“Some carmakers” is a strange way to write General Motors, which is to my knowledge the sole carmaker who has announced they’re going to shoot themselves in the foot by dropping a non-negotiable feature required by a majority of new car buyers. I predict they backtrack on this plan pretty rapidly.
Tesla also refuses to support CarPlay and Android Auto, because they believe their software is better. And why shouldn’t we trust them? Tesla has a stellar record for fixing their buggy software even after your car is no longer in warranty. /s
It’s not their software. It’s Google’s. It’s Android Automotive (not to be confused with Android Auto, which is an entirely different product).
I’ve not used Android Automotive yet, so I can’t speak for how well or poorly this works for people in Google’s ecosystem, but it sucks for people in Apple’s. And GM is an US company and Apple is half of the US smartphone market.
Voice integration for Apple’s phones blows without proper CarPlay support. It’s also pretty rough if you have iOS apps that have not been ported to your head unit’s OS.
I wish GM did what Volvo and other manufacturers are doing. Embrace Android Automotive, because the vendors who have been making head unit software have blown for years. Let Google give you a nice stable core OS… but THEN allow projectors experiences like CarPlay to passthrough to AA.
“Some carmakers” is a strange way to write General Motors, which is to my knowledge the sole carmaker who has announced they’re going to shoot themselves in the foot by dropping a non-negotiable feature required by a majority of new car buyers. I predict they backtrack on this plan pretty rapidly.
Tesla also refuses to support CarPlay and Android Auto, because they believe their software is better. And why shouldn’t we trust them? Tesla has a stellar record for fixing their buggy software even after your car is no longer in warranty. /s
I do wish Tesla had Android Auto, but their software is really quite good.
Mostly I just want different music apps like Plex and Newpipe.
The nav stuff is mostly fine. SMS integration is good. Video apps while parked is good.
Their software is actually good though, unlike anything GM has produced so far.
I would much rather have the software of a Tesla over what I have now, a 2020 Nissan Leaf, whose interface and functions seem to come out of 2010.
It’s not their software. It’s Google’s. It’s Android Automotive (not to be confused with Android Auto, which is an entirely different product).
I’ve not used Android Automotive yet, so I can’t speak for how well or poorly this works for people in Google’s ecosystem, but it sucks for people in Apple’s. And GM is an US company and Apple is half of the US smartphone market.
Voice integration for Apple’s phones blows without proper CarPlay support. It’s also pretty rough if you have iOS apps that have not been ported to your head unit’s OS.
I wish GM did what Volvo and other manufacturers are doing. Embrace Android Automotive, because the vendors who have been making head unit software have blown for years. Let Google give you a nice stable core OS… but THEN allow projectors experiences like CarPlay to passthrough to AA.
Volvo did this a few years ago and they’re now reversing course.
GM is the biggest, but also Telsa and Rivian. Almost all the big players support it now.