Software and Rivian App wishlist

[thrill]

I believe it has been officially confirmed that Rivian will not be offering Apple CarPlay nor Android Auto on the Rivian R1T / R1S.

So, here's to Rivian also hopefully being a rockstar, stellar operating system & app developer and maintainer, too.

https://www.[Banned Site].com/threads/no-apple-carplay-or-android-auto.938/

It's been rumored for a while, apparently, so it looks like a long-term decision and not one they're shy about telling potential customers privately...

I'm ok with this. I find both Carplay and AndroidAuto highly mediocre pieces of software.

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[Eager2own]

I'm ok with this. I find both Carplay and AndroidAuto highly mediocre pieces of software.

+1 on this. They sound great in principle but my limited use of them when OEMs try to integrate into their systems has left me underwhelmed. For example, Volvo’s integration of CarPlay is half-hearted and technically checks the box but, it’s so awkward for everyday use, I ignore it and forget it’s there at all.
As I’d indicated many posts ago (and others have echoed), my only ask is that Rivian find a way to integrate Waze. I currently ignore the native navigation on all our cars in favor of using Waze on my phone.

 

[timesinks]

I don't know if the implementations are that different or it's a difference in expectations, but CarPlay is exactly what I want it to be: a way to put my phone's apps on my car's screen. I do not expect CarPlay to be my primary interface for interacting with vehicle controls (though I'd like to see the day a manufacturer figures out how to make a phone app that works well within CarPlay).

The Volt has a master home button that takes me to the vehicle's home screen. CarPlay is one of the "Apps" I can use. If I want to see charging info, use the radio, or use any of the other functions of the vehicle's system, I can do that too. CarPlay is not mutually exclusive with a complete manufacturer implementation. There really isn't any reason it couldn't be windowed and shown in one smaller, landscape-oriented tile. CarPlay and Android Auto are just apps that a modern infotainment should offer. They are not meant to be the entirety of the experience.

Without CarPlay, I guarantee most people will wind up putting their phone on a vent mount or similar. Bluetooth audio is great and all, but if I want to switch from Apple Music to a Podcast, or place a voice call using an app, I'm going to need to see my phone's screen. CarPlay gives you a simplified, easy to see and use UI to control the apps you already have that you'll probably be using while driving. There's no way a vehicle's system covers all those cases (much less keeps up as app trends change) without CarPlay (or Android Auto).

 

[Gshenderson]

I don't know if the implementations are that different or it's a difference in expectations, but CarPlay is exactly what I want it to be: a way to put my phone's apps on my car's screen. I do not expect CarPlay to be my primary interface for interacting with vehicle controls (though I'd like to see the day a manufacturer figures out how to make a phone app that works well within CarPlay).

The Volt has a master home button that takes me to the vehicle's home screen. CarPlay is one of the "Apps" I can use. If I want to see charging info, use the radio, or use any of the other functions of the vehicle's system, I can do that too. CarPlay is not mutually exclusive with a complete manufacturer implementation. There really isn't any reason it couldn't be windowed and shown in one smaller, landscape-oriented tile. CarPlay and Android Auto are just apps that a modern infotainment should offer. They are not meant to be the entirety of the experience.

Without CarPlay, I guarantee most people will wind up putting their phone on a vent mount or similar. Bluetooth audio is great and all, but if I want to switch from Apple Music to a Podcast, or place a voice call using an app, I'm going to need to see my phone's screen. CarPlay gives you a simplified, easy to see and use UI to control the apps you already have that you'll probably be using while driving. There's no way a vehicle's system covers all those cases (much less keeps up as app trends change) without CarPlay (or Android Auto).

I bought an aftermarket head unit for my 4Runner. It’s essentially an android tablet that allows me to install and run pretty much any android app. It also support Apple CarPlay as an app. Waze, Spotify, Netflix and even Chrome run seamlessly. If they simply built their app on top of Android OS, this would all be possible. But I understand the politics.

 

[zipityzi]

I'm ok with this. I find both Carplay and AndroidAuto highly mediocre pieces of software.

I've personally had great experiences with CarPlay. But, I'm OK with "Rivian OS", too: it simply needs to be secure, feature-complete, and kept up-to-date. Developing & maintaining software aren't impossible tasks, but Rivian has provided unexpectedly thin details for being a short ~9 months away from a first-generation operating system's public launch.

The list of "gotchas" gets long quickly, if it's genuinely an internally-developed operating system: third-party security audits, bug bounties, privacy & surveillance (especially with such deep Amazon integration), connectivity prices (monthly? annual? which carriers / bands are supported?), lifecycle support, OTA schedules, etc.

