Apple CarPlay & Android Auto for Rivian R2! 🙌🏼 Easy DIY Plug-&-Play Vehicle Specific Smart Screen 🙌🏼

[rvnxyz001]

Exactly, you need a rubber mat and liners to prevent scratches. Alternatively, a carpeted material can be used, but that accumulates dust and other stuff that my dog brings from walks. There are many choices on Amazon.

Carpet will get ruined and look super ugly. I know this from my current car. I put thick rubber protection on top of it. thankfully, there's an accessory for this.

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[emroch]

That USB-C port is not a power port, it's a signal port for Gear Guard storage. I have USB-C thumb drive there, and that port cannot to be shared.

That port should have plenty of power for a display and a thumb drive/SSD. The R2 manual has conflicting statements about it, but the port seems to be 15W at least and can definitely charge a phone. As for sharing the port, USB power taps (and hubs) have existed forever, and it is certainly possible to syphon off some power from the port for the display while also powering the Gear Guard drive. EV Sportline has already mentioned they are working on a splitter:

2 - yes, we expect to be able to use a splitter on the USB-C port to allow powering the screen AND providing the storage thumb drive for Gear Guard. The power usage is all below the limit of that port. We are testing a splitter now - will confirm soon.

give it a few months and everything from Android Auto will be included and working natively.

Yeah, I'm sure the millions of apps available on Android Auto and CarPlay will be available natively in "a few months" . While it's great that Rivian is rolling out Waze alerts in the native Nav in the next OTA, there are still plenty of reasons one might want to project apps from your phone to a display in the car.

 

[rvnxyz001]

That port should have plenty of power for a display and a thumb drive/SSD. The R2 manual has conflicting statements about it, but the port seems to be 15W at least and can definitely charge a phone. As for sharing the port, USB power taps (and hubs) have existed forever, and it is certainly possible to syphon off some power from the port for the display while also powering the Gear Guard drive. EV Sportline has already mentioned they are working on a splitter:



Yeah, I'm sure the millions of apps available on Android Auto and CarPlay will be available natively in "a few months" . While it's great that Rivian is rolling out Waze alerts in the native Nav in the next OTA, there are still plenty of reasons one might want to project apps from your phone to a display in the car.

I bet Rivian will eventually give up and implement Android Auto or CarPlay, like Tesla did, once they confirm that the lack of these features is hurting sales.

 

[tivoboy]

I bet Rivian will eventually give up and implement Android Auto or CarPlay, like Tesla did, once they confirm that the lack of these features is hurting sales.

Which Tesla is that?

or was that sarcasm?

humour. It is a difficult concept.

 

[emroch]

Tesla is reportedly developing CarPlay support, and the recent bi-directional routing feature Apple added a few months ago was said to be the last thing they were waiting on. But nothing official has been announced by Tesla, Apple, or Google.

 

[evilyn]

That port should have plenty of power for a display and a thumb drive/SSD. The R2 manual has conflicting statements about it, but the port seems to be 15W at least and can definitely charge a phone. As for sharing the port, USB power taps (and hubs) have existed forever, and it is certainly possible to syphon off some power from the port for the display while also powering the Gear Guard drive. EV Sportline has already mentioned they are working on a splitter...

On page 24, under Power Outlets Overview, the R2 guide says: The USB-C outlet in the center glove box is for charging and storing data, such as security footage from Gear Guard.

Rivian does not give the glove-box port a 15 W rating in this section.
Rivian specifies the kind of USB drive you can use with this port for use with Gear Guard.
Rivian explicitly says: “Don't use a USB hub or splitter.”

In previous (June) version of R2 guide, Rivian said the center-glove-box USB-C outlet was “reserved for a future feature and is not intended for charging.”

 

[evilyn]

Yeah, I'm sure the millions of apps available on Android Auto and CarPlay will be available natively in "a few months" .

Millions? Google not long ago put the number of 3000+ apps in Google Play with purpose-built in-car experiences. Since I had Android Auto in my previous car, the number of useful apps can be counted using fingers on both hands. Android Auto isn't “put my entire phone on the car screen.” The phone remains the computer running the apps, but Android Auto presents approved, driver-optimized interfaces to the vehicle. A phone app has to declare/support the relevant Android Auto capability, and the Android Auto host determines how it can be presented.

And the available categories are deliberately constrained. Google's current list includes things such as:

• Navigation
• Media
• Communication
• POI
• Weather
• IoT
• Games (with restrictions)
• Video/other parked experiences

Not arbitrary Android applications.

Rivian already announced that Waze real-time alerts are coming to R1 and R2. And it's significantly better design than Android Auto:
Rivian → Waze data/features → Rivian's own navigation system

rather than:
Phone → Android Auto → Waze → Rivian display

That's an important distinction.

 

[emroch]

In previous (June) version of R2 guide, Rivian said the center-glove-box USB-C outlet was “reserved for a future feature and is not intended for charging.”

Yes, that is why I said it has conflicting statements about it. The port is capable of providing enough power to charge a phone, or to run a screen and flash drive. You're not going to hurt it by powering a device like this.

The 15W claim was based on another thread discussing measured charge rates. I'll try to dig it up. The manual is also incorrect about the rates for the center console ports, they provide up to 60W not the 15 as stated in the manual. Thus, I would take everything the manual says about the USB-C ports with a grain of salt - it is clearly not presenting the complete/accurate picture and needs to be updated.

