voting for Apple CarPlay.

 

[Gizmotoy]

CarPlay 37%, Android Auto 38%. Why did they ask the question that way?

Should have asked for either. The real total is going to be between 37% and 75%, so there numbers aren't clear.

"On the flipside, the survey shows that car and truck buyers have become so accustomed to using their mobile phones for navigation and streaming music that they would rather stick with those devices than transition to in-car infotainment systems."

Which I find to be a very interesting quote, because that is exactly what Android Auto and CarPlay provide. It just moves the interface to the car instead of on your phone. Maybe because they're such new technologies people don't actually realize what it is they do?

The fact that they split them up also severely distorts the results: If I use Android, do I give even half a crap if the car supports CarPlay? Or vise-versa? So chances are everyone who answered the survey could legitimately select one or the other as the feature they're least interested in because it would provide them with zero benefit.

Edit:

Agreed. If you ask iPhone owners about Android Auto, they will very likely list it as a least wanted feature, and likewise for Andriod owners voting for Apple CarPlay.

You beat me to it. :biggrin:

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

This is one of those features where it might be way more beneficial to the Manufacture than the customer in the beginning.

Pretty much all the infotainment systems from all the major manufactures have been criticized for not being user friendly, and for causing customer complaints.

I think it really comes down to it being a feature the customer doesn't really know that they want. They don't know what it is or how it can help them.

Do I want it in my Tesla? Not really. I'd like to seem massive improvements in the Tesla infotainment system, but not a departure to Car Play, Android Auto.

Do I want it in my Jeep, or in my Moms Mazda? Heck yeah.

 

[hissymissy]

Android Auto and Apple carplay are still in their infancy, they will eventually be pretty good.
I don't think Tesla's small software team can compete with Google and Apple, and neither should they try to.

But while Android Auto and Apple carplay mature, there is plenty for Tesla to work on,

1. Better nav
2. Better voice controls
3. Autopilot (yeah that's still not out)
4. v7 UI, which has had mixed reactions.
5. A better media player
6. Better mobile apps
7. App support
8. Open and documented API

etc.

Except #3 and #4, all of the above are solved by Android Auto and Apple carplay.
Lets hope Tesla is able to provide this to us with a software update when they are ready to do so.
But in the meanwhile, if we got Autopilot and v7 UI, I'd be pretty happy.

 

[Eclectic]

Phil LeBeau ‏@Lebeaucarnews 4m4 minutes ago
Survey of buyers by J.D. Power finds Apple CarPlay (37%), Android Auto (38%) are least desired tech features offered in new vehicles.

GOOD

Unless it's a complete overhaul of the way the car is operated, adding new gizmos to the dashboard of a car creates a problem that wasn't there before - not an improvement -IMO.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/25/drivers-arent-interested-in-all-those-high-tech-features.html

It's a pretty silly poll. Many people don't even know what CarPlay/Auto are. My wife, for example, who uses an iPhone, had no idea what CarPlay was when I asked if she wanted it. When I described what it was, functionally, though, she said that she'd like that in her next car.

I use Android and in the car I'm in the process of buying (VW Sportwagen), I am waiting for the 2016s to arrive solely because the 2016s have Android Auto while the 2015s don't (and I could get a good deal on a 2015). I don't expect Android Auto to be perfect out of the box, but the basic idea is compelling and I'm willing to deal with early issues to have a car with this kind of capabilities.

So if the poll had asked something like "Do you want an option that integrates your smartphone's functions into your car's display/controls", I bet there would have been a far higher positive response.

 

[GaryREM]

So if the poll had asked something like "Do you want an option that integrates your smartphone's functions into your car's display/controls", I bet there would have been a far higher positive response.

Exactly.

What worries me about the in car systems is that they are a fixed hardware capability that will not grow over time. Whereas, the smartphones will. For entertainment smartphones will just get better.

Some are concerned now about the hardware, what about in 3 or 4 years? I don't understand this who are talking about developing Tesla apps on what will become an obsolete hardware platform.

 

[gizmoboy]

Lets hope Tesla is able to provide this to us with a software update when they are ready to do so.
But in the meanwhile, if we got Autopilot and v7 UI, I'd be pretty happy.

I don't believe CarPlay or even Android Auto will be a simple software upgrade. That would imply it can be implemented in Tesla's native SW, which seems quite unlikely, bordering on the impossible. I'm sure both are ROMs with unique and proprietary codebases.

 

[Stoneymonster]

I don't believe CarPlay or even Android Auto will be a simple software upgrade. That would imply it can be implemented in Tesla's native SW, which seems quite unlikely, bordering on the impossible. I'm sure both are ROMs with unique and proprietary codebases.

Since at least CarPlay is effectively just a passive display interface (like Airplay or VNC), I doubt it's that big a deal. If it is a big deal, Apple did it wrong.

