What is the biggest glaring "miss" you see with the R1x?

[the long way downunder]

It provides a fully-integrated interface for using your phone and its associated apps and services safely in the car. The entire impetus for its existence was to prevent phone use while driving.

I think CP and AA are meant to be fully integrated, but they're currently a subset of supported apps and limited UX that's creates a third thing to learn – not the same as the car interface, not the same as the phone interface.
As for the real motive, I think it's 100% Apple and Google wanting their brand and their user experience taking over the car. The auto makers started with a short term "value add" approach but now realize it's an invasion. Apple has shown CarPlay take over the whole dashboard and presumably that's hinting at them once again trying to build an EV. Google already has their EV (Waymo) and presumably will have a 100% Android experience in a Waymo branded vehicle. I assume AAPL and GOOG are both focused on their ticker price and the way to double their trillion is to add EV revenue and compete with Tesla. Eventually Ford and GM will fully detach from Apple and Google as they become direct competitors.
I'm guessing Rivian, when fully funded by Amazon as its main investor and basically its only customer, decided to not invite direct competitors to touch their customers.
Personally, I loathe Amazon's Alexa, so I've never installed it in my R1T. I'm quite impressed with how easily Google's voice recognition works and I can't stand the Siri experience. I find that a phone stuck on the dash using "hey Google" is the easiest way to drive (safely and legally) … which is true in part because the UX's of the cars I own (Ford, Rivian, Tesla and others) are not very good. : )

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[CommodoreAmiga]

Well, the assertion is carplay and android auto do "more" and don't require (illegally, unsafely) handling a phone. But what "more" is it specifically?
Maybe CarPlay is better than Android Auto. I've found AA to be clunky when trying to switch from Maps to Spotify or switch from any audio source in the phone to FM in the. It can be finicky about opening and playing spotify before connecting to the car and it can get confused if I plug the phone into USB-C to charge instead of using the (slow/hot) wireless charger. Maybe the Ford implementation (their latest Sync 4) isn't as good as other manufacturers.
Some say the streaming of music is "easier" and some say the nav is "easier" which is fine – my F-150 has both apple and android integration wirelessly and wirelessly charges the phone. I used it for a while and never found it all that compelling. I prefer using google maps for nav instead of the ford system (which tends to make mistakes in route selection, but does a great job of indicating the correct lane to handle unfamiliar situations like airports or freeway interchanges.)
What I've noticed is CP and AA are popular with people driving older vehicles that have dated entertainment and nav with a small screen (still bigger than a phone display, but dinky by modern expectations of 10+ inch touchscreens.)
For me, CP and AA are no safer than leaving the phone in the charger and using bluetooth without CP/AA. So "easier" is a pretty thin margin of functionality though the strongest advocates seem to make it a "dealbreaker" that Rivian doesn't have it.

I don’t feel like I have to have “CarPlay” only. But there are definitely features of CarPlay that I miss and Rivian is not currently delivering on their “we can do it better than CarPlay” assertion. Here are a few:

• Share ETA with someone. My family used this a lot. If my wife or I were home and the other was at work, we’d “share” our ETA when we left the office. This is a built-in function of Apple Maps. I believe Google Maps may have it too. Not only would it automatically send them a push notification with the ETA, but they could view location on a live map and also it would automatically update if a detour was taken or if traffic changed the ETA. This was great so we could coordinate dinner, for example. We also use it with friends/family when agreeing to meet somewhere… Usually someone is driving farther, so whoever leaves first will send their ETA and it makes it easy for people to coordinate.
• Better POI. The map POI in the R1T are outdated. And it’s not a consistent age, either. Some things are over 5 years out of date, but a block away may show a POI that is only a year old. Google and Apple aren’t perfect, but both are much more likely to have accurate POI. The R1T nav is an amusing history lesson. On more than one occasion I’ve glanced at the screen and though “huh. So that’s what restaurant must have been there… 10 years ago.”
• Better route planning. The Rivian nav doesn’t support waypoints. It doesn't even support searching along a route. You know what use case I have multiple times per week? I’m running an errand to somewhere (Sunday was Costco) and I want a cold brew coffee…. Where is a Starbucks along the way? CarPlay let’s me do that easily. I can’t with the Rivian. I end up having to plan the route with stops on my phone, then enter the first stop into the Rivian navigation manually. Each leg of the trip I manually enter the next. This is a multiple-times-a-week problem.
• Text message integration. CarPlay will alert me if I receive a text message. It will read it out to me. It will let me dictate a response. It will let me compose a new message with my voice.
• Music playback. CarPlay let’s me listen to the app I want, with a nice user Interface, and with excellent audio quality. With Rivian, currently, you get only Spotify and Tune-In for UI, and neither sounds good.

