Apple CarPlay

[VQTRVA]

IMO - AA/CP are dumbed down UI screen replicator.
Filling any part of the Tesla screen up with either interferes with the Tesla overall user experience.

Even in my ICE car, I refuse to use them.
While made to alleviate some of the distracted driving - it actually increases it IMO.

 

[Jkhood]

I miss CarPlay - having Waze on the big screen, Amazon Music, and my text messages read to me is greatly missed! Hopefully Tesla can add it before other manufacturers start rolling out electric models.

Can't you run Amazon Music on your iPhone and stream thru the Tesla?

 

[Cycle11111]

Interesting - first and foremost I have had a car, Chevy Bolt, with AA and CP and used it for over two years - I tried and used both IOS and Android devices. It was better than the any other in car infotainment system I had previously used, but also frustrating in some respects. An earlier poster talked about his button pushes to activate and I would say sort of - I found both AA and CP buggy and laggy many times and it could get quite frustrating to kick in or manage - also I had the cabled version so basically the wireless charging in the Bolt was useless as I had to always plug in. I have a Nomad charge pad in my M3 and never plug in. Also I have turned into anti-button. I have driven recent Audis and Lexus' via rentals and friends and the sea of buttons I now find odd and confusing and quite frankly the aesthetic of minimal/no buttons is my preference. Also I find I use Hey Siri to play music from Apple Music and make calls most of the time so that issue is a none issue for me - sometimes I have to reduce volume if I am really rocking out to get Hey Siri to pick up, but otherwise I find it very solid.

Now that being said there are things Tesla could improve big time on infotainment. Add more voice controls bigtime for most MCU operations and add a keyword like "Hey Tesla/Elon etc" so there is no button push. Also fix any buggy issues on playbacks etc (mid podcast memory etc) before the next arcade game (don't get me wrong I think the arcade is a blast, but please prioritize some bug fixes over the next game). I would not trade the Tesla interface for AA or CP, but wouldn't complain if it was added and I might use it sometimes but after doing side by sides it is not a priority for me. Now one request - adding Waze and Spotify as supported apps would make me very even happier.

 

[Dbox95]

I’m struck by the variety of preferences in this thread in what I felt was a straightforward issue. I’m surprised there are so many folks who don’t want better integration with their phone. The concept of using screen mirroring on my large touchscreen with the added benefit of shifting CPU workload over to an alternate device (phone) seems like an obvious win.

Speaking on my personal perspective, there is zero chance I’ll buy another vehicle from Tesla if they can’t figure out how to reach parity with economy car infotainment systems - which includes the ability to integrate with my phone. The current option of tunein for podcasts (which has a small portion of podcasts available and poor functionality) and slacker for music (vastly inferior to other options such as Spotify) is a shameful state for a vehicle that has established its branding largely upon being an innovator in the automotive industry.

Another topic, but there’s also zero chance I’ll buy again unless they can come close to delivering upon the promises I was sold on in the topic of FSD as well. At some point Tesla will start to care about repeat buyers like the established automotive industry - that’s when this habit of making promises they don’t keep will come back to haunt them.

 

[BPeter]

I’m struck by the variety of preferences in this thread in what I felt was a straightforward issue. I’m surprised there are so many folks who don’t want better integration with their phone. The concept of using screen mirroring on my large touchscreen with the added benefit of shifting CPU workload over to an alternate device (phone) seems like an obvious win.

Speaking on my personal perspective, there is zero chance I’ll buy another vehicle from Tesla if they can’t figure out how to reach parity with economy car infotainment systems - which includes the ability to integrate with my phone. The current option of tunein for podcasts (which has a small portion of podcasts available and poor functionality) and slacker for music (vastly inferior to other options such as Spotify) is a shameful state for a vehicle that has established its branding largely upon being an innovator in the automotive industry.

Another topic, but there’s also zero chance I’ll buy again unless they can come close to delivering upon the promises I was sold on in the topic of FSD as well. At some point Tesla will start to care about repeat buyers like the established automotive industry - that’s when this habit of making promises they don’t keep will come back to haunt them.