It does sound all nuts & bolts, until it stops working or it's missing features or bugs don't get fixed. Rivian has time: nobody has a delivery next month. But time runs out sooner than people expect.

The reasons I like CarPlay (and presumably Android Auto, though I've not personally used it):

1. Developers don't need to burden themselves to write apps for a small platform (some thousands or hundreds of thousands of Rivian owners for the first year?).
2. CarPlay automatically ducks audio for notifications, while also interweaving navigation audio prompts vs system entertainment (aka FM/AM/HD) vs app entertainment.
3. Profiles are is synced 24/7, seamlessly and thoroughly: playlists, playback location, likes / dislikes, etc. (if you switch between two Rivian OS vehicles, what app data get synced?)
4. Less surface area for bugs, missing features, incompatibilities: every car manufacturer has "too many things to finish", so software is necessarily given a backseat sometimes (unlike for an app developer, where software is the product).

For example, more Tesla Model 3 owners are dissatisfied with the radio & music options than the interior materials:

1. Driving enjoyment (average 4.97 / 5)
2. Sound system (4.85 / 5)
3. Maps and directions (4.81 / 5)
4. Interior materials (4.58 / 5)
5. Phone app (4.57 / 5)
6. Radio and music options (4.37 / 5)
7. "Model 3 is more reliable than my previous cars" (4.30 / 5)
8. Service centers (4.25 / 5)
9. Customer service online (3.84 / 5)

Compare that to its sound system at 4.85 or driving enjoyment of 4.97.

 

[4mk]

I've personally had great experiences with CarPlay. But, I'm OK with "Rivian OS", too: it simply needs to be secure, feature-complete, and kept up-to-date. Developing & maintaining software aren't impossible tasks, but Rivian has provided unexpectedly thin details for being a short ~9 months away from a first-generation operating system's public launch.

The list of "gotchas" gets long quickly, if it's genuinely an internally-developed operating system: third-party security audits, bug bounties, privacy & surveillance (especially with such deep Amazon integration), connectivity prices (monthly? annual? which carriers / bands are supported?), lifecycle support, OTA schedules, etc.

It does sounds all nuts & bolts, until it stops working or its missing features or bugs don't get fixed. Rivian has time: nobody has a delivery next month. But time runs out sooner than people expect.

The reasons I like CarPlay (and presumably Android Auto, though I've not personally used it):

1. Developers don't need to burden themselves to write apps for a small platform (some thousands or hundreds of thousands of Rivian owners for the first year?).
2. CarPlay automatically ducks audio for notifications, while also interweaving navigation audio prompts vs system entertainment (aka FM/AM/HD) vs app entertainment.
3. Profiles are is synced 24/7, seamlessly and thoroughly: playlists, playback location, likes / dislikes, etc. (if you switch between two Rivian OS vehicles, what app data get synced?)
4. Less surface area for bugs, missing features, incompatibilities: every car manufacturer has "too many things to finish", so software is necessarily given a backseat sometimes (unlike for an app developer, where software is the product).

For example, more Tesla Model 3 owners are dissatisfied with the radio & music options than the interior materials:

1. Driving enjoyment (average 4.97 / 5)
2. Sound system (4.85 / 5)
3. Maps and directions (4.81 / 5)
4. Interior materials (4.58 / 5)
5. Phone app (4.57 / 5)
6. Radio and music options (4.37 / 5)
7. "Model 3 is more reliable than my previous cars" (4.30 / 5)
8. Service centers (4.25 / 5)
9. Customer service online (3.84 / 5)

Compare that to its sound system at 4.85 or driving enjoyment of 4.97.

Agreed on all points above, the ecosystems and integration with Apple and Android makes life so much easier. It sounds like Amazon isn’t going to allow this. Hopefully, Rivian can bring the same level of service and usability. I expect it, considering the $80,000 plus cost.

 

[sevengroove]

The reasons I like CarPlay (and presumably Android Auto, though I've not personally used it):

1. Developers don't need to burden themselves to write apps for a small platform (some thousands or hundreds of thousands of Rivian owners for the first year?).

Can’t stress this reason enough. Every new OS is a new place platform for which developers have to individually create apps for. I get annoyed when my LG tv doesn’t support some of the better known streaming apps, and there’s hundreds of thousands of their units running LGs webos. Tens of thousands of vehicles running Rivian OS just means that third party app support will be intermittent for the first couple of years.

 

[C.R. Rivian]

Can’t stress this reason enough. Every new OS is a new place platform for which developers have to individually create apps for. I get annoyed when my LG tv doesn’t support some of the better known streaming apps, and there’s hundreds of thousands of their units running LGs webos. Tens of thousands of vehicles running Rivian OS just means that third party app support will be intermittent for the first couple of years.

