Current status of Firmware 6.0 ?

[omarsultan]

Of course...

Tesla could just deliver on "the car is a wifi hotspot" (like Audi and others that have now somewhat embarrassed Tesla in this regard, IMO) and the supercharger scenario just becomes "car delegates wifi to supercharger instead of AT&T (and has higher bandwidth)".

As a customer, that's what I want. But I'm not holding my breath.

I don't think you will see this as long as Tesla is picking up the tab for AT&T.

 

[matbl]

Thanks for trying to keep things on topic. I'd love to have guidelines on the camera, but unfortunately it's not happening in v6.0.

And how do you know that?

 

[ken830]

Thanks for trying to keep things on topic. I'd love to have guidelines on the camera, but unfortunately it's not happening in v6.0.

I used to really want guide-lines on the rear view camera too, but after driving a few cars with them, I don't want them anymore. It really doesn't do much guiding, and it just gets in the way.

 

[mgboyes]

Well, that's exactly it, simple solution... The player I use on android can adjust the A/V sync. Basically it delays the video by whatever amount you set to compensate for lagging audio. works great.

So now I just have to see if there is anything in the intersection of "video player apps that support adjustable audio sync delay" and "video player apps that can be remote controlled from another device e.g. a parent's phone". So far this appears to be a disappointingly empty set...

Anyway back to topic... my guess is that v6.0 is a month away, and that we will get:
* a very substantial overhaul of the satnav system, though probably not as sophisticated as taking into account elevation and weather to calculate likely range; just something that uses live traffic data and which proactively tells you about whether your destination is realistically reachable would be a huge step forward
* some new audio features (shuffle, playlists, maybe access to internet services that will just play what you ask for rather than building you a radio station themed around your choice)
* some new remote access features (if we are going to be able to name our cars then my guess is we'll also be able to send nav destinations to them from our phones, have greater remote control over more of their settings etc)
* maybe geofenced suspension height now that they've dealt with all their lowering/raising issues (since that really should be super-easy for them to add; mostly just some UI changes to help users manage the data)
* a load of bugfixes.

I would love for them to have fixed video overlay, to enable parking guidelines and generally make the UI do less weird things around the video, but I would not hold my breath.

FWIW the reversing guidelines/overlay on a current BMW 5 series are fantastically useful. As well as lines showing the car's trajectory based on current wheel angle etc there's a sort of "surface" overlay that gives even more detailed info about where you are as you approach an object. My brother in law has one and at the first attempt he can get his car perfectly parallel into a space that's only 10" longer than the car, purely by looking at the screen. Of course this sort of thing is a particularly British problem - we have very small parking spaces!!

 

[green1]

So now I just have to see if there is anything in the intersection of "video player apps that support adjustable audio sync delay" and "video player apps that can be remote controlled from another device e.g. a parent's phone". So far this appears to be a disappointingly empty set...

I haven't tried it yet, but my suggestion would be VLC, the computer version allows all of that, and I know they now have an android version, but I don't know which of the features do or don't still exist...

 

[apacheguy]

Anyway back to topic... my guess is that v6.0 is a month away, and that we will get:
* a very substantial overhaul of the satnav system, though probably not as sophisticated as taking into account elevation and weather to calculate likely range; just something that uses live traffic data and which proactively tells you about whether your destination is realistically reachable would be a huge step forward

Really? I would've thought adding in the elevation was a no brainer. Not to mention it's the single biggest factor that cuts down on range in my experience. I wouldn't be as surprised not to see weather integrated, although Elon has alluded to this on a couple occasions. Weather can be tricky and highly variable so I'd expect them to take their time to get it right.

 

[jacobp]

New 6.0 feature: don't forget that all important ability to name your car. IMHO, if they spent one hour of an engineer's time on that "feature" it was an hour wasted.

 

[liuping]

* some new remote access features (if we are going to be able to name our cars then my guess is we'll also be able to send nav destinations to them from our phones, have greater remote control over more of their settings etc)

I hope they add something like a on "wakeup and turn on climate control" button that works in the back ground.

