CarPlay discussion with Rivian CS: company is working with Apple and it's a priority

[VSG]

So the official CS instructions still remain the same, perhaps some insider or sympathizing employee leaked some info to the rest of us.

Wait, so THAT'S your takeaway, that the OP just happened upon the one CS employee who had inside knowledge of what the folks in the C-suite were doing, and was brave enough to tell the world? And that every other CS employee response above is just repeating the official lie?

Or perhaps it's more likely that the CS employee just didn't know what they were talking about? Like the guy I spoke to last Spring who insisted that the Camp Kitchen and Rooftop Tent were actively shipping, and that lots of people had received them already?

It really amazes me how people jump on any hint of what they want to hear and elevate it into the gospel truth. And now it's on the interwebz, so it must be true. The original post is so insubstantial it should have disappeared into the ether by now, but mention Car Play and it's like you disturbed a flock of geese - the cackling will go on and on and on ...

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[deathernater]

Wait, so THAT'S your takeaway, that the OP just happened upon the one CS employee who had inside knowledge of what the folks in the C-suite were doing, and was brave enough to tell the world? And that every other CS employee response above is just repeating the official lie?

Or perhaps it's more likely that the CS employee just didn't know what they were talking about? Like the guy I spoke to last Spring who insisted that the Camp Kitchen and Rooftop Tent were actively shipping, and that lots of people had received them already?

It really amazes me how people jump on any hint of what they want to hear and elevate it into the gospel truth. And now it's on the interwebz, so it must be true. The original post is so insubstantial it should have disappeared into the ether by now, but mention Car Play and it's like you disturbed a flock of geese - the cackling will go on and on and on ...

All I said there is a small possibility I never said it is happening or that what the OP said is the gospel of truth. The takeaway should be that AA/CP integration is important enough to a group of likeminded owners or prospective owners in our community that whenever there is news about this, people are reacting and responding because Rivian is failing to address this shortfall.

I am not sure what you are trying to get at here, but this will be my only response to you.

 

[hekhl00]

@hekhl00 can you provide any additional details about who provided the info without pin-pointing an individual? Was it a front-line CS rep or someone who could actually have more specific knowledge about the infotainment?

(love your avatar, btw. You can't skip lunch!)

Not really. I simply called the main support line. The rep did a nice job on my original issue even putting me on hold while calling a service center to make sure I was getting accurate info. So to the best of my knowledge a front line rep. What was crazy is how open he was, going on quite a bit about “we get it” and how they were working hard to meet Apple’s requirements in regards to CarPlay.

 

[crashmtb]

Just wrote to my guide and he shot me down.

What a missed opportunity. When are they going to learn. I bet AA support will boost them significantly in terms of desirability and sales.

Guides are in effect salespeople. Sales is always the last to know, because sales likes to sell people…well, anything, wether or not it exists.

 

[atebit]

Maybe chat reps have been replaced by ChatGPT?

What do you mean, “replaced by”?

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Guides are in effect salespeople. Sales is always the last to know, because sales likes to sell people…well, anything, wether or not it exists.

They're sales people?! I thought they were mythical creatures.

 

[RalphB]

Apple has less than 1/3 of the worldwide smartphone market. They would serve more customers by including Android Auto, or how about playing music from a USB stick like my Infiniti, Lexus and Audi do?

 

[racekarl]

Apple has less than 1/3 of the worldwide smartphone market. They would serve more customers by including Android Auto, or how about playing music from a USB stick like my Infiniti, Lexus and Audi do?

Oof, at least read prior posts before posting bad info. Apple has almost 60% market share in the US, which is currently the only market Rivian serves.

https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile/united-states-of-america

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Oof, at least read prior posts before posting bad info. Apple has almost 60% market share in the US, which is currently the only market Rivian serves.

https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile/united-states-of-america

That’s not true. Rivian sells vehicles in Canada too. And Apple only has a 59.3% market share there.