What I find extremely ridiculous is you don't even have to use it if you don't want it. Bunch of people who think Tesla can do no wrong.

 

[iCharge]

If anything the Tesla system should be able to accept a generic input for audio that can be adapted to anything carplay, android auto, whatever comes next.

I don't want apple and the baggage that comes with it hard coded into my car.

just read your signature, how was 'her' M3 delivered before ordering ?

 

[tranzndance]

I’m struck by the variety of preferences in this thread in what I felt was a straightforward issue. I’m surprised there are so many folks who don’t want better integration with their phone. The concept of using screen mirroring on my large touchscreen with the added benefit of shifting CPU workload over to an alternate device (phone) seems like an obvious win.

Speaking on my personal perspective, there is zero chance I’ll buy another vehicle from Tesla if they can’t figure out how to reach parity with economy car infotainment systems - which includes the ability to integrate with my phone. The current option of tunein for podcasts (which has a small portion of podcasts available and poor functionality) and slacker for music (vastly inferior to other options such as Spotify) is a shameful state for a vehicle that has established its branding largely upon being an innovator in the automotive industry.

Another topic, but there’s also zero chance I’ll buy again unless they can come close to delivering upon the promises I was sold on in the topic of FSD as well. At some point Tesla will start to care about repeat buyers like the established automotive industry - that’s when this habit of making promises they don’t keep will come back to haunt them.

I think it's good in the long run for Tesla not to put their fate in the hands of third parties, like Google or Apple. Sometimes they lose interest in products and discontinue them. They can change the terms of service. I've used products from both companies and have been disappointed too many times.

The other cars are not "software on wheels" so discontinuation of support will leave a hole but it wouldn't be as devastating.

I'm not saying I don't want the integration; it would be nice to have. I just would understand it if there's a strategic reason not to have it, or if it's low priority.

 

[CarlK]

I think it's good in the long run for Tesla not to put their fate in the hands of third parties, like Google or Apple. Sometimes they lose interest in products and discontinue them. They can change the terms of service. I've used products from both companies and have been disappointed too many times.

The other cars are not "software on wheels" so discontinuation of support will leave a hole but it wouldn't be as devastating.

I'm not saying I don't want the integration; it would be nice to have. I just would understand it if there's a strategic reason not to have it, or if it's low priority.

Elon is the strongest believer in vertical integration. There is no possibility he will give this important part of the car to other companies.

Google and Apple had been trying their hardest to get into the auto market. Google with autonomous technology and Apple with whatever the Titan project is about. Neither is going anywhere anytime soon. Fortunately they have found a way to put trojan horses into other automakers' car. Some have resisted for a while but eventually pretty much everyone gave in. None of them is technologically savvy enough to develop their own. Google and Apple now can just add more and more features into those apps and tighten the control. Even they are not yet all cars will eventually be "software on wheels" like you said. Those automakers will only be making wheels but heart and soul of their cars will belong to someone else.

Interesting - first and foremost I have had a car, Chevy Bolt, with AA and CP and used it for over two years - I tried and used both IOS and Android devices. It was better than the any other in car infotainment system I had previously used, but also frustrating in some respects. An earlier poster talked about his button pushes to activate and I would say sort of - I found both AA and CP buggy and laggy many times and it could get quite frustrating to kick in or manage - also I had the cabled version so basically the wireless charging in the Bolt was useless as I had to always plug in. I have a Nomad charge pad in my M3 and never plug in. Also I have turned into anti-button. I have driven recent Audis and Lexus' via rentals and friends and the sea of buttons I now find odd and confusing and quite frankly the aesthetic of minimal/no buttons is my preference. Also I find I use Hey Siri to play music from Apple Music and make calls most of the time so that issue is a none issue for me - sometimes I have to reduce volume if I am really rocking out to get Hey Siri to pick up, but otherwise I find it very solid.