Amazon has done a pretty good job with their approach...lots of access to music and video on lots of different platforms (Windows, Android, Mac and their own branch of android). Think we are going to be OK here. Something to be said for not so proprietary.

 

[timesinks]

Amazon has done a pretty good job with their approach...lots of access to music and video on lots of different platforms (Windows, Android, Mac and their own branch of android). Think we are going to be OK here. Something to be said for not so proprietary.

I think you have the concern backward... A small platform (ie, a Rivian OS) will not be worth the time to all the companies that make the music (and chat, and podcast, and and and) services we're already using and paying for. And even when a company offers an app at launch, they don't support those versions forever. I have a perfectly good "smart" tv at home whose native Netflix and YouTube apps have long been discontinued.

 

[electruck]

Can’t stress this reason enough. Every new OS is a new place platform for which developers have to individually create apps for. I get annoyed when my LG tv doesn’t support some of the better known streaming apps, and there’s hundreds of thousands of their units running LGs webos. Tens of thousands of vehicles running Rivian OS just means that third party app support will be intermittent for the first couple of years.

3rd party app support will likely be non-existent by design. Do you really think Rivian is going to launch an app store and allow 3rd party apps to be installed in their vehicles? I highly doubt it. They will want complete control over the user experience and to ensure that a poorly written app doesn't compromise the system from a functional or security perspective.

 

[MisterTea]

3rd party app support will likely be non-existent by design. Do you really think Rivian is going to launch an app store and allow 3rd party apps to be installed in their vehicles? I highly doubt it. They will want complete control over the user experience and to ensure that a poorly written app doesn't compromise the system from a functional or security perspective.

That was Tesla's initial plan but was scrapped and now their media is lacking. Another company that refuses CarPlay/Android Auto.

 

[C.R. Rivian]

I think you have the concern backward... A small platform (ie, a Rivian OS) will not be worth the time to all the companies that make the music (and chat, and podcast, and and and) services we're already using and paying for. And even when a company offers an app at launch, they don't support those versions forever. I have a perfectly good "smart" tv at home whose native Netflix and YouTube apps have long been discontinued.

Bluetooth is key here. Echo Auto supports any Bluetooth connection and provides platform independent access to Amazon streaming services and Alexa services on your phone. Audible, another Amazon product, also connects to any Bluetooth. I agree that developers won't put time into small niche platforms, but as long as Bluetooth works and phones connect, I think we will be fine. Beyond that, I'm thinking that the investment that Amazon has made in Rivian signals some interest in supporting them.

 

[4mk]

Bluetooth is key here. Echo Auto supports any Bluetooth connection and provides platform independent access to Amazon streaming services and Alexa services on your phone. Audible, another Amazon product, also connects to any Bluetooth. I agree that developers won't put time into small niche platforms, but as long as Bluetooth works and phones connect, I think we will be fine. Beyond that, I'm thinking that the investment that Amazon has made in Rivian signals some interest in supporting them.

 

[sevengroove]

3rd party app support will likely be non-existent by design. Do you really think Rivian is going to launch an app store and allow 3rd party apps to be installed in their vehicles? I highly doubt it. They will want complete control over the user experience and to ensure that a poorly written app doesn't compromise the system from a functional or security perspective.

It doesn't have to be a full-blown app store, just an opportunity for the developers of what will be in-demand apps - like Spotify, Pandora, and others - to directly build their apps for Rivian OS. Rivian can approve those apps as needed based on whatever criteria they set for UX and security.

In the absence of this approach, we're relying on Rivian's in-house software team to write the apps which integrate all these third party services, and keep up with all the latest features of each and every one of those apps. Seems less than ideal to me.

Bluetooth is key here. Echo Auto supports any Bluetooth connection and provides platform independent access to Amazon streaming services and Alexa services on your phone. Audible, another Amazon product, also connects to any Bluetooth. I agree that developers won't put time into small niche platforms, but as long as Bluetooth works and phones connect, I think we will be fine. Beyond that, I'm thinking that the investment that Amazon has made in Rivian signals some interest in supporting them.

Isn't that just bypassing the vehicle's OS to directly communicate with your phone via voice? I imagine this should work at a minimum on Rivians. The only difference is we won't see anything on the vehicle's screen, it will all be voice-based. Which I agree is fine for most people's needs.

 

[4mk]

Does the Amazon Echo Auto support you mention the Apple Car Play and Android Auto Content? YouTube and others

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