 

[crashmtb]

Apple has less than 1/3 of the worldwide smartphone market. They would serve more customers by including Android Auto, or how about playing music from a USB stick like my Infiniti, Lexus and Audi do?

What percentage of smartphone users are able to afford a rivian?

 

[usofrob]

(Sorry, I didn't read all the comments, but I wanted to give a little technical insight.)
As someone who's working with a different OEM to enable Wireless AA/CP. I can tell you that it can be extremely difficult getting all the settings right to meet the required performance specs. The Wi-Fi can run at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, Bluetooth runs on 2.4 Ghz. Creating a Wi-Fi hotspot also runs on 2.4 or 5. Wireless AA/CP also connect over Wi-Fi. So, you can have 4 things trying to use 2.4GHz at one time. Only one thing can transmit at a time or they'll interfere with each other. But you can't block out Bluetooth for Wi-Fi for long or you'll get audio drops on Bluetooth. If you do the opposite, you won't get enough throughput to do the screen sharing of AA/CP. Having multiple antennas makes it easier and harder.

For the OEM I was working with, they shipped the vehicles without it enabled, and enabled it 6 months later after getting the official certification. But, I believe they advertised it as compatible from the get-go. Rivian has kind of said the opposite.

From another thread, people kind of determined that Rivian is running Android. So, it's actually fairly likely that from the time they starting making their own skin on Android, Rivian's HW was able to run Wireless Android Auto, because they keep that as part of the standard SW. It would likely only work as the only thing using Wi-Fi/BT at the time, but it would function. Besides the HW concerns above from using a semi-unique Wi-Fi/BT chip, when you add all your custom SW on top, it would break how well it integrates.

I've seen the size of team and effort required to get these things working, and they may have just decided to try and go without it for a while to see if they'd be successful. But, from what I've seen on here, it seems like they'll want to get Wireless AA/CP working by the time they run out of their first 100k customers.

Unfortunately, it may actually required a hardware change. I know the board I worked with used a dedicated Apple IC to authenticate Apple devices. That means the computer hardware may need to have that installed in order to enable Wireless CP. Getting Wireless AA is actually a little easier. So, it's possible that the current computer might not have that populated. to save like $1 per unit (which is a lot in this space).

tldr; All of this is to say that it's very possible it could be added later, but there are significant engineering challenges to make this happen.

Finally, Tesla isn't based on Android (at least they weren't). So, they wouldn't have the easy implementation of AA and CP. That's a reason they didn't do it initially. Now it's probably because they just like to be fully integrated.

 

[usofrob]

What percentage of smartphone users are able to afford a rivian?

This is also very true. A few years ago I was working at Whirlpool. Their Jenn-Air line is their most expensive brand, and think I recall them saying that like 90% of their customers had iPhones. iPhones are always expensive, so it makes sense the people with more money have them.

 

[astonius]

Unfortunately, it may actually required a hardware change. I know the board I worked with used a dedicated Apple IC to authenticate Apple devices. That means the computer hardware may need to have that installed in order to enable Wireless CP. Getting Wireless AA is actually a little easier. So, it's possible that the current computer might not have that populated. to save like $1 per unit (which is a lot in this space).

While wireless CarPlay would certainly be preferred, I think many of us would be happy to simply have CarPlay even in wired form. It sounds like your concerns are around wireless CarPlay specifically. Rivian’s VP of software did confirm on Reddit the hardware is capable of running CarPlay, but there was no specifics around the supported connection types.

 

[zefram47]

(Sorry, I didn't read all the comments, but I wanted to give a little technical insight.)
As someone who's working with a different OEM to enable Wireless AA/CP. I can tell you that it can be extremely difficult getting all the settings right to meet the required performance specs. The Wi-Fi can run at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, Bluetooth runs on 2.4 Ghz. Creating a Wi-Fi hotspot also runs on 2.4 or 5. Wireless AA/CP also connect over Wi-Fi. So, you can have 4 things trying to use 2.4GHz at one time. Only one thing can transmit at a time or they'll interfere with each other. But you can't block out Bluetooth for Wi-Fi for long or you'll get audio drops on Bluetooth. If you do the opposite, you won't get enough throughput to do the screen sharing of AA/CP. Having multiple antennas makes it easier and harder.

