Poll: Should Rivian offer Apple CarPlay?

[runningdenver]

Can you add an option 'I already have carplay that works great, thanks'.... the EVSportline carplay adapter was one of the first accessories I added. Works seamlessly and is snappy as if it's native. I use waze, maps and a UK radio streaming service all the time. Now I have no reason for Rivian to get carplay, which is fortunately because I don't think they will.

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[Deacon]

Every crap rental car I get has carplay makes it feel mundane and boring. I like the Rivian set up better with the Alexa integration I do wish we had voice to text that's the only thing i'm missing.

Agree!

 

[omgcoffee]

Assuming this extends to Android Auto as well, I would love to see it.

For one, it's optional. The first party software white knights can just ignore it if they don't like the implementation.

More importantly to me, there are enough people for whom this is an absolute must-have because their phone is the most used and/or cherished device in their lives, and they won't buy a car that doesn't integrate with it. I want Rivian to sell more vehicles, so I want them to remove as many roadblocks for potential customers as possible.

Tertiarily, imagine all the good we could do in the world if we didn't have any more AA/CP posts to gripe about on the internet.

 

[quartz]

That's life. I don't want/need a big, stupid glass roof, but have to pay for it anyway since Rivian decided to make it a standard feature of the vehicle.

It was a design decision though. Rivian explicitly chose to not pursue CarPlay, and all other infotainment decisions carry this assumption. Rivian is having to redo the features that you get for free with CarPlay, but in doing so they have much more control over the integration. You can probably do things like adjust your suspension settings from CarPlay, but then you are forced to change your infotainment architecture to do things the Apple way.

CarPlay is free from Apple, though of course there's some work to build it in. Having worked with Apple devs, they don't think it's huge, and might be LESS expense than what Rivian has done to half-ass their own UI.

Telling others they can't have important features is akin to making everyone go to happy hour at a salad bar because you're on a diet.

Have you seen how feature rich the latest SDK is? The latest car OS versions are designed to take over your entire car. Do you really think this is an easy integration that has no downsides or compromises for Rivian or its consumers? Do you refuse to acknowledge Rivian repeatedly stating they are de-prioritizing CarPlay so they have full control over the vehicle??

 

[SwampNut]

Do you refuse to acknowledge Rivian repeatedly stating they are de-prioritizing CarPlay so they have full control over the vehicle??

No I was specifically calling out how stupid that is.

 

[quartz]

[

No I was specifically calling out how stupid that is.

So you imply Rivian should work on duplicating features that already come with CarPlay, or stop working on its infotainment system all together and go full Apple/Android?

 

[SwampNut]

[
So you imply Rivian should work on duplicating features that already come with CarPlay, or stop working on its infotainment system all together and go full Apple/Android?

One of those, but leaving it where it is now is the wrong choice. Carplay would be the intelligent way, like nearly every other car maker.

 

[Rizzian]

Telling others they can't have important features is akin to making everyone go to happy hour at a salad bar because you're on a diet.

Agree. Rivian's UI isn't so amazing that they should deny access to the free alternative that more than half the country's phones connect with seamlessly. I miss seeing (or hearing )my messages as they come in, I shouldn't have to fiddle with my phone when I'm driving to find out that plans, locations, etc. are changing. It's not about money. A free app that works with every cheap fleet and rental vehicle in this country can surely be rolled into an OTA update on my $97k SUV. RJ needs to swallow his pride and give his customers the best/most options... Many of us already have our preferred music player, communication and navigation device in our pocket. Making everyone learn a new (and more limited) UI is a large roadblock to just getting into your car and going somewhere.

This poll doesn't reflect most car owners or or even EV users - it's Rivain ENTHUSIASTS. Most of us here are somewhat early adopters. There are a lot of techy types and car enthusiasts here, so I get it.... Personally, I LOVE the Rivian UI and can geek out forever getting to know all of the details and easter-eggs, but most of the world wants to just get into a car and go somewhere. Carplay lets ANYBODY with an iPhone get into a car and drive to their destination. They can play their music without signing up/signing in to streaming services and learning how to use the audio screen. They stay connected with their contacts without validating, syncing, or configuring anything. They find locations in the manner that they are accustomed to and receive turn-by-turn navigation without having to type on a screen and wait for it to finally route you down every last service road and back alley on your way to the airport.

