Android Auto/Apple CarPlay

[bob_p]

We recently purchased an RV built on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis with their MBUX system, which supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

While Android Auto has limitations (dumbed down versions of a limited number of apps), it provides more flexibility than what Tesla is providing.

The Google Maps app has satellite imagery, providing comparable map quality (on a smaller display) and has additional features Tesla still hasn't provided - such as waypoints and warnings of upcoming traffic issues or speed traps.

Audiobooks are available through Audible, a larger selection of SiriusXM channels are available with their app, and there are several options for media players.

Musk promised some form of "screen mirroring" several years ago - along with promises to add more functionality to the navigation and media player apps... Still waiting...

 

[VaztheDad]

Absolutely an unimportant feature at the cars point in development.

I LOVE both technologies, but I want to see stability to the Tesla platform before integration into third party solutions.

 

[bob_p]

If we wait for stability to the Tesla platform, we'll never see any improvements.

Tesla still has obvious bugs that haven't been fixed since purchasing our first Tesla in early 2013...

In 2013, Tesla was ahead of the other manufacturers in many areas with the infotainment system - that's changed - the other manufacturers are shifting to OTA updates and have much better smartphone support.j

Tesla still has advantages - largest display and a growing list of entertainment apps that run only while the vehicle is parked.

But for items like navigation, media player or smartphone integration, Tesla hasn't made much progress... Still waiting for items Musk promised years ago - such as navigation waypoints...

 

[rsg123]

We rented a car with CarPlay this past week and it was amazing. Elon replied to a guy on Twitter requesting waypoints be added to Tesla nav. I wonder how many user issues CarPlay would resolve.

 

[mswlogo]

Our 2019 Volt has Car Play / Android Auto. I MUCH prefer the overall entertainment system in the Tesla.

And if I want to listen to Audible I can still use my phone.

And you still need your phone for Car Play/Android Auto but you don't need anything for Tesla.

Phone needs to be mounted in both cars.

 

[rsg123]

Our 2019 Volt has Car Play / Android Auto. I MUCH prefer the overall entertainment system in the Tesla.

And if I want to listen to Audible I can still use my phone.

And you still need your phone for Car Play/Android Auto but you don't need anything for Tesla.

Phone needs to be mounted in both cars.

When do you not have your phone with you? I found it was much less distracting having nearly everything available on the car screen rather than needing to interact with the phone. All this is probably a moot point since Tesla doesn’t seem interested in CarPlay or Android Auto.

 

[vdubnut]

Our 2019 Volt has Car Play / Android Auto. I MUCH prefer the overall entertainment system in the Tesla.

And if I want to listen to Audible I can still use my phone.

And you still need your phone for Car Play/Android Auto but you don't need anything for Tesla.

Phone needs to be mounted in both cars.

Agreed. We had a 2017 Bolt prior to buying the used 2015 Model S, I MUCH prefer the Tesla infotainment over the Apple Car Play in the Chevy, that was a joke, and used WAY more mobile data than the Tesla with Premium Connectivity. I much prefer the integrated Spotify and Nav over Apple/Google.

 

[techMology]

I would love CarPlay. Tesla's infotainment system is okay, but CarPlay would be better. Spotify's CarPlay app is better than Tesla's Spotify integration. Waze, of course, exists vs. doesn't (I know you can go via the web - try that with an MCU1 car - hit or miss). A SiriusXM app would be nice, too (I have it in my S, but it's not available in my Y, and the interface isn't great in the S). Plus, Tesla's UI is buggy in general. TuneIn doesn't play well with podcasts (there are great CarPlay podcast players like Overcast, or even Spotify, or, Apple Podcasts).

I feel like the people who prefer Tesla's UI to CarPlay (I can't speak to Android Auto) haven't really used CarPlay much (an anecdotal observation not based on any data, I know). And no, CarPlay isn't perfect.

Should integrating CarPlay into our car's be Tesla's focus? No, but I also don't really feel like Tesla putting engineering effort into designing and improving their own infotainment system is smart either. I think they'd be better served by freezing current infotainment functionality as is, making CarPlay/Android Auto work, and then let their respective ecosystems and millions of developers take care of future improvements.