None of these issues can only be solved by CarPlay. But they are already solved by CarPlay, which is why so many people want it. Rivian could implement all of these features… and if they did, I wouldn’t care about CarPlay. But they have yet to do so. Maybe they will? I hope they will. But looking at the rest of the industry, no one else has…. And that is why people are skeptical and why they love/want CarPlay.

 

[rodhx]

None of these issues can only be solved by CarPlay. But they are already solved by CarPlay, which is why so many people want it. Rivian could implement all of these features… and if they did, I wouldn’t care about CarPlay. But they have yet to do so. Maybe they will? I hope they will. But looking at the rest of the industry, no one else has…. And that is why people are skeptical and why they love/want CarPlay.

Exactly this. The stock infotainment system is terrible. Simply offering CP/AA immediately addresses that. Then they can continue to develop an in-house system that is all-inclusive.

Infotainment is clearly the biggest miss for me. The most head-scratching "feature" is the silly motorized vents. Silly to motorize them in the first place, downright unthinkable to do so in a fashion that makes them near impossible to safely adjust while driving.

 

[Rivian_Hugh_III]

I understand Carplay's existence is a stop gap until Automakers can do it right themselves. You can cling to it forever if you want, but I'm willing to move to Rivian and Tesla style interfaces.

CarPlay will allow your car to work with Apple’s “Reality” glasses for improved HUD and a cockpit-less view where you see no A pillar, dash, or roof, but just the world around you. Plus you’ll have access to their self-driving tech, which they’re working on with sacrificial effort. All debuting in 2025, but yeah CarPlay is an artifact of an earlier age. I’m sure Rivian’s 17 coders can compete with Apple’s 85,000.

 

[elektrode]

Totally agree. I wrote in the new customer that the lack of text support makes this vehicle less safe to operate. (And I’ll add here even less safe for others as I’m driving a 7,000lb vehicle)

I don’t give a crap if it’s called CarPlay or Android Auto or Rivian Deluxe Phone Integration, I just want basic 21st century safety sh1t to be integrated into the UI.

CarPlay just happens to be the best and smoothest implementation I’ve seen to date - I had it until I bought a Rivian.

I don’t feel like I have to have “CarPlay” only. But there are definitely features of CarPlay that I miss and Rivian is not currently delivering on their “we can do it better than CarPlay” assertion. Here are a few:

• Share ETA with someone. My family used this a lot. If my wife or I were home and the other was at work, we’d “share” our ETA when we left the office. This is a built-in function of Apple Maps. I believe Google Maps may have it too. Not only would it automatically send them a push notification with the ETA, but they could view location on a live map and also it would automatically update if a detour was taken or if traffic changed the ETA. This was great so we could coordinate dinner, for example. We also use it with friends/family when agreeing to meet somewhere… Usually someone is driving farther, so whoever leaves first will send their ETA and it makes it easy for people to coordinate.
• Better POI. The map POI in the R1T are outdated. And it’s not a consistent age, either. Some things are over 5 years out of date, but a block away may show a POI that is only a year old. Google and Apple aren’t perfect, but both are much more likely to have accurate POI. The R1T nav is an amusing history lesson. On more than one occasion I’ve glanced at the screen and though “huh. So that’s what restaurant must have been there… 10 years ago.”
• Better route planning. The Rivian nav doesn’t support waypoints. It doesn't even support searching along a route. You know what use case I have multiple times per week? I’m running an errand to somewhere (Sunday was Costco) and I want a cold brew coffee…. Where is a Starbucks along the way? CarPlay let’s me do that easily. I can’t with the Rivian. I end up having to plan the route with stops on my phone, then enter the first stop into the Rivian navigation manually. Each leg of the trip I manually enter the next. This is a multiple-times-a-week problem.
• Text message integration. CarPlay will alert me if I receive a text message. It will read it out to me. It will let me dictate a response. It will let me compose a new message with my voice.
• Music playback. CarPlay let’s me listen to the app I want, with a nice user Interface, and with excellent audio quality. With Rivian, currently, you get only Spotify and Tune-In for UI, and neither sounds good.

