Will Tesla support CarPlay?

[techMology]

In theory Tesla paying for apps to be built makes sense, but that didn't work for BlackBerry. Also, look at Spotify. They flat out said "no thanks" to Tesla when approached.

Agreed they should support both Android and Apple's screencast tech.

 

[xhawk101]

I hope they don't integrate this system. Apple is notorious for not working with other systems. Without getting into any debates about technology I would say this is a bad idea. I would prefer something open than something closed.

Agree

 

[AmpedRealtor]

People, please stop projecting your personal choice of mobile operating system onto this discussion.

This is not iOS vs. Android. CarPlay does NOT replace or supersede Tesla's operating system and it will not change the way that you interact with your vehicle. This is also not an "open vs. closed" software discussion because Tesla's OS is completely proprietary and any discussions of it being "opened up" are premature and based on speculation and "forward looking statements" by Musk. As it stands, Tesla's OS is as closed and walled off as is Apple's iOS.

Some are promoting an Android solution at the exclusion of an iOS solution because "Android is open and an open solution serves everyone." Not really. An Android-only solution would leave out all iOS users. An Android solution does not allow the car to display or read text messages from iMessage, or let me interact with my iOS apps, etc. Many here are utterly misinformed, believing that adding CarPlay support will mean that now you have to use iOS to operate your vehicle. It's amazing what otherwise normal, sane, and intelligent people will believe. An Android only solution is not open in that it doesn't support the other almost 50% of the mobile market - iOS. How is that open and good?

If you love your Android phone, good for you. I hope Tesla allows you to operate your Android using the car's touch screen and controls. They can do the same thing with both Android and iOS, and without excluding the other or changing the way that you interact with your car in any significant fashion. Some people here need to get a grip.

 

[techMology]

People, please stop projecting your personal choice of mobile operating system onto this discussion.

This is not iOS vs. Android. CarPlay does NOT replace or supersede Tesla's operating system and it will not change the way that you interact with your vehicle. This is also not an "open vs. closed" software discussion because Tesla's OS is completely proprietary and any discussions of it being "opened up" are premature and based on speculation and "forward looking statements" by Musk. As it stands, Tesla's OS is as closed and walled off as is Apple's iOS.

Some are promoting an Android solution at the exclusion of an iOS solution because "Android is open and an open solution serves everyone." Not really. An Android-only solution would leave out all iOS users. An Android solution does not allow the car to display or read text messages from iMessage, or let me interact with my iOS apps, etc. Many here are utterly misinformed, believing that adding CarPlay support will mean that now you have to use iOS to operate your vehicle. It's amazing what otherwise normal, sane, and intelligent people will believe. An Android only solution is not open in that it doesn't support the other almost 50% of the mobile market - iOS. How is that open and good?

If you love your Android phone, good for you. I hope Tesla allows you to operate your Android using the car's touch screen and controls. They can do the same thing with both Android and iOS, and without excluding the other or changing the way that you interact with your car in any significant fashion. Some people here need to get a grip.

Well said!

 

[ZBB]

Well said!

+1

One additional comment... Keep in mind that while both Apple and Google are working on similar capability, only Apple's CarPlay has been demonstrated.

Google announced the Open Automotive Alliance in January -- but there was even less info about it than when Apple first announced "iOS in the Car" last June. I'm sure Google will provide a demo later this year -- and when they do thee will be a thread similar to this with Android users asking for the functionality in their Tesla too. But for now, we have more info about CarPlay...

While I'm an iOS user and really want to see CarPlay support added by Tesla, I also hope that they also bring similar support for Android.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Taking a step back, what apps are really useful/usable in this way for a driver? Something that s/he can make use of in a hands-free way with eyes on the road?

Beyond the Phone (that Tesla has with its native phone app),

- Navigation - once the onboard Google Maps is leveraged better and is allowed to somehow supersede the relatively lousy Navigon system, there's no need for an external smartphone-based nav. Apple Maps? No, thank you!

- Music - yes, everyone has their favorite music/podcast/audio-book/etc. app. Opening it up this way beyond the onboard Slacker and Tunein is a great value-add.

- Messages - I think this is what people are looking forward to the most. Yes, I'm often tempted to look at the phone screen and respond even (!!) while atleast at a stop light. But, I find processing and responding to messages while in the driver's seat a very distracting experience overall and I don't think the ability to see them on a larger screen necessarily makes it better. Having them read aloud and responding to them through voice commands is okay, I guess.