I hate having to start the app, wait for the car to wake up (it seem to take forever), then go to the climate screen and turn on climate control. I should be able to start the app and press a big button on the startup screen to wake the car and enable climate control, then I can just put the phone away and the car will be ready by the time I get to the parking space.

 

[techmaven]

New 6.0 feature: don't forget that all important ability to name your car. IMHO, if they spent one hour of an engineer's time on that "feature" it was an hour wasted.

Why? There are going to be many more multiple Tesla families soon and the cars need to be distinguished beyond VIN number. Why would this be wasted?

 

[NigelM]

I hope they add something like a on "wakeup and turn on climate control" button that works in the back ground.

I hate having to start the app, wait for the car to wake up (it seem to take forever), then go to the climate screen and turn on climate control. I should be able to start the app and press a big button on the startup screen to wake the car and enable climate control, then I can just put the phone away and the car will be ready by the time I get to the parking space.

That sounds like a customization for one person...OK, not one person but not too many people. I don't want a big button on the start-up screen for example. I did read somewhere that v6.0 will have new power management options that allow you to keep the car permanently connected and thus the app will connect much faster.

- - - Updated - - -

Anyway back to topic... my guess is that v6.0 is a month away, and that we will get:
* a very substantial overhaul of the satnav system, though probably not as sophisticated as taking into account elevation and weather to calculate likely range; just something that uses live traffic data and which proactively tells you about whether your destination is realistically reachable would be a huge step forward
* some new audio features (shuffle, playlists, maybe access to internet services that will just play what you ask for rather than building you a radio station themed around your choice)
* some new remote access features (if we are going to be able to name our cars then my guess is we'll also be able to send nav destinations to them from our phones, have greater remote control over more of their settings etc)
* maybe geofenced suspension height now that they've dealt with all their lowering/raising issues (since that really should be super-easy for them to add; mostly just some UI changes to help users manage the data)
* a load of bugfixes.

Based on everything I've read/heard, the likelihood of your guesses is (in order):

Yes, but no weather/elevation included.
No.
Yes, more features but not sure there'll be all those you suggest (and I can think of a few new ones).
No.
Yes.

Unfortunately no back up lines on the camera either, of course implementing that at any time may undermine Tesla's attempts to sell parking sensors; arguably a financial dis-incentive for them to even develop the software.

 

[green1]

That sounds like a customization for one person...OK, not one person but not too many people. I don't want a big button on the start-up screen for example. I did read somewhere that v6.0 will have new power management options that allow you to keep the car permanently connected and thus the app will connect much faster.

Many people have requested a similar feature, I don't think it needs to be a big button on the home screen, but the ability to open the app, issue a command, and put the phone back in your pocket without waiting for the car to wake up would be great. And there's no reason it can't do that, sure anything that requires you getting information back from the car you'd have to wait for, but telling it what to do, just get it to do it at it's earliest convenience and don't make people wait.

 

[liuping]

That sounds like a customization for one person...OK, not one person but not too many people. I don't want a big button on the start-up screen for example. I did read somewhere that v6.0 will have new power management options that allow you to keep the car permanently connected and thus the app will connect much faster.

It does not have to be on the startup screen, but it should be easy, one step and not require waiting for the car to wake up before putting away the phone. I doubt I'm the only one who would like an easy/quick way to make sure the car is woken up and cooled off when I get to it. Aside from monitoring charging, climate control is the practically the only thing I ever use the remote app for.

I don't really want the car connected full time if that is going to increase power consumption, but I should not have to stare at my phone while the car wakes up, just so I can send simple request.

 

[bollar]

It does not have to be on the startup screen, but it should be easy, one step and not require waiting for the car to wake up before putting away the phone. I doubt I'm the only one who would like an easy/quick way to make sure the car is woken up and cooled off when I get to it. Aside from monitoring charging, climate control is the practically the only thing I ever use the remote app for.