None of these issues can only be solved by CarPlay. But they are already solved by CarPlay, which is why so many people want it. Rivian could implement all of these features… and if they did, I wouldn’t care about CarPlay. But they have yet to do so. Maybe they will? I hope they will. But looking at the rest of the industry, no one else has…. And that is why people are skeptical and why they love/want CarPlay.

 

[Dirty_B]

For me, it's a power running board. I feel like this should have been an extremely high priority on a luxury, ultimate off-roader. In terms of practicality it boggles my mind how they could be futsing about with camp kitchens and whatnot while there's still like a 12" clearence at the lowest ride height from the door sill.

It's also a cool "techy" feature that already exists and is kind of the best way to do a running board. I feel like Rivian could have easily built something into the molding even to maintain aerodynamics.

I'd want this 10x more than a powered cover over a manual one, for instance.



Completely unforgivable to have a car of this quality, this capable, this expensive and not have this thought through better.

So after 3 months of ownership, I've come to the conclusion that I'll likely have to sell my R1T, and probably not buy the R1S I have a deposit on, due to many factors. The primary being my wife has short legs and without running boards/steps she cannot get into the R1X series very easily (yes it's on low). I may try and find a local fabricator, but would be dam nice to be able to just buy some.

I really don't want power btw, just a fixed step would be nice.

 

[GHuff]

but now we're getting froufrou stuff (Rivian is talking about games and other Tesla stuff that I couldn't care less about in our X and 3) instead of the meat and potatoes (and I'm vegan, so let's say "pea protein burger and leafy greens with an apple cider vinaigrette" … : )

To add to this, I don't get the apparent obsession with sleeping in or on your vehilce. Sure, I get car camping is a thing, but it is not that big of thing. There are so many comments about the lay-flat feature of the R1S. Every reviewer mentions that you can lay down in the back of the R1S. RJ himself has mentioned this so many times. His recent instagram post is all about car camping and self-leveling.
The sleeping in/on your car obsession is so deep that it made Rivian prioritize "Camping Mode" and a self-leveling feature before taking care of other features and bugs.

I'm starting to think that RJ and Rivian think everyone sleeps in their cars every night. Seriously though, this is a nice feature, but is total froufrou stuff that maybe 5% of owners use a few times a year. It is good marketing, so maybe that's why they chose to prioritize it.
I just don't get it for so many reasons. Most people camp in tents on the ground for starters.

 

[Dirty_B]

Totally agree. I wrote in the new customer that the lack of text support makes this vehicle less safe to operate. (And I’ll add here even less safe for others as I’m driving a 7,000lb vehicle)

I don’t give a crap if it’s called CarPlay or Android Auto or Rivian Deluxe Phone Integration, I just want basic 21st century safety sh1t to be integrated into the UI.

CarPlay just happens to be the best and smoothest implementation I’ve seen to date - I had it until I bought a Rivian.

Have you tried changing drive mode or height while driver + features are engaged? Cannot do it. Talk about safety failure. HHhmm I'd rather the driver take his/her eyes off the road to switch height when he/she is in full control of the vehicle, vice when driver + is monitoring speed and lane centering....

