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Software and Rivian App wishlist

C.R. Rivian

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Does the Amazon Echo Auto support you mention the Apple Car Play and Android Auto Content? YouTube and others
From Amazon:
  • Add Alexa to your car - Connects to the Alexa app on your phone and plays through your car’s speakers via auxiliary input or your smartphone’s Bluetooth connection. Includes Vent Mount.
  • Designed for the road - With 8 microphones and far-field technology, Echo Auto can hear you over music, A/C, and road noise.
  • Go beyond radio - Voice control Echo Auto through the Alexa app to stream from Audible, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, SiriusXM, and radio stations with TuneIn and iHeartRadio.
  • Just ask - Use your voice to play music, check the news, make calls, add to your to do-list, set reminders, pay for gas, and more.
  • Do More with Auto Mode – Turn your phone into a driver-friendly display that complements your Echo Auto. See what's playing and save time with easy-touch shortcuts to your favorite places, people, and content.
  • Designed for your privacy - You can press the microphone off button to electronically disconnect the microphones.
Not CarPlay or Android Auto. As for YouTube (when not driving, I hope), if you can get to the web, shouldn't be a problem. There's always Prime video and music, of course.

BTW: currently on sale for $19.99.

I guess I'm with Mick Jager on this, you can't always get what you want...you just might find, you get what you need...

That said, I suspect that the Rivian screen may act the way an Echo Show does allowing video calls, movies, music, maps, and, of course, shopping.

This is from the Echo Show 5 page:
  • Alexa can show you more – Compact 5.5” smart display ready to help manage your day, entertain at a glance, and connect you to friends and family.
  • Made to fit your life – Cook along to step-by-step recipes. Easily update to-do lists and calendars. Choose the clock face that fits your style best and glance at weather and traffic on your way out.
  • Big entertainment – Ask Alexa to show you movie trailers, TV shows, movies, or the news. Or listen to radio stations, podcasts, and audiobooks.
  • Control your smart home – Voice control compatible devices or manage them on the easy-to-use display. Ask Alexa to show you security cameras, control lights, and adjust thermostats. Create morning routines to start your day.
  • Connect with video calling and messaging – Call friends and family who have the Alexa app, an Echo device with a screen, or Skype. Make announcements to other devices in your home.
  • Put your memories on display - Use Amazon Photos & Alexa for a picture-perfect pairing. You can turn your home screen into a digital frame, share your favorites with friends and family, and even take photos.
  • Designed to protect your privacy - Turn off the microphone and camera with one press of a button. Slide the built-in shutter to cover the camera.
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C.R. Rivian

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This isn't exactly software, but related. 5G will be available within the life of the car. From Business Insider:
<<Speed
In most conversations about 5G, speed is often the spec that is used to differentiate it from 4G. And that makes sense, since each cellular generation has been significantly faster than the one before. 4G can currently reach top speeds of up to 100 Mbps, though real-world performance is generally no more than 35 Mbps.

5G has the potential to be 100 times faster than 4G, with a top theoretical speed around 20 Gbps and current, real-world speeds from 50 Mbps to 3 Gbps. >>

If the Rivian does not come with 5g hardware, it will never have it unless the hardware is changed out. Bummer. 5g hardware supports 4g, of course.

I'd even pay a little bit extra for 5g hardware if it were an option.

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electruck

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C.R. Rivian

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timesinks

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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.
This is the out they'll use to avoid implementing Car Play and Android Audio, but it's a cop out. Bluetooth doesn't replace the ability to switch between audio sources (think podcasts to music) or nav apps without using your phone's touch Interface. That's the long and short of it -- without CarPlay, my phone will be unlocked on a vent mount -- and no amount of well-designed proprietary infotainment software will prevent that.
 

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C.R. Rivian

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This is the out they'll use to avoid implementing Car Play and Android Audio, but it's a cop out. Bluetooth doesn't replace the ability to switch between audio sources (think podcasts to music) or nav apps without using your phone's touch Interface. That's the long and short of it -- without CarPlay, my phone will be unlocked on a vent mount -- and no amount of well-designed proprietary infotainment software will prevent that.
I am not sure how Car Play is not proprietary...well, not specific to a particular vehicle, of course, but it does only run on Apple. Putting that quibble aside, I can currently change audio sources without touching anything and expect the same on the Rivian. I do agree that choice is good. In my current EV, Kia Niro, I can choose Car Play, Android Auto (to my mind proprietary as well), the built-in voice commands with a button on the steering wheel (Kia proprietary), or Echo Auto. I don't work for Amazon and don't have a dog in this fight, but Alexa/Echo is the least proprietary, runs on all platforms.
 

Smithery

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... I do agree that choice is good. In my current EV, Kia Niro, I can choose Car Play, Android Auto (to my mind proprietary as well), the built-in voice commands with a button on the steering wheel (Kia proprietary), or Echo Auto. I don't work for Amazon and don't have a dog in this fight, but Alexa/Echo is the least proprietary, runs on all platforms.
First, by definition, *all of these* are proprietary. The fact that Amazon spends resources (both technical and marketing) to make sure Alexa is available everywhere doesn't make it *ANY* less proprietary than CarPlay and Android Auto. It's not an open standard that anybody could implement. It's 100% an Amazon product that relies on Amazon SWE to improve and Amazon's servers to operate.

But, more importantly...

This framing - which I see a lot in posts that show some sort of equivalence between CarPlay/Android Auto, and built-in Alexa - shows a misunderstanding of what CarPlay / Android Auto are.

Our phones are the most personal devices we've ever had, and the most important devices we've ever had. (Yes, even after I get my R1T, my phone will be more important to my day-to-day life by far)

Both Apple and Google have shown they obviously know how to make a successful, thriving software platform.

Some people trust Apple to keep personal data on the device and respect privacy at every turn.
Other's trust Google to securely store their data in Google's cloud and to be honest about what data they're mining.

Nobody trusts Amazon to respect their privacy, and Amazon has tried multiple times to "create an app platform" and failed miserably.

With built-in Alexa - *instead of* CarPlay/Android Auto - I cannot:
- Project apps running on my phone onto the car's screen.
- Interact with my personal data that exists on my phone but not in my Amazon account
- Bypass Rivian (whose software updates are a complete unknown) and Amazon (whose software updates are generally privacy hostile, and whose platform chops are questionable) and instead rely on Apple/Google to upgrade the infotainment experience.

---

In that Alexa is almost certainly "the built-in voice assistant" for the car, I hope I can use it without logging in to an Amazon account. Otherwise, I simply won't use it.

In that CarPlay and Android Auto could easily be added later with a simple Rivian software update, I hope that their relationship with Amazon doesn't prevent them from doing so.
 

jimcgov3

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Now that we're closer to production and deliveries, has anyone seen a Rivian app yet? Any .apk floating around out there? If deliveries are in July, they'll have to have it approved and pushed out to Google Play sometime soon, right?
 

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kanundrum

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Now that we're closer to production and deliveries, has anyone seen a Rivian app yet? Any .apk floating around out there? If deliveries are in July, they'll have to have it approved and pushed out to Google Play sometime soon, right?
I have seen a lot of stuff but have been reporting it to the Author who may not have known to remove it because its probably proprietary.
 

Riviot

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I have seen a lot of stuff but have been reporting it to the Author who may not have known to remove it because its probably proprietary.
You can neither confirm nor deny, huh? Typical DC answer!
 

kanundrum

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You can neither confirm nor deny, huh? Typical DC answer!
Nothing even of value I would say, just enough to know they are definitely working on it lol.
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