Connect+ is Here

[freshpow]

Also what they want to retain is the ability to charge people $15 a month for things they would get for free with CarPlay. Which is high, considering that Rivian isn't even 5G and will never be (short of buying a new car). I already have a phone which is easily twice as fast as the Rivian infotainment system, and a great cellular subscription, which will soon (in a few years) work with Starlink, to boot. Thank you, Rivian, but I choose Apple's proprietary system over your proprietary system.

Now do it with your wallet and go buy a car with carplay and stop complaining here

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[TollKeeper]

That’s a nice truck too.

Its a company truck... I just get to look at it as my shop guys tear it up.. I hope they keep it looking nice.. But I know they wont.

 

[TollKeeper]

LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO JOIN MY CLASS ACTION SUIT OVER THESE CLEAR VIOLATIONS OF OUR FIRST AMENDMENT & 14TH AMENDMENT RIGHTS!

I would be willing to bet it does actually turn into one... I could be wrong, and have been before.. But I can see it happening.

 

[C12farmer]

I do think they are shooting off their nose here.

Most other manufactures, legacy or not, offer connected services for 3 years with purchase. We just purchased for my company a 2023 Chevy 1500 Trailboss. The remaining 2.5 years of connected services are still free.

Those that managed to get their pre-purchase back in 2022 have been streaming/whatever for 2+ years now. Old adage of "For me, but not for thee".

I get they are just trying to turn profitable. This, I think, is not the way to do it.

I know I will not be doing it.
I have WiFi at work that my truck connects to as soon as I get to work.
I have WiFi at home that my truck connects to as soon as I get home.
I, and my wife, have free unlimited tethering thru my phone, and its 5G.

Wheres my incentive here?
I can still watch YouTube streaming thru my tethered device.
I loose nothing as far as I can tell, and save $15/150.

Rivian needs to do this now so they can start off Q4 with as low expense as possible. It's no coincidence that they gave 2 free months, so everyone starts to pay before start of Q4.

Let's assume some very simple scenario.
Assume it cost them $10/month to provide this (unlimited) data plan.
With 100K+ vehicles on the road, that's $1M a month that they are spending. That expense will instantly go from -$1M to +$500K. So for all of Q4, they instantly go from -$3M to +1.5M for that single expense item.

 

[Chewy734]

THIS JUST PUT ME OVER THE EDGE!!!!

I WAS GOING TO BUY TWENTY TRI-MOTORS AT $115K EACH TODAY BUT NOW I'M NOT GOING TO BECAUSE RIVIAN IS GOING TO CHARGE ME (*CHECKS NOTES*) $12.50/MONTH (AFTER A 60 DAY FREE TRIAL PERIOD) TO USE THE DATA THAT AT&T IS CHARGING THEM FOR (WITH THE OPTION TO PAY NOTHING & JUST CONTINUE USING THE MEDIA FEATURES BUILT INTO THE VEHICLE FOR FREE BY TETHERING TO MY OWN PHONE THAT USES THE DATA I PAY FOR MYSELF)!!!!!

LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO JOIN MY CLASS ACTION SUIT OVER THESE CLEAR VIOLATIONS OF OUR FIRST AMENDMENT & 14TH AMENDMENT RIGHTS!

If your use-case is a convoy of 20 Rivians for royalty like @Count Orlok, I’d suggest just paying Connect+ for the middle vehicle and buying a WiFi repeater. Then, in all the leading/tailing vehicles just connect to that WiFi repeater and profit! ?

 

[Cycliste]

This stuff is a crack-up; my last thoughts on this earth will be, "I sure wish I didn't pay for "connect+!"

It’s also possible your last words are “ I wish I had paid for Connect+!”

 

[White Shadow]

I saw your point and dismissed it and gave alternative explanation. I don't think not supporting CP/AA has anything to do with Connect+. I think that the pricing is unfortunate, but I can't imagine that connect+ being a subscription was maybe at most a minor concern on implementing it.

I would love for nothing more to have car play in my truck, but I also see a trend of auto manufactures distancing themselves from Apple and Google and I can only imagine what the contracts look like for support on such a thing. This is also in line with what RJ and other manufactures have said which is a bit more than the point you are trying to make.

So then how can you reconcile the fact that I can do for free much of the stuff that Rivian is charging people to do in their Rivian? You can dismiss it all you want, but facts matter here. Rivian is looking to capitalize on requiring it's customers to pay for some pretty basic functionality. They don't even allow USB playback of mp3 files, which is beyond ridiculous.

And BTW, CP/AA is more popular than it has ever been. It's not going away and car manufacturers will continue to offer it on their vehicles. The list is growing, not shrinking. That makes s sense considering just how many people refuse to buy a new car without it.

 

[freshpow]

That makes s sense considering just how many people refuse to buy a new car without it.

And exactly how many people is that? In my experience, people have no problem buying a car without carplay but then they love to go on internet forums and complain about not having carplay. YMMV

 

[White Shadow]

And exactly how many people is that? In my experience, people have no problem buying a car without carplay but then they love to go on internet forums and complain about not having carplay. YMMV

Most studies put the number at 30 - 35% of new car buyers are not interested in buying a car without CP. Personally, I've never purchased a car without it, at least since the last ten years, when the technology became available.

 

[HaveBlue]

What a world when they've convinced us to pay a monthly subscription to sit in the car not going anywhere and watch a movie. Personally I want to get the hell out of the car when it stops moving and do something else.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Not sure if anybody’s posted it yet, but I already see it in my account. Looks like it’s actually starting in two days based on the 2 month trial period

Yay! Get two free months even if you activate now.

 

[ukyank]

Luckily connect+ offers nothing of value to me in its current form so no need to pay for the subscription

 

[Rad_ry]

So to clarify, I get all of this currently (and have been for a while) for free. I will now have to pay for the same exact thing. Correct?

And then, at some undetermined future date (s00n), the service will improve to add YouTube and remote Gear Guard.

Just want to be sure I'm tracking.

Well they could have charged you from your purchase date if you preferred?

 

[Riv E In]

Well they could have charged you from your purchase date if you preferred?

Right. Great insight… ?

 

[Rad_ry]

Right. Great insight… ?

You’re welcome

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