I Actually Might Have Considered Rivian, Until

[ToOldForThis]

I thought Americans are all about freedom - freedom to choose whatever fits their lifestyle

You are correct. But that freedom does not extend to you telling manufacturers how to build their product. (Well, actually, you can tell them how to build it, but they don't have to listen.) You can choose not to buy their product. That is your right, just as it is the manufacturers right to build it how they want. That's beauty of the free-society retail market. You decide what you want to buy. If you don't like Rivian because they don't offer Carplay or Android Auto, don't buy Rivian. If enough people don't buy a Rivian specifically for that reason, then perhaps they will change.

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[kltye]

You are correct. But that freedom does not extend to you telling manufacturers how to build their product. (Well, actually, you can tell them how to build it, but they don't have to listen.) You can choose not to buy their product. That is your right, just as it is the manufacturers right to build it how they want. That's beauty of the free-society retail market. You decide what you want to buy. If you don't like Rivian because they don't offer Carplay or Android Auto, don't buy Rivian. If enough people don't buy a Rivian specifically for that reason, then perhaps they will change.

Oh yes, I am 100% for that and voting with my (teeny, tiny) wallet. I'm just puzzled at people who are in the "CarPlay/AA are awful and OEMs should just forget about them!" camp. More choice = better, not worse. But it seems Rivian and Tesla folks (ironically enough, American companies) don't subscribe to that ?

 

[voxel]

Non-issue for me.

That was maybe number 10 on my list of things I didn't like on my R1S.

 

[rcechinel]

It only takes a relatively tiny effort to offer basically a screen projection integration.

Tell that to Ford and all the connectivity issues it has with Android Auto
And it's never that simple. If you offer navigation through Google Maps within Android Auto, but no route planning and ETA, customers get a poor experience (like we have in the MME). So, doing a bare minimum on a $100K car will never be enough. The attempt to offer something too simple would backfire.
On the other hand, they need to offer a kick ass native OS and navigation, otherwise is a major failure.

 

[rcechinel]

GM has one of the very best hands free systems, far better than Rivian, and they are using Google maps for navigation. The current Rivian nav system is extremely poor, worse than Ford.

Navigation and autonomous driving are not related. They use completely different maps for the two.

You are right, autonomous driving and navigation are different features. But they are getting more integrated in the Rivian system (and Tesla). Did you see the demo where their nav showed all the cars around them, including BEHIND the vehicle?
I see navigation, driving assistance, and route planning all part of the driving experience and will be more and more integrated. It's hard to do this if you don't control all pillars.
I confess that I can't imagine living without my Android Auto, but that is mostly because Ford's software sucks. If it was good, I wouldn't mind. Come on, it's 2024 and we don't even have a music app on the car system...

 

[The Electric Duo]

Tell that to Ford and all the connectivity issues it has with Android Auto
And it's never that simple. If you offer navigation through Google Maps within Android Auto, but no route planning and ETA, customers get a poor experience (like we have in the MME). So, doing a bare minimum on a $100K car will never be enough. The attempt to offer something too simple would backfire.
On the other hand, they need to offer a kick ass native OS and navigation, otherwise is a major failure.

On road trips, I've often used a combo of the Ford nav plus Android Auto so I had YT Music. Works flawlessly. It's also nice having my Google Assistant easily accessible to control the media as well. The same is true when I used CarPlay.

But the idea that it would backfire is sorta my point. You can offer it so people can still have access to features they are already using on other cars, but give them BETTER features with the native app. People will appreciate the option rather than being forced to switch.

I like to think of it this way - If Rivian came out and said they are going only offer Spotify and nothing else, it wouldn't make sense. Instead, they also give you the option of having Pandora, Tidal, & Amazon Music. You can argue you all that you want that Spotify is superior, but it just wouldn't make sense to exclude those other services that customers want. And to me, CarPlay & AA are the same. It is just another option -- one that gives you better access to your phone and lots of other media & nav options.