I don't really want the car connected full time if that is going to increase power consumption, but I should not have to stare at my phone while the car wakes up, just so I can send simple request.

On the iOS side, what you're looking for is Passbook support, so you can control climate from the lock screen.

 

[GoBlue88]

It does not have to be on the startup screen, but it should be easy, one step and not require waiting for the car to wake up before putting away the phone. I doubt I'm the only one who would like an easy/quick way to make sure the car is woken up and cooled off when I get to it. Aside from monitoring charging, climate control is the practically the only thing I ever use the remote app for.

I don't really want the car connected full time if that is going to increase power consumption, but I should not have to stare at my phone while the car wakes up, just so I can send simple request.

Agreed. Turning on the climate control from the app if the car is sleeping takes way too long. A single command sent from the app that is automatically applied when the car wakes up and the connection is made would be tremendous.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

New 6.0 feature: don't forget that all important ability to name your car. IMHO, if they spent one hour of an engineer's time on that "feature" it was an hour wasted.

How can you say that if you haven't seen the feature in context?

 

[tomas]

Wow, this thread has gone quickly from "any news on when 6.0?" to debating whether we want/how to implement features that we do not even know are in it! I guess there's not that much action in Teslaville these days... waiting for X prototype, waiting for further supercharger construction in a few critical places, waiting for 6.0... We must need some excitement!

 

[PhilBa]

...

FWIW, I agree with the general opinion that the maps will be overhauled to pull in some of the richer content available from Waze. I'm less sure about the navigation, since that's a separate deal...

As I reported earlier (and was soundly shouted at that its "old info" by the experts here), last week a Tesla employee showed me a screen shot of the "what's new" screen for 6.0 and they had "Traffic Based Nav" listed. No details beyond that were given.

 

[mgboyes]

Unfortunately no back up lines on the camera either, of course implementing that at any time may undermine Tesla's attempts to sell parking sensors; arguably a financial dis-incentive for them to even develop the software.

OK, backup lines on the camera only for those who have parking sensors then

Irrespective of whether one system requires the other there's nothing to stop Tesla making the backup lines part of the "Parking" package. In the UK at least Tesla could easily double the price of the parking sensor option if it included a proper guideline system for the camera, and I bet they'd get no drop in takeup.

And in my experience all the German camera systems with guidelines always also have ultrasonic sensors, the data from which is incorporated into the overlay. See this bit (ignore the top down view part at the end, obviously) from a 2013 BMW: 2013 BMW X3 - Rear View Camera - YouTube

(Anyway, I totally get that overlaying on video is a hardware issue and we're unlikely to see it)

 

[Todd Burch]

I would say that if 6.0 comes out and we still don't see something basic like music shuffling, I will consider it a pretty big failure. We're now over two years into Model S production, and there are still significant areas lacking in the infotainment system. I understand that the Model S is a complicated system on the software side, and I understand the desire to keep the development group small. But honestly, I think the pace of software development has been a big disappointment.

3 years ago Elon was talking about cars learning your schedule, email dictation, and the like...and we still don't have basic functionality. It will be sad if early owners go through half the ownership life of their car or more while still waiting for features found on cars at a much lower price level and not classified as premium.

(Disclaimer: I am a Tesla fan, but feel that criticism is deserved in this area).

Having said that, Tesla's UI has been impemented brilliantly.

 

[apacheguy]

My wishlist:
1. A more regular release cadence

Amen!

But honestly, I think the pace of software development has been a big disappointment.

Agreed. Tesla had a lot of software issues to contend with when they were shipping the cars out to Europe. Elon recognized the pace of software releases had slowed and promised that updates would come fairly regularly after internationalization had been completed. Well, as far as I can tell the pace has always been the same - haltingly slow.

Now, on the bright side, I just thought of something that would get me jumping up and down over 6.0. In the SpC announcement, Elon said they had improved the taper algorithm. Here's to me hoping that A packs will benefit from an improved taper curve in 6.0. Maybe even holding 90 kW until 50% SOC. That would be amazing! Nigel?