 

[bob_p]

Tesla should both invest in improvements for the built-in apps (nav, media, ...) AND do something to get access to a much larger number of 3rd party apps (audio books, radio stations, XM stations, ...).

As an early Tesla customer (S P85 VIN 3xxx), it was understandable that Tesla had limited resources in the early days and was forced to focus on a limited number of critical software features.

That's no longer the case - Tesla is selling many more vehicles - they have the highest manufacturing valuation - and other manufacturers are bringing competing EVs to the market (almost all with Android Auto/Apple CarPlay).

While S&X owners are looking for a refresh (especially interior) - we should also be looking for Tesla to make some major improvements to the infotainment system - especially while the vehicle is in motion, not just while we're waiting to charge...

 

[techMology]

Tesla should both invest in improvements for the built-in apps (nav, media, ...) AND do something to get access to a much larger number of 3rd party apps (audio books, radio stations, XM stations, ...).

As an early Tesla customer (S P85 VIN 3xxx), it was understandable that Tesla had limited resources in the early days and was forced to focus on a limited number of critical software features.

That's no longer the case - Tesla is selling many more vehicles - they have the highest manufacturing valuation - and other manufacturers are bringing competing EVs to the market (almost all with Android Auto/Apple CarPlay).

While S&X owners are looking for a refresh (especially interior) - we should also be looking for Tesla to make some major improvements to the infotainment system - especially while the vehicle is in motion, not just while we're waiting to charge...

I'm an early Tesla customer too (not as early as you - 2014 VIN32xxx).

Elon said they're not exactly minting money (1%, 1/2% profit), so they're still limited in resources (both engineering and money). I didn't expect Tesla to make any improvements (let alone infotainment) to my 6 year old car - I was used to buying a car as is and it not changing in functionality ever - happy they have and did. I'd rather see them focus on future execution of their plan and improving quality control than spending resources improving the infotainment experience on a car with a really slow MCU which I'm going to replace in 4-5 years anyway.

Also, I know people *really* seem to like Tesla's UX, but I don't get it. It's decent, but it's not great. It's better than most other OEMs, but it's not better than what Apple, Goole, or a multitude of other developers in those ecosystems have done. It's why the other OEMs have decided to embrace Apple CarPlay and Android Auto - developing their own systems is a distraction and it's not their forte.

 

[bob_p]

Improving the infotainment system impacts not just existing vehicles - but new vehicles, and while the UX has advantages over that provided by other manufacturers (other manufacturers typically limit functionality while the vehicle is in motion), Tesla is at risk of having other manufacturers provide more functionality, particularly while driving.

Personally, I'd prefer Tesla NOT adopt Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Our RV has Android Auto, and has a very limited number of apps that run under AA - and the functionality provided under AA is a very small subset compared to what's available on a smartphone or tablet.

I'd prefer Tesla implemented something like Samsung's DEX environment, which provides access to all Android apps with a UX designed for a larger display (more a desktop screen layout than a tiny smartphone display). With the larger displays in Tesla vehicles, Tesla should be able to do better than a solution that would allow only a subset of functionality with a subset of apps or displaying the apps with a screen mirror of the smartphone display.

The MCU1 is able to run quite a bit of the software from a performance standpoint, plus it has dedicated processors for the dashboard and console displays. The MCU1 Tegra processor is capable of doing streaming video. Rather than performance, the bigger problem for getting new software to run on MCU1 is source code compatibility, since MCU1 and MCU2 use different processor architectures that aren't fully source code compatible, requiring Tesla's developers to do a "port" of new code - which is why MCU1 vehicles did not initially get the FSD visualization - which is now available on MCU1/HW3 vehicles.

Developing software for multiple vehicles - for multiple configurations - for multiple countries - and now with two different MCU processors - creates challenges. And that's only going to get more difficult as Tesla continues to grow. But that's no excuse for not investing in the software. Since the early S vehicles, Tesla has focused primarily on new software - and once an app or feature has been released, it's been pretty rare for them to go back and add new functionality, other than making UI changes. Glaring examples are the continuing issues with the media player (USB media, recovering state after resuming from sleep) or lack of navigation functionality - issues that still haven't been addressed 8 years since Tesla sold their first S.