 

[AZBill]

You are right, autonomous driving and navigation are different features. But they are getting more integrated in the Rivian system (and Tesla). Did you see the demo where their nav showed all the cars around them, including BEHIND the vehicle?
I see navigation, driving assistance, and route planning all part of the driving experience and will be more and more integrated. It's hard to do this if you don't control all pillars.
I confess that I can't imagine living without my Android Auto, but that is mostly because Ford's software sucks. If it was good, I wouldn't mind. Come on, it's 2024 and we don't even have a music app on the car system...

I have a Rivian and hate the dancing car display. Mine only has them in front.

I have a Hummer EV with native Google maps and it has all the route planning included. I can also download PlugShare, ABRP (tied to the battery), Waze, etc. Many apps in the Google Play Store are downloadable natively.

The Hummer drives hands free with a trailer, Rivian disables adaptive cruise and all the blind spot alerting when a trailer is connected. In fact, in the Hummer you enter your trailer dimensions and when you use the blinker for changing lanes, it paints a red box on the road with a camera view to show the trailer clearance for changing lanes. Way more advanced than anything Rivian has today.

 

[DYohn]

It only takes a relatively tiny effort to offer basically a screen projection integration.

Read the articles floating around the web about the reasons why the Rivian-Ford joint venture was scrapped. 90% was because of software and vehicle network infrastructure incompatibility. This is very likely also why Rivian and Apple do not play nice together.

 

[AZBill]

Another opinion on GM not including Carplay
https://insideevs.com/reviews/726471/gm-carplay-cadillac-lyriq-review/

Here is why CP and AA are not necessary for GM, just install the apps you want from the Play Store.

 

[rcechinel]

I have a Rivian and hate the dancing car display. Mine only has them in front.

I have a Hummer EV with native Google maps and it has all the route planning included. I can also download PlugShare, ABRP (tied to the battery), Waze, etc. Many apps in the Google Play Store are downloadable natively.

The Hummer drives hands free with a trailer, Rivian disables adaptive cruise and all the blind spot alerting when a trailer is connected. In fact, in the Hummer you enter your trailer dimensions and when you use the blinker for changing lanes, it paints a red box on the road with a camera view to show the trailer clearance for changing lanes. Way more advanced than anything Rivian has today.

That's a totally different ball game. And as a reminder, we were also promised Android Automotive by Ford.
I heard time and time again that the Hummer EV is one of the most fun to drive cars. Good for you!

 

[DaddyDeuce]

All I want is a direct HDMI input to the center screen with no speed or gear limitations on when the port is activated.

 

[DustyShades]

Read the articles floating around the web about the reasons why the Rivian-Ford joint venture was scrapped. 90% was because of software and vehicle network infrastructure incompatibility. This is very likely also why Rivian and Apple do not play nice together.

Rivian and apple actually play super nice together. A lot of good integrations coming this year

 

[DustyShades]

Personally for me, the Rivian not having CarPlay has not been an issue.

Also, people seem to always deduce this to being about charging a subscription fee, but I don’t think that is the case. Right now all the apps are free to use. When Rivian starts charging for connect+ to use the apps that require connectivity, they are also launching a feature to allow users to tether their phones to the car to acquire data needed to run those onboard apps

 

[AZBill]

That's a totally different ball game. And as a reminder, we were also promised Android Automotive by Ford.
I heard time and time again that the Hummer EV is one of the most fun to drive cars. Good for you!

Sad thing is, Rivian is using Android Automotive, but refuses to support Google apps. Rivian owns ABRP, but it cannot be installed in their truck. At least GM allows you to install third party apps, which essentially makes it like CP or AA.

 

[leehinde]

If Rivian (and others) make the native systems better, people won't choose CarPlay or AA. But right now, cutting off access just seems like they are forcing their ecosystem on us.

That's the issue. They act like they are 'there', with comparable apps. Even RJ admitted their maps app wasn't up to par. Maybe a year or two, who knows. But they're not there yet, for the apps that CarPlay/AA can offer.

And I use a lot of apps. The most recent take down of Carplay that I saw focused on two (maps and music) and said the built-ins were fine.

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