So, what am I missing? Are there any other compelling apps - flappy bird?! - that folks can think of that can truly leverage the in-car integration from a driver's perspective rather than from a passenger's or when the car is in park and such?

Mirroring the phone screen and then accepting input on behalf of the smartphone sound great to me in theory but, seem to have little practical value to me as a driver during the hour or so that I spend in the car everyday.

-GG
"A dedicated iPhone user since 2007"

 

[ZBB]

GG -
This is less about mirroring than it is about a way to get apps onto the car interface. CarPlay isn't exactly a mirror -- only apps that have a car-centric interface are avail -- and that interface is different than on the iPhone.

In my case, I listen to podcasts during my morning commute. Currently that involves tapping the Audio app and selecting my iPhone on the Tesla. Then I need to activate the podcast app on my iPhone and selecting my commute podcast playlist from the phone. The BT interface in the Tesla only displays the current podcast info, and let's me pause or skip to the next one on my playlist. But it pulls the wrong artwork (instead it displays a completely unrelated album cover). It also doesn't let me browse the avail podcasts on my phone or select a different podcast playlist.

CarPlay would add that capability. It would also let me use iTunes Radio or other iOS apps that add CarPlay support from the car without having to handle the phone. And many of these will support Siri for completely hands free support..,

 

[liuping]

- Navigation - once the onboard Google Maps is leveraged better and is allowed to somehow supersede the relatively lousy Navigon system, there's no need for an external smartphone-based nav. Apple Maps? No, thank you!

There is no guarantee the new Navigation will be as good as all the 3rd party options out there. Hopefully it adds the basics, like favorites, contact search ("navigate to Joe's house"), multiple designations routes ("go to San Jose, including 3 locations for charging"), but who knows.

With CarPlay, you'll most like get access to navigation software from Waze, TomTom, Garmin, Magellan, Navigon, Apple, Google (not necessarily the same as the build it) and many others, most of which do not require a data connection to work. I know some people do not like Apple Maps, but honestly Google Maps does so crazy stupid things sometimes for me in places Apple Maps give correct directions. Having multiple options is nice.

You'll also get integrated PlugShare support, so you can find the closest charging site and navigate directly to it. Most like all via voice control.

evtripper.com is supposed to be working on an smartphone app, so that would be nice to have on the main screen.

How about an app that tracks multiple cars is a group traveling together? I've wished for that on more that one occasion during Boy Scout outings.

I guess it's all about options, and CarPlay potentially adds a lot of them. Not to mention it's a lot less work (and a lot safer) for Tesla than trying to sandbox Android apps, or supporting a native app SDK.

 

[howardc64]

Tesla was a leader to get this level of touch screen user interface into a car without waiting for everyone else. But now everyone else has come to the market.

Apple/Google has bigger market to deal with so they let smaller players get the matured app platform into cars. CarPlay is using QNX because QNX has long history with car control systems and became a much stronger app platform while serving blackberry's smartphone development.

In any case, if Tesla wants CarPlay, they would have to negotiate with Apple like all other manufacturers and have QNX work on a port to the hardware in the car.

The hypothetical benefit of CarPlay is the rich app ecosystem. As to which apps are useful while driving or parked... perhaps it will take some time to figure out. We probably could not imagine all the diversity of smartphone apps when it was first introduced.

Should Tesla do CarPlay (say adapt to CarPlay platform but do Tesla apps) or stay on their own platform development? Its an interesting question. Need to think about this a bit more on where is worth differentiation verses leverage.

 

[techMology]

Taking a step back, what apps are really useful/usable in this way for a driver? Something that s/he can make use of in a hands-free way with eyes on the road?

Beyond the Phone (that Tesla has with its native phone app),

- Navigation - once the onboard Google Maps is leveraged better and is allowed to somehow supersede the relatively lousy Navigon system, there's no need for an external smartphone-based nav. Apple Maps? No, thank you!

- Music - yes, everyone has their favorite music/podcast/audio-book/etc. app. Opening it up this way beyond the onboard Slacker and Tunein is a great value-add.

- Messages - I think this is what people are looking forward to the most. Yes, I'm often tempted to look at the phone screen and respond even (!!) while atleast at a stop light. But, I find processing and responding to messages while in the driver's seat a very distracting experience overall and I don't think the ability to see them on a larger screen necessarily makes it better. Having them read aloud and responding to them through voice commands is okay, I guess.