Tesla has been able to get away with this because they haven't had any real competition. But that's changing - and as a long-time Tesla supporter, I hope they'll find a way to close the gap in those areas where they are behind the EV/ICE vehicles from other manufacturers.

 

[techMology]

Improving the infotainment system impacts not just existing vehicles - but new vehicles, and while the UX has advantages over that provided by other manufacturers (other manufacturers typically limit functionality while the vehicle is in motion), Tesla is at risk of having other manufacturers provide more functionality, particularly while driving.

Personally, I'd prefer Tesla NOT adopt Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Our RV has Android Auto, and has a very limited number of apps that run under AA - and the functionality provided under AA is a very small subset compared to what's available on a smartphone or tablet.

I'd prefer Tesla implemented something like Samsung's DEX environment, which provides access to all Android apps with a UX designed for a larger display (more a desktop screen layout than a tiny smartphone display). With the larger displays in Tesla vehicles, Tesla should be able to do better than a solution that would allow only a subset of functionality with a subset of apps or displaying the apps with a screen mirror of the smartphone display.

The MCU1 is able to run quite a bit of the software from a performance standpoint, plus it has dedicated processors for the dashboard and console displays. The MCU1 Tegra processor is capable of doing streaming video. Rather than performance, the bigger problem for getting new software to run on MCU1 is source code compatibility, since MCU1 and MCU2 use different processor architectures that aren't fully source code compatible, requiring Tesla's developers to do a "port" of new code - which is why MCU1 vehicles did not initially get the FSD visualization - which is now available on MCU1/HW3 vehicles.

Developing software for multiple vehicles - for multiple configurations - for multiple countries - and now with two different MCU processors - creates challenges. And that's only going to get more difficult as Tesla continues to grow. But that's no excuse for not investing in the software. Since the early S vehicles, Tesla has focused primarily on new software - and once an app or feature has been released, it's been pretty rare for them to go back and add new functionality, other than making UI changes. Glaring examples are the continuing issues with the media player (USB media, recovering state after resuming from sleep) or lack of navigation functionality - issues that still haven't been addressed 8 years since Tesla sold their first S.

Tesla has been able to get away with this because they haven't had any real competition. But that's changing - and as a long-time Tesla supporter, I hope they'll find a way to close the gap in those areas where they are behind the EV/ICE vehicles from other manufacturers.

Agree with most of all that, with some reservations.

Android Auto ≠ Apple CarPlay. Apple's ecosystem is far ahead and far more mature, with a lot more apps, and a lot better apps. The only area Android competes with Apple from an app perspective is on mobile (tablet apps and car apps are no contest). And while you may like Samsung's DEX environment, it's not a commercial success.

Supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and Tesla internal infotainment development are not mutually exclusive, I'm just saying focus on the right things. Tesla can continue to evolve and improve their core UX/UI and autonomous driving visualizations without bothering with nailing a functional podcast app or supporting *insert streaming music provider of choice here*. As far as two different code streams go caused by the MCU 1/2 split, I feel like you're just providing more fuel for my argument that Tesla's limited resources could be spent on solving those types of problems instead of working on something like TIDAL integration (which they are doing). Use those resources on staying competitive instead.

 

[guydot]

I think it is pretty outrageous that CarPlay/AA is not included. It's become an expected standard feature and even the more stubborn manufacturers surrendered and included it.

I have not been a super sophisticated user of CarPlay, but I dearly miss:
(1) using the streaming platform of my choice - Apple Music while getting some information on the screen
(2) iPhone not auto-locking itself when connected to CarPlay. I know there's a "never" setting for auto-lock, but like many others, my corporate removed this option.
(3) using other applications like Waze, NPR One, Overcast.

 

[Vic_F]

Tesla wastes a ton of resources on games, a fraction of that could enable CarPlay

 

[beatle]

Tesla wastes a ton of resources on games, a fraction of that could enable CarPlay

Got any data to back that up?

 

[Vic_F]

20+ years around S/W projects