 

[OverZealous]

I have the Pioneer AVH-4000NEX (one of the first CarPlay-capable radios) in my old Jeep. Honestly, CarPlay is already far superior to the media player built into the Model S in my limited experience. I plug in my phone, tap OK, and I have 100% access to and control over:

• All my music, including playlists, cover art (though this was done terribly), searching, next-up, etc.
• Easy access to texting via voice (not that useful, but still nice)
• Apple's Maps—This would obviously be a lot less useful on the Tesla, given the built-in mapping, but I often find Apple Maps are better than Google Maps for some things.
• A fantastic phone interface—I haven't used the one built into the Tesla, so I can't say much here
• Additional apps as they become available
• And it's all amazingly fast, no syncing contacts or music over bluetooth, no looking anything up remotely

The main thing is the media player. Using my phone over bluetooth in the Tesla is a joke. It provides almost no functionality, as far as I could tell, just basic transport controls and listing out the current track info. And it looks the cover art up online (seriously?), so it's wrong a lot. And, of course, bluetooth is OK sounding, but not stellar.

As for how it works: the phone does all the work. It renders an image that is displayed by the head-end, and receives control feedback (in the case of my NEX, touch inputs and the physical button presses). I'm 90% certain Android's solution works the same way.

I think offering CarPlay would be a huge improvement over the current player. I don't really want to have to maintain a completely separate collection of music and playlists on a USB drive just so I can use that huge 17" screen. My phone is my central hub for information and media. I already have it synchronized the way I want, and it always comes with me (in the house to sync, or on the road for music).

Anyway, I can't see why anyone would be against CarPlay or Android Auto

 

[perkiset]

What pisses me off, is that it's NOT that big a deal. The whole point of an API/platform like both is to empower auto audio manufacturers to integrate easily. I hate the notion that Tesla, as awesome as it is, is the best at EVERYTHING. Apple and Google both have huge interest in being excellent at audio (et al) because that's what they do. With the left-panel tabs in the media center, it seems to me that offering a tab for Apple AND a tab for Android would both be reasonably doable and a huge functional win. No one HAS to use either. But they empower both and POOF. Lots of happy users. The media system is passable, but certainly not excellent. The mere fact of what has to be done to get playlists into the system on a USB is pathetic in this day and age.

(Side note, been a programmer now for about 38 years, not speaking out my a$$ on this one)

The earliest posters in this thread were not only comfy, but happy that Tesla is cockblocking integration. Honestly. What possible good does stopping that do? It's akin to the argument against open source software. Makes no sense, is limiting techologically and leaves power in the hands of the manufacturers, rather than empowering their clients/users.

 

[SR22pilot]

If you go to KLZU via 316 in Lawrenceville, Tesla tells you to use an exit that hasn't existed for years. So much for quality over the air updates. Apple Maps shows the correct interchange structure. Voice recognition in a Tesla is very poor and doesn't match ICE cars from several years ago. A 2013 Hyundai will understand "Call John Doe on mobile" but a 2015 Tesla can't. CarPlay would be a huge improvement. USB music integration has already been mentioned but I know people who complain regularly about their Tesla lacking basic iPod integration. I love Tesla but some areas aren't close to what other cars have.

 

[gizmoboy]

Since at least CarPlay is effectively just a passive display interface (like Airplay or VNC), I doubt it's that big a deal. If it is a big deal, Apple did it wrong.

You believe that CarPlay screen layout logic is all in the phone? I hadn't drawn that inference from my (admittedly cursory) reading on the topic.

If so, the VNC portion would still need to be written natively for every OS...

 

[OverZealous]

Yes, the phone does all the work rendering the screen. In the case of CarPlay, this design allows Apple to maintain control over the experience, so you get improvements to CarPlay when they push out a new OS update.

As far as the "VNC" portion, it can't possibly be that difficult to handle rendering an image stream and passing input back. Yes, it's not a free effort, but it provides a significantly better experience for iPhone or Android users, without negatively impacting users who do not have or use one of those devices.

Besides, every other manufacturer has decided to back the tech, and they are all slow as hell rolling out features. You almost always have to buy an entire new car to get new functionality. Tesla could show off how simple it is to add this sort of tech in via an update. (That is assuming the hardware [USB plug] can handle it.)

Again, I truly can't understand why anyone would be against this. Not interested in it, that makes sense, but to be against increasing options in your ~$100K car? That's like me saying they should completely remove the internet streaming music. I'd never use it! What a waste of resources! :wink:

 

[Stoneymonster]

You believe that CarPlay screen layout logic is all in the phone? I hadn't drawn that inference from my (admittedly cursory) reading on the topic.

If so, the VNC portion would still need to be written natively for every OS...

Not only do I believe it, I know it to be fact.