Now that being said there are things Tesla could improve big time on infotainment. Add more voice controls bigtime for most MCU operations and add a keyword like "Hey Tesla/Elon etc" so there is no button push. Also fix any buggy issues on playbacks etc (mid podcast memory etc) before the next arcade game (don't get me wrong I think the arcade is a blast, but please prioritize some bug fixes over the next game). I would not trade the Tesla interface for AA or CP, but wouldn't complain if it was added and I might use it sometimes but after doing side by sides it is not a priority for me. Now one request - adding Waze and Spotify as supported apps would make me very even happier.

Yes forget about Tesla adding CarPlay or Android Auto. Those smallish things would be a waste on Tesla screen anyway. You'd end up with just the lowest denominator. The better thing to do is to ask Tesla to add more features to its system. I also think voice control is one area that Tesla should put the most effort into. As for Waze I've been using it for years but I think current Tesla Nav is pretty much as good for what I want to use it for and even better in some way. I've never found things like police warning useful.

 

[FoverM]

I have no idea if this is true or not ... but a friend said that the car-side part of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is only available for QNX (which is apparently the dominant car OS). Tesla uses a Linux derivative, so it's unknown how difficult it would be to port the code over to it.

 

[TeeEmCee]

I have no idea if this is true or not ... but a friend said that the car-side part of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is only available for QNX (which is apparently the dominant car OS). Tesla uses a Linux derivative, so it's unknown how difficult it would be to port the code over to it.

QNX came to be as the “Real Time Unix” and I’m pretty sure it’s Posix compliant, so I strongly doubt it would be the end of the world to port it (in fact, I would be very surprised if it were difficult at all). There’s plenty of competence for such a task, all around Fremont, this should be one of those no-brainer projects.

No, this must be Musk’s choice, likely coming from the “we don’t need no stinkin’ partnering with anybody, we can do it better” attitude.

This was an opinion I held while I owned my Tesla and it’s only been confirmed since receiving my E-Tron: Oddly enough, indeed, Tesla can do it better, they just can’t do everything. The e-Tron’s infotainment and instrument cluster, for example, is a mix of awesomeness and a discordant mess of interaction patterns, some very modern, some from 1998. It blows your mind when you wonder who in his right German mind would have requested and approved some of the MMI design details. But then you have a whole bunch of features, such as everything that CarPlay brings. You learn the quirks of getting to them and then you use them as you please. To me, having something imperfect beats not having it at all because of Tesla purity considerations.

 

[CarlK]

QNX came to be as the “Real Time Unix” and I’m pretty sure it’s Posix compliant, so I strongly doubt it would be the end of the world to port it (in fact, I would be very surprised if it were difficult at all). There’s plenty of competence for such a task, all around Fremont, this should be one of those no-brainer projects.

No, this must be Musk’s choice, likely coming from the “we don’t need no stinkin’ partnering with anybody, we can do it better” attitude.

This was an opinion I held while I owned my Tesla and it’s only been confirmed since receiving my E-Tron: Oddly enough, indeed, Tesla can do it better, they just can’t do everything. The e-Tron’s infotainment and instrument cluster, for example, is a mix of awesomeness and a discordant mess of interaction patterns, some very modern, some from 1998. It blows your mind when you wonder who in his right German mind would have requested and approved some of the MMI design details. But then you have a whole bunch of features, such as everything that CarPlay brings. You learn the quirks of getting to them and then you use them as you please. To me, having something imperfect beats not having it at all because of Tesla purity considerations.

As the saying goes camel is a horse designed by a committee. That's what happens when you are forced to merge old and new. Some might be happy with a camel but I'd still want my pure breed horse even it still has some growing up and training to do.

Can't stress enough Google and Apple are competitors not potential business partners to Tesla. That actually applies to other car manufacturers too although they either have not seen it yet or they did see it but still are powerless to fight the trend because they are just not technology savvy enough to do everything on their own.

 

[GaryREM]

IMO - AA/CP are dumbed down UI screen replicator.
Filling any part of the Tesla screen up with either interferes with the Tesla overall user experience.

