New EV Play Update

[EV Play - Alex]

If I don't have to pay for the development cost for all those things, I'm all for it.

To clarify, it's not just for new features. Customer support and updates as well.

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[windblowlc]

To clarify, it's not just for new features. Customer support and updates as well.

Customer support and updates would be much more complex with all the bells and whistles you're trying to add.

 

[mmcool]

See the post above regarding the device being fully customizable in its use. If you just want CarPlay, it will just be CarPlay. I bet anything you will be using EV Play for more than that at some point, just as you use your phone for more than "just calling" and your Rivian for "just driving." But again, it is your device to customize and use as you see fit.

Regarding the "caveats" and "feature limitations" you mentioned, I'm going to heavily push back on that as it is clearly misinformation. CarPlay on EV Play is a very seamless experience. Far better than some native integrations I have seen over the years. Remember, EV Play is an after-market device for a vehicle made by a manufacturer that was pretty adamant about not having any 3rd party UIs like CarPlay and Android Auto in the first place. This was not an easy task. The current switching mechanism is not a limitation by any means. In fact, I can switch to CarPlay from any screen faster and more reliably than switching between screens in the Rivian UI.

Any new release has bugs and functionality that can be improved via updates...certainly our Rivians did and still do. Fixing and improving is exactly what the subscription pays for. The concern that EV Play will just be a device that can do a ton of things, all very poorly, is unwarranted.

Are you doing this alone? Or u plan of having a team? Can u pls share more on installation.

 

[EV Play - Alex]

Customer support and updates would be much more complex with all the bells and whistles you're trying to add.

Not really, I'll just have EV Play Chatbot 3000 run customer service.

 

[EV Play - Alex]

Are you doing this alone? Or u plan of having a team? Can u pls share more on installation.

Team, definitely. I'll be sharing more about installation after the beta program ends.

 

[fletch]

One detail I haven't been able to find: Video output and touch input via the main screen is amazing but how is audio integrated? Does the device connect to the Rivian system via Bluetooth, or did you find a way that would allow for better quality?

 

[PBRAZ]

One detail I haven't been able to find: Video output and touch Input via the main screen is amazing but how is audio integrated? Does the device connect to the Rivian system via Bluetooth, or did you find a way that would allow for better quality?

Via Bluetooth for now, although there may be a future world where either myself -- or someone much more knowledgeable about audio systems within the EV Play community -- develops a device that can interface with the Rivian audio system directly.

With that said, one thing we need to explore is bit rate on the native audio apps. I currently have zero insight in to this, but it is possible that bandwidth (or audio streams, specifically) is being limited via Connect+ which could affect bitrate/sound quality. That's why many people feel certain apps like Spotify played over their Bluetooth connected phone sounds much better than the native version. Of course, apps like Apple Music and Tidal are higher-bandwidth, so that may not be the case for those. At any rate, with EV Play you would have the ability to run 3rd party equalization software which may help with the sound. Again, not totally my wheelhouse but I feel like yes, there are a few opportunities to explore which would improve the audio over what it is now, for certain apps.

 

[risingphoenix]

I hate subscriptions as much as anyone. But this is fairly easy to justify - I'll just factor in an extra $100 up front (I would be willing to pay $400 for a CarPlay product that interfaces well without subscription). That pays for 3 years of support, which is likely longer than the hardware will last/be useful/how long I'll own the vehicle anyway. If it were me, I would just charge what is needed for development up front and then charge upgrade fees rather than subscription. But it's Alex's company and I'm just excited to potentially have an option that Rivian has vehemently denied its car owners. At the very least, Alex's exciting news has stopped the constant bickering on this forum about having CarPlay/AA.

 

[DayTripping]

While I am fatigued by subscriptions at this point, the fee, if it holds, at $2.99/mo seems reasonable. Especially since it isn't necessary for the device to operate. I'll evaluate what the value add is when I buy the device and go from there.

I can't wait to get one and try it out. Any draft install guides? How long is it estimated to take to install?

 

[JM.]

Sorry if I missed it, but has anyone done a comparison between this and a high end CP display unit like the CarPodGo T3 Pro? I like that one a lot, though of course, it's got a much smaller screen and is an extra screen. Which is both good and bad. I wonder what is gained/lost compared to the separate device.

 

[dekeen]

How does it connect to the Rivian info system?

 

[MaskedRacerX]

I posted this is in a number of places, where there are very interested in a Rivian while also really wanting to keep Apple CP as an option - this might wind up selling a few Rivians

That includes us too, we have an R2 on reserve, and might look at the R1S again around that time, but dang, I would really like to have ACP.

 

[JM.]

There are good CP options with a second screen. I have a CarPodGo T3 Pro.

 

[EV Play - Alex]

I hate subscriptions as much as anyone. But this is fairly easy to justify - I'll just factor in an extra $100 up front (I would be willing to pay $400 for a CarPlay product that interfaces well without subscription). That pays for 3 years of support, which is likely longer than the hardware will last/be useful/how long I'll own the vehicle anyway. If it were me, I would just charge what is needed for development up front and then charge upgrade fees rather than subscription. But it's Alex's company and I'm just excited to potentially have an option that Rivian has vehemently denied its car owners. At the very least, Alex's exciting news has stopped the constant bickering on this forum about having CarPlay/AA.

I hear you on subscription fatigue, which is why I made it ridiculously low. The device is already $400 (well, $399) though and felt like $500 would be a bit too rich. Full transparency, with the new tariffs factored in there isn't a ton of margin on the hardware. I haven't shared this before but you're getting a full 8-core, 64-bit processor, 3D GPU, and embedded NPU for future AI capabilities. It's a pretty robust hardware setup. Point being, just like a lot of modern business models, the goal is to unbundle things that users might not want or need. But, given what is planned here, I feel like you're going to want to take the subscription!

 

[EV Play - Alex]

I posted this is in a number of places, where there are very interested in a Rivian while also really wanting to keep Apple CP as an option - this might wind up selling a few Rivians

That includes us too, we have an R2 on reserve, and might look at the R1S again around that time, but dang, I would really like to have ACP.

Much appreciated!

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