In south Florida the Rivian map is years out of date and is totally missing major interchanges on major highways. It's a total pain. It doesn't even show some of them on the map at all - that's how old the map is.
But I mean they don't own the whole stack. It's all built on Android Automotive https://9to5google.com/2024/05/17/rivians-software-is-based-on-android-automotive-google-says/ and if my lengthy career working in system integration often with Google in particular is any evidence that's a very fragile and unpredictable partner to be working with. Not knocking what Rivian HAS done but they've also made a point to keep extremely quiet on what they haven't and let people believe they did it all themselves which is a bit shifty to me and leads a lot of people to think they're more capable than they actually are. However they're certainly lightyears ahead of VW or any legacy automaker really is capable of at this point they're are all pretty universally terrible. And I will still whine about CarPlay you can't tell me what to do
.
This is no different than Tesla or any other auto company. Nobody owns the whole stack... and it would be stupid to do so.But I mean they don't own the whole stack. It's all built on Android Automotive https://9to5google.com/2024/05/17/rivians-software-is-based-on-android-automotive-google-says/ and if my lengthy career working in system integration often with Google in particular is any evidence that's a very fragile and unpredictable partner to be working with. Not knocking what Rivian HAS done but they've also made a point to keep extremely quiet on what they haven't and let people believe they did it all themselves which is a bit shifty to me and leads a lot of people to think they're more capable than they actually are. However they're certainly lightyears ahead of VW or any legacy automaker really is capable of at this point they're are all pretty universally terrible. And I will still whine about CarPlay you can't tell me what to do
Theres a very big difference between using something like linux and liscencing Android Automotive
Fundamentally, an OS is an OS and Rivian is only using the bits of Android Automotive that benefit them (not the entire stack, ie GAS). Outside of the infotainment system, they're also using QNX unless they've ditched that in the refresh. If you're smart, you buy commodity capabilities and build differentiating features - both Rivian and Tesla have done this. And let's use proper terminology here, Android Automotive is NOT the same thing as Android Auto.
Well first off I corrected Android Auto to Android Automotive within a second of posting that reply (predictive text can be a hindrance sometimes) I fundamentally disagree an OS is not just an OS and we’re primarily talking infotainment here (at least I am), what differentiating feature has Rivian built on top of the infotainment base?
In case you haven't noticed, Rivian's infotainment system is a work in progress. They may or may not succeed in providing a UX that their customers want - but, for better or worse, they made the decision to fully own the experience they provide and that is what they are doing. I'd wager there is also an element of frugality in some of these decisions, given their limited finances as a startup. Their Nav leverages MapBox and Google for searching destinations. Where they differentiate is with things like battery pre-conditioning, charging station ratings, and identifying compatible Tesla superchargers. Those aren't yet OOTB capabilities that I'm aware of and I'm sure that list of features will continue to grow over time. And don't underestimate the value of being able to fully customize the UI. Frankly, of all the implementations of Android Automotive I've experienced, Rivian has by far one of the best UIs (in my opinion). That doesn't mean I wouldn't still rather use Waze in my daily driving where I need the nav system to help me avoid traffic, not get me to a charging station.
Pre-conditioning isn’t a differentiator Tesla does it Hyundai does it Ford does it. As far as Identifying superchargers that’s Mapbox. It’s a lame excuse to say their infotainment is still a work in progress, everyone else's is too and the fact that we’re 3 years into the “work in progress” and the only distinct feature they’ve shipped to date is charger ratings which I would argue more of the work on that was done by the team at ABRP than at Rivian. It’s actually pretty abysmal. I’m at the point where I’m pretty convinced they employ too many graphics and sound designers and not enough software developers
I reiterate, nobody in the automotive space owns the entire stack. Carry on.
I don’t disagree, I don’t discount the use of OSS at all I’ve been in software development/integration for almost 20 years myself (Automotive industry before that). I wouldn’t work with a company that wasn’t leveraging OSS at this point, but where I disagree with their stance is particularly as a cash strapped startup is trying to re-invent the wheel with a NEW closed ecosystem end to end all in house. No Android Auto, No CarPlay, No messaging support at all, limited media streaming options a much derided nav system. Given they’re using Android Auto they could very easily integrate their own app store even if it was heavily curated. Don’t misunderstand me I have zero issues with what they’ve done outside the infotainment system but ( and please let there be no misunderstanding here this is JUST my educated opinion ) the infotainment system feature-set is a joke at this point. As owners we absolutely SHOULD expect better. VW may not be stupid but they’ve proven very clearly they don’t understand the software end of the equation. Another big problem there has been that traditional auto industry cost optimization doesn’t play well with compute optimization, that’s slowly changing.
