New CarPlay Support Email?

[Rivian_Hugh_III]

I reached out to customer service to express my wish that they had CarPlay.

I expected them to reply with an open-ended statement like, “we appreciate this feedback and will continue to work to support the needs of our customers.”

Instead, I got a reply that sounds like, “too bad so sad, now deal with it.”

Not sure what it means that they’re, “hoping to evolve later in the future.”

Here’s the email:

- - - - -

Hi Hugh,

Thanks for reaching out to us here at Rivian and we hope you had a nice holiday weekend!

We do not have Carplay or Android Auto. We believe that to create a truly incredible digital experience, an integrated platform that is optimized for our vehicles is the better path. Thank you so much for the insight, we're hoping to evolve later in the future.

Feel free to reach out anytime with any additional questions.


Your fellow adventurer,


Shyreeta
Mon-Fri: 7:00am-8:00pm CST
Sat-Sun: 7:00am-3:30pm CST

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[Dark-Fx]

They don't want to get people's hopes up. Personally I agree with Rivian, but that's only if they completely nail the software stack.

My Polestar 2 has Android Automotive, the biggest complaint from people seems to be that Waze isn't available for the car. Google maps works even better on the car than it does on my phone, with the added benefit of being integrated directly with the level of the battery.

 

[astonius]

Pretty similar to an email I got months ago when inquiring about it. Seems we're getting mixed messages ranging from "hell no" to "maybe" to "we're considering it." Of course until it's a yes, it's a no. The tech mantra of "never buy a product today on the promise of future software updates."

I encourage everyone who does want it to continue to hammer this point. I spoke with live chat last week and explicitly asked them to relay my feedback to their user experience team. I don't know if it will help, but it certainly couldn't hurt. Catch-22 to say "no one is really demanding it" and saying "there's no sense demanding it." Not asking all but guarantees it won't make it in.

 

[PoorPilot]

What am I missing? I don't have CarPlay in my current vehicle, but I've used it several times in rentals and yes, it's nice, but it's not something that would sway my decision to purchase a vehicle or not. Does everyone email Ford, Chevy or Tesla when before they buy a car and ask them to include something or remove something? I can honestly say I haven't, but maybe I'm in the minority. I get it- it doesn't hurt to ask, but there are so many threads on this board and others regarding the lack of CarPlay and how big of a mistake it is NOT to include it. My Tesla doesn't have it and believe it or not- I can still get from point A to point B just fine.

Again- maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see what the big deal is and why so many people keep emailing/texting/calling Rivian asking about CarPlay.

 

[mike22co]

To be fair, many of us have never experienced CarPlay and won’t miss it not being there. But I definitely want the UI to work for all the controls it is needed for, seeing as there aren’t many buttons.

 

[kanundrum]

Could make a template to have all 500+ active people send a email to them spamming/requesting change.org style ?

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

believe it or not- I can still get from point A to point B just fine

This argument always makes me a bit angry. It's such a logical fallacy. If all that mattered was getting from point A to B then no one would buy a Rivian. We may value different things, but every single one of us has at least something they want from Rivian beyond "get me from A to B".

 

[astonius]

What am I missing? I don't have CarPlay in my current vehicle, but I've used it several times in rentals and yes, it's nice, but it's not something that would sway my decision to purchase a vehicle or not. Does everyone email Ford, Chevy or Tesla when before they buy a car and ask them to include something or remove something? I can honestly say I haven't, but maybe I'm in the minority. I get it- it doesn't hurt to ask, but there are so many threads on this board and others regarding the lack of CarPlay and how big of a mistake it is NOT to include it. My Tesla doesn't have it and believe it or not- I can still get from point A to point B just fine.

Again- maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see what the big deal is and why so many people keep emailing/texting/calling Rivian asking about CarPlay.

Haven't had to email most carmakers because they intuitively saw the benefits of CarPlay and added it preemptively. Tesla is the one exception, and I'd argue they are succeeding in spite of it, not because of it. This idea that excluding CarPlay is somehow a benefit for the consumer is silly.

Too many folks are focused on the interface aspects of CarPlay without focusing on the apps and services it enables. The interface is nothing to write home about, but being able to use your preferred navigation, music, podcasts, and tighter phone/text integration with the head unit directly are what make it special, as well as its ability to evolve over time.

 

[the long way downunder]

I think it's politely worded by a real person and makes sense.
Of course the underlying business decision is … Amazon has an audio streaming business, and is not going to offer up Rivian as a way for Apple and Google to generate revenue.

p.s. I use both carplay and Android Auto in an F-150 Hybrid. They're both pretty weak. Mostly it's just a useful way to play spotify and Google Maps is better than Ford (or Apple.)