As for the hub/splitter disclaimer, pretty much every USB accessory FAQ/troubleshooting page says to test the device by removing any hubs, docks, or splitters. Its CYA BS most of the time because there are plenty of quality hubs/splitters that don't cause any issues except with very sensitive equipment. If you get a cheap hacked-together splitter, then yeah it could cause an issue. But one validated by an EV-centric aftermarket supplier? If they say it works, I bet it works.

 

[emroch]

Millions? Google not long ago put the number of 3000+ apps in Google Play with purpose-built in-car experiences. Since I had Android Auto in my previous car, the number of useful apps can be counted using fingers on both hands. Android Auto isn't “put my entire phone on the car screen.” The phone remains the computer running the apps, but Android Auto presents approved, driver-optimized interfaces to the vehicle. A phone app has to declare/support the relevant Android Auto capability, and the Android Auto host determines how it can be presented.

And the available categories are deliberately constrained. Google's current list includes things such as:

• Navigation
• Media
• Communication
• POI
• Weather
• IoT
• Games (with restrictions)
• Video/other parked experiences

Not arbitrary Android applications.

Rivian already announced that Waze real-time alerts are coming to R1 and R2. And it's significantly better design than Android Auto:
Rivian → Waze data/features → Rivian's own navigation system

rather than:
Phone → Android Auto → Waze → Rivian display

That's an important distinction.

Don't feed me AI generated arguments. If we're going to have a discussion, use your own words.

I am fully aware of how CarPlay and Android Auto work. Ever heard of hyperbole? Its a literary device used to accentuate claims to demonstrate a point, not to be taken literally.
You said, and I quote, "give it a few months and everything from Android Auto will be included and working natively." I used the term "millions" because I couldn't be bothered to look up how many active Android Auto and CarPlay apps are available for download today. But the point stands. It will not be "everything". It will not even be close. I think we'd be lucky to get a dozen new integrations in the next 1-2 years, meanwhile new apps are shipping on Android Auto and CarPlay constantly.

As a concrete example, without CarPlay support my podcast player of choice, Overcast by Marco Arment, will never be available on Rivian's software. He will not devote the time to build it even if they let him, and he probably wouldn't even let them develop it in-house for him because it reflects on him and he doesn't want to be responsible for someone else's bugs. There are countless other apps in both Android and iOS that can be projected to cars but will absolutely never be worth it for Rivian to enable with the current system.

 

[evilyn]

Yes, that is why I said it has conflicting statements about it.

Nothing conflicting. Rivian at that time was already finishing Gear Guard, that's why it was reserved for the next OTA update.

The port is capable of providing enough power to charge a phone, or to run a screen and flash drive. You're not going to hurt it by powering a device like this.

You simply don't know if the port can or cannot charge phone, it's specifically intended for USB-C (low power) storage.

The 15W claim was based on another thread discussing measured charge rates. I'll try to dig it up.

Rivian explicitly mentioned 15W per port with 30W total across the other charging ports.

As for the hub/splitter disclaimer, pretty much every USB accessory FAQ/troubleshooting page says to test the device by removing any hubs, docks, or splitters. Its CYA BS most of the time because there are plenty of quality hubs/splitters that don't cause any issues except with very sensitive equipment. If you get a cheap hacked-together splitter, then yeah it could cause an issue. But one validated by an EV-centric aftermarket supplier? If they say it works, I bet it works.

LOLSure is they say so, who's Rivian to contradict them

 

[emroch]

Nothing conflicting.

Page 24:

Page 147:

That clearly conflicts. One says it is not intended for charging (clearly written before Gear Guard rolled out) while the other says "charge and store data" (clearly added after the OTA). So yes, Rivian itself is inconsistent.

Found the 60W evidence:

Yes 20v is supported.

Rivian can be, and has been, wrong in their documentation. You seem to be over-indexing on an internally-inconsistent document which is refuted by actual testing by people with the car in their possession. And yes, if a reputable accessory maker claims that the OEM documentation is wrong and they can demonstrate that their product works, and they are willing to back it up with a return policy/warranty/good customer service, then yeah I'm going to take their word over Rivian's.

 

[EV Sportline]

lots of good information sharing here, thanks everyone. We are doing further testing and will report once we have answers!

I can tell you the center glove box USB-C definitely works to power the screen, I have been running it for several weeks. So it has the power capability. We are working on the gear guard end of things....

 

[Millbarge]

Tesla is reportedly developing CarPlay support, and the recent bi-directional routing feature Apple added a few months ago was said to be the last thing they were waiting on. But nothing official has been announced by Tesla, Apple, or Google.

And Tesla is doing this because lack of this feature "hurt sales" even thought the MY is the best selling car on the market?

 

[TechDad]

And Tesla is doing this because lack of this feature "hurt sales" even thought the MY is the best selling car on the market?

My guess is that this is a reaction to Rivian (and others) threatening their customer pool and Tesla trying to create key differentiators in order to keep market share. They might not really like Carplay, but then they can say "Hey, look, we offer Carplay! Don't look over there, come over here..."

 

[rvnxyz001]

And Tesla is doing this because lack of this feature "hurt sales" even thought the MY is the best selling car on the market?

I think the

My guess is that this is a reaction to Rivian (and others) threatening their customer pool and Tesla trying to create key differentiators in order to keep market share. They might not really like Carplay, but then they can say "Hey, look, we offer Carplay! Don't look over there, come over here..."

It could simply be because they can technically do it now, so why not? Their connectivity subscription still has some value beyond just the ability to play music so most likely owners won't just cancel it because they have carplay now

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