Warning, this is a rant. I hate that they got rid of basic voice commands

[shadow_tek001]

No I don't like Alexa. BUT at least it didn't require a subscription for basic functionality like adjusting temperature, or placing a call, or turning on heated seats etc.

But with the removal of Alexa, and the requirement of having a connect+ subscription, all the basic command functionality IS GONE. And that to me, is unacceptable. The vehicle is now more dangerous to operate for anyone who refuses to pay for the connect+ subscription.

So, I therefor made this video:

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[godfodder0901]

No I don't like Alexa. BUT at least it didn't require a subscription for basic functionality like adjusting temperature, or placing a call, or turning on heated seats etc.

But with the removal of Alexa, and the requirement of having a connect+ subscription, all the basic command functionality IS GONE. And that to me, is unacceptable. The vehicle is now more dangerous to operate for anyone who refuses to pay for the connect+ subscription.

So, I therefor made this video:

FWIW, there is supposed to be a lite version of RA coming for offline and non-Connect+ control. Who knows when and what functionality it'll have, but it is supposedly coming.

 

[shadow_tek001]

FWIW, there is supposed to be a lite version of RA coming for offline and non-Connect+ control. Who knows when and what functionality it'll have, but it is supposedly coming.

I'll believe it when I see it.
But if that's the case, they really should have had that ready to implement right away.

Ed

 

[tgrick]

You are not wrong. Rivian is a company in flux. I will allow them some leeway to make choices that benefit them to a degree but they also need to realize these cars are not cheap, and we deserve basic things that keep us safe, just not remove them. We will never know the reason but it could be royalties to Amazon or so other license issue where this made no sense to keep supporting. That said, let's keep the car safe WITHOUT the need for connect Plus.

 

[Yamazaki]

"Get's better with time..."
Yeah, as a person that is subscription averse, it's a very real concern of mine that certain functions that drivers get used to and comfortable with suddenly get put behind a pay wall....

 

[savethemanual]

Besides being handicapped in some way, changing temperature using a voice command is just something I would never thought of needing. In every vehicle I've ever driven, it's a simple thing to do manually...even on a Rivian. Sorry for your loss.

 

[shadow_tek001]

Besides being handicapped in some way, changing temperature using a voice command is just something I would never thought of needing. In every vehicle I've ever driven, it's a simple thing to do manually...even on a Rivian. Sorry for your loss.

Well that's only ONE thing... There's lots of useful commands that are now completely unavailable

 

[portdirect]

Sorry OP: When we bought our Rivians, we also, whether we realized it or not, effectively agreed to this:

"Rivian may remove or deprecate all or part of the features or functionality ... at its sole discretion and without obligation or notice to you."

That sucks, but the bigger issue is that this business model is increasingly normal.

Either regulators need to establish clearer ownership protections for software-defined products, or as consumers we need to get much better at reading the small print and refusing to buy products where we do not meaningfully retain rights over the functionality we paid for.

Full disclosure - I had a similar emotional reaction to other things Rivian has done in the past, but am perhaps several months down the 7 steps to acceptance journey.

 

[SolartoEV]

I liked Alexa because it was directly connected to Amazon music. My 2 kids and my wife also like being able to control the music.

 

[shadow_tek001]

Sorry OP: When we bought our Rivians, we also, whether we realized it or not, effectively agreed to this:


That sucks, but the bigger issue is that this business model is increasingly normal.

Either regulators need to establish clearer ownership protections for software-defined products, or as consumers we need to get much better at reading the small print and refusing to buy products where we do not meaningfully retain rights over the functionality we paid for.

Full disclosure - I had a similar emotional reaction to other things Rivian has done in the past, but am perhaps several months down the 7 steps to acceptance journey.

Well sure, I figured there would be some stupid fine print clause somewhere. So I never said what they did was illegal, but it is certainly is immoral and stupid.

 

[Yamazaki]

People decry government regulations, but government regulations are what prevent stuff like this. Especially when many people just give up and accept what companies are doing... the government is the only one with the power to protect the consumer.

 

[shadow_tek001]

People decry government regulations, but government regulations are what prevent stuff like this. Especially when many people just give up and accept what companies are doing... the government is the only one with the power to protect the consumer.

I agree, which is why I made the video... I don't want to just shut up and accept it

 

[Kaiju]

It's not the first time they've done it, either. Deleting features, that is.

It's the curse of the modern internet. It's very hard for an on-device integrated solution to be as functional as a cloud-based one with ten thousand times the resources. So it becomes very easy to use a third party to offload some function that is either too hard or too expensive to develop and have it live on a distant server outside their control, but because it's a third party there's virtually always some sort of ongoing external cost. If the vendor recognizes it as a dependency that's difficult to migrate away from, sometimes they can even put the screws to the customers ala Broadcom. The inevitable result is that someone will try to cut it and the feature dies.

While regulation could obligate them to spend that money to keep features live, what I would expect is that regulation would make them pull back their offerings to things that weren't a risk. There is nothing to stop google or amazon from increasing their price 10x the next licensing renewal, so long as it's not easy for Rivian to jump to someone else. That's what's happening to VMware customers and the ones that are trapped are having to fork out the money.

The only actual solution is for the software stack to be self-contained to the vehicle and only modifiable with the owner's consent. Though even if they did I don't believe there's a universe where Rivian would be required to keep paying for Alexa so long as it requires internet infrastructure. Stuff that's internet-dependent is always going to be at risk because connectivity itself is not going to be guaranteed.

The only thing you can do to combat that potential loss of function is to refuse to buy things that are vulerable to the cord being cut. Those of us who already have our vehicles can make noise about it but have little actual choice and I'm fairly sure they're aware of that. New customers don't miss features they never had, though this sort of thing is a great way to make sure some of them never become repeat customers.

 

[VSG]

It's not the first time they've done it, either. Deleting features, that is.

Umm, what exactly?
The removal of voice control described by the OP is the first time they've done this as far as I've seen.
Expiration of trial periods don't count as removing or monetizing features.

 

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

Immoral, unsafe, Ummhh?

How did you manage to do the same before owning a software driven vehicle? Was it unsafe, stupid, immoral?

I agree that some of the basic functionality should be available offline. But, well they are a business with a board and shareholders to appease.

The fact is we all, even those that did not read the fine print or had different expectations, took delivery of a product from a relatively new company. Changes and many, including mistakes, bugs should be expected, though unwanted by us all.

I suspect another rant when the new OS is deployed to the R1’s.

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