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

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

This is why Alexa went away already. Rivian probably wanted to gauge complaints on it before the OS2 update came, since it will never have Alexa.

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[2kwik4u]

Immoral, unsafe, Ummhh?

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

Glad you said it before I did.

How did we ever survive before voice commands "Oh the TRAVESTY I say!"

 

[shadow_tek001]

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.

Yes immoral, as they've removed a feature that is definitely safer then the alternative. If it were just a feature that was not tied to safety, then I wouldn't call it immoral. On top of that, their website STILL says that basic voice commands are included as standard. So now they're just straight up lying.

How did I manage? Uhhhh physical buttons? A physical button is significantly easier to press thanks to muscle memory, then needing to go into a separate screen first to then press another button to activate the thing you want. C'mon man this isn't rocket science.

 

[shadow_tek001]

Glad you said it before I did.

How did we ever survive before voice commands "Oh the TRAVESTY I say!"

PHYSICAL BUTTONS.

 

[shadow_tek001]

This is why Alexa went away already. Rivian probably wanted to gauge complaints on it before the OS2 update came, since it will never have Alexa.

I honestly couldn't care less if it's Alexa, rivian assistant, Google, Siri, jimbob.... But no basic voice commands and then having to tap the screen three times to perform one simple function is idiotic

 

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

Any action that takes your full focus off the road, traffic is unsafe. Even using physical controls is unsafe. If you really wanna go there.


In the end, do, be you. Rant away, it is your choice.

 

[shadow_tek001]

Any action that takes your full focus off the road, traffic is unsafe. Even using physical controls is unsafe. If you really wanna go there.


In the end, do, be you. Rant away, it is your choice.

I honestly can't understand the need to defend this stupid choice .... Fanboy much?

Pressing a single button is by no means anywhere near as distracting as pressing a spot on a screen in two or three locations to perform a simple action. Gimme a break

 

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

Speaking of “rocket science”. Read my 1st reply to your rant, then determine if I am a fanboy. Haha

 

[shadow_tek001]

Speaking of “rocket science”. Read my 1st reply to your rant, then determine if I am a fanboy. Haha

That part wasn't meant strictly for you, rather anyone who is bothering to try to defend this silly indefensible action.

 

[BigSkies]

I have mixed feelings about this, and I'll sometimes have opposing opinions on the same day.

Alexa was a tech dead-end. Alexa for auto seemed promising ~5 years ago. But Amazon killed the teams supporting it. It makes sense to choose a different tech path and build towards that. Rivian has no control over Amazon pulling the plug on the whole thing. If Rivian were obligated to support Alexa indefinitely, they would support nothing instead. They can't control their tech partners to this level.

Yet, as a hypothetical, what if Google discontinues the version of mapping software Rivian relies on for Gen 1 vehicles? What is Rivian's obligation to supply mapping software to old vehicles? Will a Gen 1 Rivian nav still work in 2035? How about 2045? Or 2055? Mapping software and nav is something that should work for the life of the vehicle, however long that might be.

I find the insistence that everything must be tied to a paid subscription infuriating. I have no problem with Rivian integrating subscription services. Having a service that involves a data plan (effectively what Connect + is) is a reasonable thing to add. Enshitifying the vehicle for those choosing not to have the subscription is not okay. The example used in this thread is somewhere on the border of acceptable/unacceptable to me.

My experience with music streaming subscriptions is coming to an end. I've tried Spotify and Apple Music. They had their features I liked. But I've decided to cancel them. They're not good value for the money and they're bad for the broader music industry. I prefer my own music collection.

This is where I'm torn on the Rivian experience. The audio options for those choosing not to pay for subsciptions sucks donkey-balls. It's straight up bad. My 2013 Mazda had better ways to play music. This will be a factor in my decision on whether to get another R1T in some number of years. I hate to give up all the things I love about my truck over this one small thing. But it impacts the ownership experience enough that I'll consider other competing options when the time comes.

 

[shadow_tek001]

I have mixed feelings about this, and I'll sometimes have opposing opinions on the same day.

Alexa was a tech dead-end. Alexa for auto seemed promising ~5 years ago. But Amazon killed the teams supporting it. It makes sense to choose a different tech path and build towards that. Rivian has no control over Amazon pulling the plug on the whole thing. If Rivian were obligated to support Alexa indefinitely, they would support nothing instead. They can't control their tech partners to this level.