Even in my ICE car, I refuse to use them.
While made to alleviate some of the distracted driving - it actually increases it IMO.

It's your car and you can experience it your way.

I love Car Play in my wife's car.

It provides me with a consistent music experience, lets me plot routes (not just destinations), gives me a way to use voice commands in a way I'm used to.

Will it interfere with the Tesla experience? Maybe! But I sure would like the opportunity to try it.

 

[BPeter]

I have no idea if this is true or not ... but a friend said that the car-side part of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is only available for QNX (which is apparently the dominant car OS). Tesla uses a Linux derivative, so it's unknown how difficult it would be to port the code over to it.

Not true. AA and CP receiver software is very simple. Tons of aftermarket head units run AA and CP and they don't run QNX. There's also examples of Android Auto receiver apps available on XDA-Developers. There's even open source receivers like this
Meet OpenAuto, an Android Auto emulator for Raspberry Pi

All the AA/CP receiver has to do is play back an H.264 video stream and send back button, touch, and microphone inputs to the phone.
If Tesla wanted to, they could have an AA/CP receiver app that opens like the rear view camera window, and they could probably have it done in a month.

 

[robg]

Not true. AA and CP receiver software is very simple. Tons of aftermarket head units run AA and CP and they don't run QNX. There's also examples of Android Auto receiver apps available on XDA-Developers. There's even open source receivers like this
Meet OpenAuto, an Android Auto emulator for Raspberry Pi

All the AA/CP receiver has to do is play back an H.264 video stream and send back button, touch, and microphone inputs to the phone.
If Tesla wanted to, they could have an AA/CP receiver app that opens like the rear view camera window, and they could probably have it done in a month.

Yep. Plus regarding the comment above on Tesla using Linux vs QNX- current JLR infotainment systems run Linux and they have Android Auto and Carplay.

Even if Musk has a big problem with Carplay and AA, Tesla could atleast improve their BT audio integration (for example, allowing browsing of artists/albums/playlists)

 

[CarlK]

Not true. AA and CP receiver software is very simple. Tons of aftermarket head units run AA and CP and they don't run QNX. There's also examples of Android Auto receiver apps available on XDA-Developers. There's even open source receivers like this
Meet OpenAuto, an Android Auto emulator for Raspberry Pi

All the AA/CP receiver has to do is play back an H.264 video stream and send back button, touch, and microphone inputs to the phone.
If Tesla wanted to, they could have an AA/CP receiver app that opens like the rear view camera window, and they could probably have it done in a month.

Good point those basically are just mirroring and not OS. Although Google is coming out with Google Automotive which is. Pretty sure Apple will follow with competitive products. Don't think any of those auto companies could resist. They just don't have the knowhow to do something similar. Eventually car makers will be just box makers using off shelf SW/HW with Apple/Google and NVdia/AMD/Intel dictate the technology. Tesla, like Apple in the computer industry, will be the only one that will be immune to that. I have to think that is a correct business strategy.

 

[IraB]

The hostility some have expressed toward AA and CarPlay is bewildering. Many of us Tesla owners would like CarPlay and/or AA. If it does not appeal to an owner, he/she would not have to use it.

Some of the arguments advanced are also either just wrong or hard to understand. For example, "Tesla would have to implement AA if it implemented CarPlay." This is just wrong. Take a look at Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW. No AA support, but full CarPlay support.

"CarPlay would look bad / mess up the Tesla screen." Take a look at the latest BMW implementation. You can divide the screen between CarPlay and native BMW displays or dedicate the entire screen to one or the other. It looks just fine.

"CarPlay would require physical buttons." Nope. It will work with a touch screen just fine with no physical buttons. Work just like that in my Porsche.

"Apple and Google are evil and AA / CarPlay are just Trojan Horses designed to suck all the valuable data out of the car." Porsche is highly paranoid about its data. That is the stated reason that Porsche declined to implement AA, that is, Google did demand too much sensitive data. However, it appears Porsche feels comfortable with whatever data demands Apple has.