Have you tried using the left "channel" buttons to switch between favorite TuneIn stations? Cannot do it. You have to use center display and hand/eyes to switch between TuneIn favorites (caveat this that my radio isn't working right so maybe this is one of the issues)

 

[R1Tom]

Please forgive my ignorance...but deal beaker for me in past with AA, has been requirement to plug phone in physically to vehicle. Is that still a thing, or can it be done thru Bluetooth? Do to that limitation, I have only used it on various rentals when traveling, and I have to say (and I admit that they were rentals with tiny screens) they have all sucked pretty bad compared to the native systems in the various vehicles I have had.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Just sat in the new C8 which also has a video rear view mirror… it’s super nice, but you wouldn’t otherwise be able to see out the back window in that car so it makes sense… In the R1T visibility is super good, so makes no sense really. Plus you have like a 18 inch monitor that does the same thing!

I can't see shit behind my Rivian with the tent above the bed.

 

[Dark-Fx]

You could fill a river with the tears shed over Android Auto and Apple Carplay.
Just like physical buttons, we like to hold onto the past. Hear that Blackberry?!

The fun part about it is a lot of the same people complaining about the lack of carplay are also complaining about having to use the display to do things while driving.

 

[Craigins]

The primary being my wife has short legs and without running boards/steps she cannot get into the R1X series very easily (yes it's on low). I

I use a collapsible stool on a string for my mom. Worked great in my Ram and works great so far in the r1t.

All the car play comments again. Surprised at how many people use an iPhone and are going for essentially a truck in beta testing.

 

[MXA121]

Please forgive my ignorance...but deal beaker for me in past with AA, has been requirement to plug phone in physically to vehicle. Is that still a thing, or can it be done thru Bluetooth? Do to that limitation, I have only used it on various rentals when traveling, and I have to say (and I admit that they were rentals with tiny screens) they have all sucked pretty bad compared to the native systems in the various vehicles I have had.

Newer vehicles are getting wireless AA. I used it in a rental and it was much nicer than requiring a plug in. Not all vehicles have the capability though.

 

[MXA121]

CarPlay will allow your car to work with Apple’s “Reality” glasses for improved HUD and a cockpit-less view where you see no A pillar, dash, or roof, but just the world around you. Plus you’ll have access to their self-driving tech, which they’re working on with sacrificial effort. All debuting in 2025, but yeah CarPlay is an artifact of an earlier age. I’m sure Rivian’s 17 coders can compete with Apple’s 85,000.

Sounds a lot like vapor ware to me. You have a deposit on a pair yet? What automakers have said they are going to use Apple self driving software?

 

[bd5400]

To add to this, I don't get the apparent obsession with sleeping in or on your vehilce. Sure, I get car camping is a thing, but it is not that big of thing. There are so many comments about the lay-flat feature of the R1S. Every reviewer mentions that you can lay down in the back of the R1S. RJ himself has mentioned this so many times. His recent instagram post is all about car camping and self-leveling.
The sleeping in/on your car obsession is so deep that it made Rivian prioritize "Camping Mode" and a self-leveling feature before taking care of other features and bugs.

I'm starting to think that RJ and Rivian think everyone sleeps in their cars every night. Seriously though, this is a nice feature, but is total froufrou stuff that maybe 5% of owners use a few times a year. It is good marketing, so maybe that's why they chose to prioritize it.
I just don't get it for so many reasons. Most people camp in tents on the ground for starters.

People are biased toward their own use cases and assume that if it’s what they prefer, it must be what everyone else prefers. So the car camping crowd assumes that everyone wants to car camp and the only reason they aren’t is that they don’t have the perfect vehicle for it. Just like the “I constantly adjust my air vents crowd” think the motorized vents are the worst thing ever while others, who never move their vents, don’t get the obsession. Those who play lossless audio files in their cars using usb drives think it’s absolutely insane that Rivian didn’t implement this feature at launch while I’d wager that a vast majority of people never have, and never will, play music in their car through a usb drive.

It makes threads like these kind of fun because you get to see what others care deeply about, which are sometimes things you never even considered.

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