Rivian should focus on features that set them apart from the rest of the industry, not AA/CP.

[frostbit3]

From here, thread is "what surprised you": https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...ou-preferably-in-a-good-way.11661/post-267503


Makes me wonder if anyone has actually cancelled their Rivian over the lack of AA/CP. Anyone put their money where their mouth is over it yet?

I did in the sense that I spend a few hundred on a screen to add it so I can have basic functionality.

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[astonius]

I did in the sense that I spend a few hundred on a screen to add it so I can have basic functionality.

Same. Love having to add additional screens to my super high-tech truck just to have basic features. Also love explaining it to potential Rivian customers.

Easy to say "buy something else" when the alternatives in the truck space are a hyper-limited production Hummer and a limited production F-150 that to this day has $20k+ ADM.

 

[AdamUCF]

Blackberry's problem in the phone market was that they didn't adapt while keeping the thing that differentiated them. The physical keyboard. I still hate typing on touchscreens.

This post explains a lot. You're quite out of touch with regular people. Other phone OEMs made physical keyboards. They just don't sell.

 

[Dark-Fx]

This post explains a lot. You're quite out of touch with regular people. Other phone OEMs made physical keyboards. They just don't sell.

Regular people suck

 

[AdamUCF]

I had an epiphany recently and posted this in another thread but since this has become the AA/CP debate thread du jour and no one has pointed out a flaw in it... the problem is Amazon/Alexa. People using AA/CP would then be using Google/Siri and not Alexa. Amazon has had many a pissing match with Google (and has lost every time) and yet it seems like they're using Rivian as a proxy in the car space.

As long as Amazon has a major stake in Rivian I doubt we'll ever see something compete with Alexa in the infotainment.

 

[astonius]

I had an epiphany recently and posted this in another thread but since this has become the AA/CP debate thread du jour and no one has pointed out a flaw in it... the problem is Amazon/Alexa. People using AA/CP would then be using Google/Siri and not Alexa. Amazon has had many a pissing match with Google (and has lost every time) and yet it seems like they're using Rivian as a proxy in the car space.

As long as Amazon has a major stake in Rivian I doubt we'll ever see something compete with Alexa in the infotainment.

Been discussed quite a bit, actually. Obviously no one knows for certain, but I would bet my truck Amazon is not explicitly blocking it. Amazon’s stake in Rivian is around 10% and primarily due to their EDV deal, not infotainment control. A voice assistant is not a competitor for CP/AA. Amazon plays nicely with Apple and Google in several other contexts, including in other vehicles. Amazon builds its apps for CP/AA. Amazon Music is a significant service, and yet Rivian currently only offers app support for Spotify and Tidal — two competitors.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Amazon Music is a significant service, and yet Rivian currently only offers app support for Spotify and Tidal — two competitors.

Amazon music works fine through Alexa controls, even the free version. It is annoying that it keeps trying to get me to enter into an automatically renewing trial for their unlimited program, but it still generally lets me listen to what I want to listen to. Once it starts playing you're able to skip songs through the native interface.

I'd agree with you that I think it unlikely that it's Amazon calling the shots for what Rivian can integrate. I think Amazon is already starting to pull back from the hardware side of things to focus more on what they are good at. Crushing all of their retail competition.

 

[astonius]

Amazon music works fine through Alexa controls, even the free version. It is annoying that it keeps trying to get me to enter into an automatically renewing trial for their unlimited program, but it still generally lets me listen to what I want to listen to. Once it starts playing you're able to skip songs through the native interface.

I'd agree with you that I think it unlikely that it's Amazon calling the shots for what Rivian can integrate. I think Amazon is already starting to pull back from the hardware side of things to focus more on what they are good at. Crushing all of their retail competition.

It works, but it hasn’t been given the same level of attention as Spotify/Tidal. If you didn’t read this forum there’s a good chance you may not even know it’s supported since it requires starting playback via voice control. You can’t select a song or playlist via the UI.

They definitely are divesting from Alexa. The recent layoffs seem to have impacted that team more directly than any other. Retail and B2B web services are the bread-and-butter.

 

[WSea]

100% agree with thread title. Could care less if CP is added. I‘ve lived with the easy workarounds so far and I’m good with it. Someone else posted the RIGHT reason why aa/cp will never happen just like Tesla. Almost all functions for the vehicle are via the screen. Would you really want to switch interfaces just to change temp or vehicle modes? Some things could probably work with voice I suppose. IMO the UI is beautiful and fairly simple. Love the aerial nav/map. AA has always reminded me of fisher-price.

 

[NineElectrics]

In 2024 Rivian will begin charging for data: so you’ll have to pay monthly in order to get real time traffic updates to their navigation. If they had CarPlay, you’d have Google quality 5G navigation through a supercomputer in your pocket (which is upgraded every few years), and you wouldn’t have to pay extra.

 

[astonius]

100% agree with thread title. Could care less if CP is added. I‘ve lived with the easy workarounds so far and I’m good with it. Someone else posted the RIGHT reason why aa/cp will never happen just like Tesla. Almost all functions for the vehicle are via the screen. Would you really want to switch interfaces just to change temp or vehicle modes? Some things could probably work with voice I suppose. IMO the UI is beautiful and fairly simple. Love the aerial nav/map. AA has always reminded me of fisher-price.

Switching UIs is a dated paradigm. Modern implementations allow the projection to run alongside the native UI in harmony. Think about what is the current app space on the Rivian UI. That is where CP/AA would live, and it would fit perfectly. The driver profile, garage door, and HVAC panels can still overlay on top of this space.

If I had any sort of graphics talent I would love to mock up how well it could work.

 

[Dark-Fx]

In 2024 Rivian will begin charging for data: so you’ll have to pay monthly in order to get real time traffic updates to their navigation. If they had CarPlay, you’d have Google quality 5G navigation through a supercomputer in your pocket (which is upgraded every few years), and you won’t have to pay extra.

I haven't tried disabling the LTE radio in the truck to see if it would be happy just pulling that information over my phone's hotspot, but it would have to be intentionally programmed that way, and that just seems like a lot of work for a data plan they likely won't make much money on.

 

[astonius]

In 2024 Rivian will begin charging for data: so you’ll have to pay monthly in order to get real time traffic updates to their navigation. If they had CarPlay, you’d have Google quality 5G navigation through a supercomputer in your pocket (which is upgraded every few years), and you won’t have to pay extra.

Even if Rivian adds their own Apple Music app I won’t pay for their connected services. I’ll continue to use my workarounds. Ironically if they put CP/AA behind the fee I would likely pay for it. Not my preferred approach, but certainly better than blocking it outright.

 

[NineElectrics]

Polestar promised CP when the vehicle was first shipping but they took something like 18 months to actually enable it. They don't support AA yet. But hey, apparently these things are incredibly easy to implement so who knows why they would take so long.

This was due to Google delaying the feature in Android Automotive. They were in no rush to help Apple compete with Android. AA is still MIA, but Android Automotive can run AA apps; very similar offering.

 

[Dark-Fx]

This was due to Google delaying the feature in Android Automotive. They were in no rush to help Apple compete with Android.

I'm pretty sure my Hummer shipped with Carplay capability in February of last year. I never tested it though. Polestar didn't have theirs working until June if I remember correctly. I don't think Google is entirely to blame there.

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