"Tesla does not want to be dependent on Google (who is a competitor)." I could be wrong, but isn't Tesla getting its maps and map data from Google?

In addition to Waze (which some of us find useful for warnings on road problems and police) and access to podcasts, vast arrays of streaming music, and other useful apps, CarPlay provides better phone integration, music playback support and email and text voice support. Finally, the CarPlay interface is consistent across vehicles. This is great when I rent a car as I don't have figure out the quirks of the native infotainment system. I just fire up CarPlay and the UI is instantly familiar. At worst, if the rental does not support touch, I have to figure out how to use the scroll / select device.

Despite all this, I have little hope that Tesla will implement CarPlay. The NIH attitude of Elon and company was really brought home to me when I moved the USB stick with all my wife's music from her Audi to her new M3P. None of the music would play in the Tesla. Why? Because it was in Apple Lossless format and Tesla refuses to support a format invented by Apple. I had to transcode all music into FLAC to get it to play. Every car I have owned for the last 10 years (and there have been an embarrassingly large number) has supported Apple Lossless, so this is not rocket science.

Similarly, why does the USB drive have to be formatted FAT to work in a Tesla for dash cam / sentry? Because NTFS and even ex-FAT are too much associated with Microsoft and were not invented by Tesla.

In general, I love Tesla. The cars drive amazingly well and have many advanced and innovative features and functions. However, this attitude of rejecting any technology that might not have been developed in-house is annoying when it eliminates functionality that is widely available and appreciated in other vehicles.

 

[Sonofman]

Some of the arguments advanced are also either just wrong or hard to understand. For example, "Tesla would have to implement AA if it implemented CarPlay." This is just wrong. Take a look at Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW. No AA support, but full CarPlay support.

"CarPlay would look bad / mess up the Tesla screen." Take a look at the latest BMW implementation. You can divide the screen between CarPlay and native BMW displays or dedicate the entire screen to one or the other. It looks just fine.

CarPlay would mess up the UI, it's not as nice as Tesla's UI which is by far and away better than anything from BWM, Porsche or Merc. Those guys still require a bunch of buttons for their UI and nothing is intuitive.
You don't need Apple's garbage in your car.

"Apple and Google are evil and AA / CarPlay are just Trojan Horses designed to suck all the valuable data out of the car." Porsche is highly paranoid about its data. That is the stated reason that Porsche declined to implement AA, that is, Google did demand too much sensitive data. However, it appears Porsche feels comfortable with whatever data demands Apple has.

Porsche made a bad decision so Tesla should too? They're catering to Apple because they can't design anything competitive. The problem is cutting out AA by choosing a side. There's no reason to institute code you don't control to such a good UI.

"Tesla does not want to be dependent on Google (who is a competitor)." I could be wrong, but isn't Tesla getting its maps and map data from Google?

You're wrong, they don't use Google for their map data. Even if they did, getting traffic and map data from Google is way different than adding code to your system and connecting to the mother ship.

In addition to Waze (which some of us find useful for warnings on road problems and police) and access to podcasts, vast arrays of streaming music, and other useful apps, CarPlay provides better phone integration, music playback support and email and text voice support. Finally, the CarPlay interface is consistent across vehicles. This is great when I rent a car as I don't have figure out the quirks of the native infotainment system. I just fire up CarPlay and the UI is instantly familiar. At worst, if the rental does not support touch, I have to figure out how to use the scroll / select device.

Waze would be nice, may be possible without AA still and thanks to OTA maybe a Tesla from 2012 still gets upgraded. You can listen to Podcasts, streaming music etc. from your phone already FYI. You don't need to text or email(WTF?) while driving. Please stay off the road if you think that's ok. Side note, Tesla is close enough to FSD that you can just use your phone to do this stuff in the near enough future that integrating CarPlay or AA is a waste of time there too.

Don't connect your device to rental cars if you value your personal information. This is bad.