For the OEM I was working with, they shipped the vehicles without it enabled, and enabled it 6 months later after getting the official certification. But, I believe they advertised it as compatible from the get-go. Rivian has kind of said the opposite.

From another thread, people kind of determined that Rivian is running Android. So, it's actually fairly likely that from the time they starting making their own skin on Android, Rivian's HW was able to run Wireless Android Auto, because they keep that as part of the standard SW. It would likely only work as the only thing using Wi-Fi/BT at the time, but it would function. Besides the HW concerns above from using a semi-unique Wi-Fi/BT chip, when you add all your custom SW on top, it would break how well it integrates.

I've seen the size of team and effort required to get these things working, and they may have just decided to try and go without it for a while to see if they'd be successful. But, from what I've seen on here, it seems like they'll want to get Wireless AA/CP working by the time they run out of their first 100k customers.

Unfortunately, it may actually required a hardware change. I know the board I worked with used a dedicated Apple IC to authenticate Apple devices. That means the computer hardware may need to have that installed in order to enable Wireless CP. Getting Wireless AA is actually a little easier. So, it's possible that the current computer might not have that populated. to save like $1 per unit (which is a lot in this space).

tldr; All of this is to say that it's very possible it could be added later, but there are significant engineering challenges to make this happen.

Finally, Tesla isn't based on Android (at least they weren't). So, they wouldn't have the easy implementation of AA and CP. That's a reason they didn't do it initially. Now it's probably because they just like to be fully integrated.

I'm assuming wired CP is slightly easier from a resource perspective then? Obviously wireless is preferred these days, but on longer trips I still plug my phone in. For short trips wireless from the pocket is nice so you don't have to keep pulling out your phone, etc.

 

[srnyoung]

[Humor] Here's what ChatGPT has to say when asked to "Write an article that explains why Rivian chooses to implement their own infotainment software while excluding Apple CarPlay integration."

"Rivian, the electric vehicle manufacturer, recently made the decision to implement its own infotainment software and exclude integration with Apple CarPlay. This decision has raised questions about why a company would choose to develop their own infotainment system instead of using a more established and widely used platform like Apple CarPlay. One reason for this choice is that Rivian wants to offer a unique and personalized experience for its customers. The company believes that developing its own infotainment system will allow it to create a more seamless and integrated experience for its customers. This system will be designed specifically for Rivian vehicles, with features and interfaces that are tailored to the needs of electric vehicle owners. Another reason is that Rivian wants to have complete control over the user experience. By using its own infotainment software, Rivian can ensure that the user experience is consistent across all of its vehicles and that it meets the high standards set by the company. This also allows Rivian to have greater control over the updates and maintenance of the infotainment system, which can be critical for ensuring the longevity and reliability of the system. Additionally, by excluding Apple CarPlay, Rivian can avoid the limitations and restrictions that come with using a third-party platform. Apple CarPlay has strict guidelines and limitations on the types of apps and features that can be used, which can limit the flexibility and customization of the infotainment system. By using its own software, Rivian has the freedom to create and implement the features and capabilities that its customers want and need. In conclusion, Rivian's decision to develop its own infotainment software and exclude Apple CarPlay integration is a strategic choice that reflects the company's commitment to delivering a unique and personalized experience for its customers. By having complete control over the user experience, Rivian can ensure that its infotainment system is reliable, flexible, and tailored to the needs of electric vehicle owners."

Y'all recognize that ChatGPT, as a language learning model, is literally built by scraping words written by humans off the internet (including this forum) and regurgitating them back, right?

I saw the humor tag but still...

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