Yet, as a hypothetical, what if Google discontinues the version of mapping software Rivian relies on for Gen 1 vehicles? What is Rivian's obligation to supply mapping software to old vehicles? Will a Gen 1 Rivian nav still work in 2035? How about 2045? Or 2055? Mapping software and nav is something that should work for the life of the vehicle, however long that might be.

I find the insistence that everything must be tied to a paid subscription infuriating. I have no problem with Rivian integrating subscription services. Having a service that involves a data plan (effectively what Connect + is) is a reasonable thing to add. Enshitifying the vehicle for those choosing not to have the subscription is not okay. The example used in this thread is somewhere on the border of acceptable/unacceptable to me.

My experience with music streaming subscriptions is coming to an end. I've tried Spotify and Apple Music. They had their features I liked. But I've decided to cancel them. They're not good value for the money and they're bad for the broader music industry. I prefer my own music collection.

This is where I'm torn on the Rivian experience. The audio options for those choosing not to pay for subsciptions sucks donkey-balls. It's straight up bad. My 2013 Mazda had better ways to play music. This will be a factor in my decision on whether to get another R1T in some number of years. I hate to give up all the things I love about my truck over this one small thing. But it impacts the ownership experience enough that I'll consider other competing options when the time comes.

Yeah, I mean honestly
-Removal of Alexa=totally understandable and acceptable.
-not providing a basic voice command structure to replace it=totally unacceptable.

 

[Tom(myBoy)]

This “rant” and the discussion on it herein goes back to my question raised elsewhere in the forum - viz (or more overly “namely”):



In a formal News YT article, Rivian’s spokesperson implies that their cars will remain software current for 7 to 10 years, and software safety and security will be supported beyond that.

Do you buy that?

• If so, why so?
• And if not, why not?

I am new to SDV. Additionally, for me as an over “65 Driver,” I find “menu-diving” inconvenient at best ( i.e., contrary to or anti-good user experience/UX), and unsafe at its worse.

That said, I also see the need to regularly update and improve (such as through tighter integration) hands free - i.e., voice commands/driver assistance & autonomy - features and functions. They are part of the value statement of SDV. And, superseding and removing features and functions that no longer add value or even hinder same are part of the makers’ business.

I am retired from IT and got my start and software development. And, was involved in contracts over the years and know that “guardrails“ were common for notification of, approval of, or even preventing the loss of features and functions that had been part of the value statement for a set of software. For example, spec sheets, the “right to audit” and penalties/“right to quit” without costs (by the buyer) as well as “right to repair” (by the seller) may be used in B2B/B2G for software that was more valued or less permanent. And, these guardrails were inviolate/non-negotiable for privacy and security features and functions.

So yes, I think there needs to be some sort of regulatory or legal guardrails for consumers (B2C) of SDV. Businesses need an incentive to not “fire and forget.“ Trust & “good faith gestures” are not enuf in our present day and in this marketplace. And removing features & functions can be “damn annoying.”

Just my 2 ¢

 

[JacobAZ]

I hear what everyone is saying, but Alexa was destined to be removed at some point, as most technology is surpassed by newer. Alexa was originally designed to help increase sales on Amazon, not do all the things it does today. However, it was also designed with the flexibility to add new functions and capabilities. A great tool in 2014 and developers took advantage of this capability. In 2020 Rivian saw Alexa as the best option to integrate voice commands and such. So, they did. However, Alexa base code was not designed to do all the things people were finding it could do, and the things RIvian wanted to do. Systems which evolve in this manner become unwieldy, slow, inefficient, and hard to maintain over time. By 2024 Amazon realized it had to rewrite Alexa if it was to remain relevant. So, they did and rolled out the new version in 2025. Rivian continued to run the old version of Alexa. Its likely that Rivian looked at where they wanted to go in the future and concluded Google and Gemini would support the future better than Alexa. So, they made the transition. Could Rivian have also upgraded to the new version of Alexa along with implementing Gemini? Yes, but why keep the expense of a redundant system which had been surpassed. Its the way business works and technology evolves.

 

[Horsey]

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.

HomeAssistant has a completely open source voice control module for the smarthome users that’s runs on super low end hardware that could be forked or otherwise integrated. There’s no longer an excuse to depend on Google/Alexa for voice commands at this point. They also could just stop being obstinate and integrate CarPlay Ultra and get voice controls for free that way (not sure if Android Auto has feature parity there, but they could always hook into Google Home for basic controls that way).

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