While I no longer have any faith in Consumer Reports' ability to deliver unbiased reviews, perhaps Rivan's choice to deliberately exclude the world's most common Android and iOS car integrations is a significant contributor to their recently acheived lowest in class "usability" score. Not everybody is as into car stuff as we are and for the most part, people don't want to spend hours reading manuals and watching tutorials before they attempt a 5 minute drive for a bag of ice in an unfamiliar town.

 

[SwampNut]

You make a great point about "car people" versus just the everyday user who wants their creature comforts and a nice car. On Monday, I "sold" my fourth Rivian by taking a friend for a ride to lunch. She loved it. Yesterday she incredulously texted me, "Someone told me they don't have CarPlay? That's fake news right?"

Sadly no, so she'll be shopping other brands. It is THAT important for many people, and is also one reason she doesn't already have a Tesla.

 

[dgennetten]

Happy to hear your opinion about whether Rivian should have CarPlay. Mostly I just wanted to poll the membership about appetite for CarPlay. I feel like it is overwhelmingly desired by owners, but I may very well be wrong. Hence my question to you all.

No plus don't care exceeds yes. So so much for overwhelming!

 

[Dark-Fx]

I think this is the first time this has been asked.. I wonder how people feel... ?

It doesn't already have it? Huh, strange. I wouldn't use it anyway.

 

[defcon888]

Happy to hear your opinion about whether Rivian should have CarPlay. Mostly I just wanted to poll the membership about appetite for CarPlay. I feel like it is overwhelmingly desired by owners, but I may very well be wrong. Hence my question to you all.

I would rather they improve the nav system and add native messaging to the infotainment system. I don't think we are getting CarPlay/Andriod Auto anytime soon.

 

[djsider2]

I would rather they improve the nav system and add native messaging to the infotainment system. I don't think we are getting CarPlay/Andriod Auto anytime soon.

Guess which direction will cost them more in development costs and maintenance? The home grown way.

Rivian is kidding themselves if they think they can cover 90% of users with home grown development. They’ve already failed to do so in the first 2 years of deliveries. Apple and Google evolved the game with platforms, where they don’t have to be developing every single app they want. This was the main genius behind the iOS and android phones.

I want to know what Rivian really has against integrating platforms with almost two decades each of development costs from them AND app developers.

 

[omgcoffee]

You make a great point about "car people" versus just the everyday user who wants their creature comforts and a nice car. On Monday, I "sold" my fourth Rivian by taking a friend for a ride to lunch. She loved it. Yesterday she incredulously texted me, "Someone told me they don't have CarPlay? That's fake news right?"

Sadly no, so she'll be shopping other brands. It is THAT important for many people, and is also one reason she doesn't already have a Tesla.

^^ Exactly this. A friend put their R2 preorder in after I proselytized but has no plans to purchase if they don't add carplay in the meantime. They're a Honda family and would just as soon buy a Prologue or one of the many competitors in that size and price segment that offers everything they want.

 

[defcon888]

Guess which direction will cost them more in development costs and maintenance? The home grown way.

Rivian is kidding themselves if they think they can cover 90% of users with home grown development. They’ve already failed to do so in the first 2 years of deliveries. Apple and Google evolved the game with platforms, where they don’t have to be developing every single app they want. This was the main genius behind the iOS and android phones.

I want to know what Rivian really has against integrating platforms with almost two decades each of development costs from them AND app developers.

I can see your point. We have CP in our Rav4 Prime and the only thing I use on it is WAZE. It would be nice to have APPLE MAPS or Google Maps, and a native PODCAST app, but that is wishful thinking.

I would guess that most drivers when hooked up use one of the map programs.

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