So, what am I missing? Are there any other compelling apps - flappy bird?! - that folks can think of that can truly leverage the in-car integration from a driver's perspective rather than from a passenger's or when the car is in park and such?

Mirroring the phone screen and then accepting input on behalf of the smartphone sound great to me in theory but, seem to have little practical value to me as a driver during the hour or so that I spend in the car everyday.

-GG
"A dedicated iPhone user since 2007"

From the Ferrari demo I watched, you can't read messages, only interact with them via Siri (voice commands).

Clever applications will come in time, just as they did when the iPhone first came out. At the start, it wasn't much better than a BlackBerry (arguably much worse, in fact).

 

[techMology]

Tesla was a leader to get this level of touch screen user interface into a car without waiting for everyone else. But now everyone else has come to the market.

Apple/Google has bigger market to deal with so they let smaller players get the matured app platform into cars. CarPlay is using QNX because QNX has long history with car control systems and became a much stronger app platform while serving blackberry's smartphone development.

In any case, if Tesla wants CarPlay, they would have to negotiate with Apple like all other manufacturers and have QNX work on a port to the hardware in the car.

The hypothetical benefit of CarPlay is the rich app ecosystem. As to which apps are useful while driving or parked... perhaps it will take some time to figure out. We probably could not imagine all the diversity of smartphone apps when it was first introduced.

Should Tesla do CarPlay (say adapt to CarPlay platform but do Tesla apps) or stay on their own platform development? Its an interesting question. Need to think about this a bit more on where is worth differentiation verses leverage.

CarPlay has nothing to do with QNX.

Again, CarPlay is complimentary to the system built into whatever car is supporting it (including systems built using QNX). Those articles citing QNX are misconstruing it's purpose in this case. CarPlay could be "running on" Windows CE also.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Clever applications will come in time, just as they did when the iPhone first came out. At the start, it wasn't much better than a BlackBerry (arguably much worse, in fact).

True. As suggested above, for an electric vehicle, there's definitely scope for unique, charging-related apps at the least.

For one, I've been advocating in some circles for a Waze-like checkin + availability app for Superchargers and possibly other charging networks as well.

 

[dsm363]

For Roadster owners this might be one way to get Carplay at some point:

Pioneer may support Carplay with aftermarket systems
Pioneer Working on Aftermarket CarPlay Compatibility - Mac Rumors

 

[EchoDelta]

Hm... I would love some hands-free Ingress integration; or using voice and/or the steering wheel to control actions. I know it's not the right way to play but everyone does it.

 

[Username]

Except you just can't beat an iPhone for quality and amazing Apple after care service which is unparalleled in other makes.

 

[dsm363]

Aftermarket CarPlay console coming this fall, costs between $500 and $700 | Ars Technica

Good news for Roadster and Apple iOS customers if this works out somehow. Hope Tesla adds support for Model S too.

 

[liuping]

Apple released an updated list of companies supporting Carplay.

Rather disappointing to see almost every brand but the one I care about on the list...

 

[markb1]

Nor are they in the Open Automotive Alliance (Android Auto):

Open Automotive Alliance

I prefer CarPlay, if anyone at Tesla is listening, though they ought to be able to support both.

- - - Updated - - -

It's really quite sad that Tesla brags about being able to improve the car via software updates, yet they are going to be the last to sign on to CarPlay and Android Auto.

 

[ZBB]

Tesla really should jump on both CarPlay and Android Auto. Offer both. Should be easy to give them a 1/2 screen (so the screen dimensions are similar to other in-car screens). The basic protocol is similar to a VNC / screenshare, although it does have input requirements and needs to disable things like the phone and music parts of bluetooth (since CarPlay/Android Auto would then handle the calls and music when active). CarPlay is already available in some cars, so the longer they wait, the more behind the are...

 

[jomo25]

Tesla really should jump on both CarPlay and Android Auto. Offer both. Should be easy to give them a 1/2 screen (so the screen dimensions are similar to other in-car screens). The basic protocol is similar to a VNC / screenshare, although it does have input requirements and needs to disable things like the phone and music parts of bluetooth (since CarPlay/Android Auto would then handle the calls and music when active). CarPlay is already available in some cars, so the longer they wait, the more behind the are...

+1.