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Too many folks are focused on the interface aspects of CarPlay without focusing on the apps and services it enables. The interface is nothing to write home about, but being able to use your preferred navigation, music, podcasts, and tighter phone/text integration with the head unit directly are what make it special, as well as its ability to evolve over time.

Bingo.

If Rivian gave me a GOOD UI to interact with Apple Music and text messaging, then I'd probably be fine. I think having CarPlay is still a good option to have -- but I wouldn't be so pissed about it if the apps *I* care about were available natively, and they provided a good experience. The frustrating part is that Rivian says they want to provide a better experience than CP, but refuse to even commit to actually building the functionality I want. How is that better?

 

[jtshaw]

I think it's politely worded by a real person and makes sense.
Of course the underlying business decision is … Amazon has an audio streaming business, and is not going to offer up Rivian as a way for Apple and Google to generate revenue.

p.s. I use both carplay and Android Auto in an F-150 Hybrid. They're both pretty weak. Mostly it's just a useful way to play spotify and Google Maps is better than Ford (or Apple.)

This "Amazon is making them do it" narrative keeps coming up, but it's ridiculous. Having driven the R1T, you know what the default music service is? Spotify! Does Amazon own Spotify? No. Most of Amazon's Apps work with Car Play and Android Auto and Apple Music works just fine with Alexa. Amazon isn't making product calls at Rivian either.

 

[SlaterGS]

THIS is what I want to avoid.
Why TF do we have this beautiful screen and have to mount our phone?!?!?!

 

[PoorPilot]

This argument always makes me a bit angry. It's such a logical fallacy. If all that mattered was getting from point A to B then no one would buy a Rivian. We may value different things, but every single one of us has at least something they want from Rivian beyond "get me from A to B".

Bingo.

If Rivian gave me a GOOD UI to interact with Apple Music and text messaging, then I'd probably be fine. I think having CarPlay is still a good option to have -- but I wouldn't be so pissed about it if the apps *I* care about were available natively, and they provided a good experience. The frustrating part is that Rivian says they want to provide a better experience than CP, but refuse to even commit to actually building the functionality I want. How is that better?

To say that no one would buy a Rivian is a bit presumptuous, but I see the argument. After buying my Tesla, I decided that I wanted an electric truck or SUV to replace my Expedition. I was hoping for something better from Tesla, but I liked the Rivian and decided to hang on to my reservations. It's all about personal choice. I've been able to see both the R1T and R1S in person multiple times and have spoken to multiple Rivian reps both via phone and in person. I've walked away from every interaction feeling better about the company and ultimately my decision to hang on to my reservations.

Now you're stating that you're pissed that Rivian isn't listening nor catering their vehicles to you specifically. There is a small group of people that have taken delivery of their vehicles (possibly mostly employees) and I'm sure they are giving constant feedback to the higher-ups about EVERYTHING. With that being said- unless you have specifically taken delivery of your vehicle, how can you say that the interface does not have "the functionality that you want"? Who's to say that it won't or can't change? Are you basing everything off of interactions with customer service reps or real world experience? And at the end of the day, if it has really "pissed" you off, then why hang on to your reservation? It sounds like you're not going to be happy with the interface, and it's obviously a sticking point- so just request a refund.

 

[stynes]

My understanding on the AA/CP issue, it's less about usability and integrated experience or even protecting streaming revenue or something like that. My understanding of the issue here is that there's great value about the data that Waze/Google Maps/etc collects when you're using it and THAT is what Rivian (and Tesla and potentially other manufacturers) want to capitalize on. Ford and some of the other traditional auto manufacturers aren't ready/able to leverage this data and they didn't have sufficient alternatives to AA/CP so they leveraged them. Rivian wants to get access to the data, so much so that they've built a lot of this functionality to avoid needing to allow AA/CP. Additionally, EVs like Rivian want to be able to include charging as part of the routing, something AA/CP don't do (at least not today). That's my understanding, anyway.

 

[dsmithsalinas]

To me, the big miss here is only having Spotify for streaming music which is where CarPlay and even Android Auto come in for people. I'll certainly just play music from Apple Music through Bluetooth, but that just seems weird when driving a $70K+ brand new car.

In my current car, I gave up the navigation and cellular costs after the trial solely because I can use CarPlay, which makes sense as to why Rivian wouldn't offer it since they want to make their own money in those areas.

It's not a deal breaker, but would be great to have more music options in the UI.

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