Despite all this, I have little hope that Tesla will implement CarPlay. The NIH attitude of Elon and company was really brought home to me when I moved the USB stick with all my wife's music from her Audi to her new M3P. None of the music would play in the Tesla. Why? Because it was in Apple Lossless format and Tesla refuses to support a format invented by Apple. I had to transcode all music into FLAC to get it to play. Every car I have owned for the last 10 years (and there have been an embarrassingly large number) has supported Apple Lossless, so this is not rocket science.

Apple uses random audio format and it's Tesla's fault. Right...
Also, who still has stored music these days? I'm shocked you're not mad her M3P won't take CDs.
Connect her phone to the car, it will stream from her digital library seamlessly. You're welcome.

 

[emmz0r]

Until Tesla has it's own software platform w/ app store, they should allow Apple CarPlay / Android Auto. They can show up as an item in the bottom menu and run in the same window as the browser etc.

 

[IraB]

CarPlay would mess up the UI, it's not as nice as Tesla's UI which is by far and away better than anything from BWM, Porsche or Merc. Those guys still require a bunch of buttons for their UI and nothing is intuitive.
You don't need Apple's garbage in your car.


Porsche made a bad decision so Tesla should too? They're catering to Apple because they can't design anything competitive. The problem is cutting out AA by choosing a side. There's no reason to institute code you don't control to such a good UI.


You're wrong, they don't use Google for their map data. Even if they did, getting traffic and map data from Google is way different than adding code to your system and connecting to the mother ship.


Waze would be nice, may be possible without AA still and thanks to OTA maybe a Tesla from 2012 still gets upgraded. You can listen to Podcasts, streaming music etc. from your phone already FYI. You don't need to text or email(WTF?) while driving. Please stay off the road if you think that's ok. Side note, Tesla is close enough to FSD that you can just use your phone to do this stuff in the near enough future that integrating CarPlay or AA is a waste of time there too.

Don't connect your device to rental cars if you value your personal information. This is bad.


Apple uses random audio format and it's Tesla's fault. Right...
Also, who still has stored music these days? I'm shocked you're not mad her M3P won't take CDs.
Connect her phone to the car, it will stream from her digital library seamlessly. You're welcome.

CarPlay would mess up the UI, it's not as nice as Tesla's UI which is by far and away better than anything from BWM, Porsche or Merc. Those guys still require a bunch of buttons for their UI and nothing is intuitive.
You don't need Apple's garbage in your car.


Porsche made a bad decision so Tesla should too? They're catering to Apple because they can't design anything competitive. The problem is cutting out AA by choosing a side. There's no reason to institute code you don't control to such a good UI.


You're wrong, they don't use Google for their map data. Even if they did, getting traffic and map data from Google is way different than adding code to your system and connecting to the mother ship.


Waze would be nice, may be possible without AA still and thanks to OTA maybe a Tesla from 2012 still gets upgraded. You can listen to Podcasts, streaming music etc. from your phone already FYI. You don't need to text or email(WTF?) while driving. Please stay off the road if you think that's ok. Side note, Tesla is close enough to FSD that you can just use your phone to do this stuff in the near enough future that integrating CarPlay or AA is a waste of time there too.

Don't connect your device to rental cars if you value your personal information. This is bad.


Apple uses random audio format and it's Tesla's fault. Right...
Also, who still has stored music these days? I'm shocked you're not mad her M3P won't take CDs.
Connect her phone to the car, it will stream from her digital library seamlessly. You're welcome.

Perhaps I could suggest some anger management for you.

I am still amazed that strangers want to tell me how I should be using my car. If you don't want CarPlay, don't use it. Don't tell me in some condescending manner how I should not want it.

And just to be clear, listening to and responding to texts / emails using audio / voice is no different than talking on the phone hands free. Thus, unless you NEVER EVER make or receive calls in your car, don't start lecturing me about staying off the road if I want to hear a text while driving.

 

[TeeEmCee]

I am still amazed that strangers want to tell me how I should be using my car. If you don't want CarPlay, don't use it. Don't tell me in some condescending manner how I should not want it.

You do understand you're on a Tesla forum, right?

*ducks*