New CarPlay Support Email?

[RivRev]

This "Amazon is making them do it" narrative keeps coming up, but it's ridiculous. Having driven the R1T, you know what the default music service is? Spotify! Does Amazon own Spotify? No. Most of Amazon's Apps work with Car Play and Android Auto and Apple Music works just fine with Alexa. Amazon isn't making product calls at Rivian either.

I think you are very wrong on this. Amazon is absolutely a major, if not the only, reason that Rivian does not have CarPlay. Okay, even if it is not a "major" reason, it is still certainly part of the reason. Amazon is more than just a silent investor, and they are more than an active investor, they are essentially Rivian's partner. There are many articles confirming this. You can even extrapolate that Rivian is essentially Amazon's EV division. I would seriously doubt that Amazon was not involved in any way about a decision as integral as this. Amazon absolutely has input on Rivian decisions, especially a business decision like this one.

Also, Amazon and Spotify are already integrated via Alexa and Amazon devices. Why spend the effort to integrate Apple CarPlay and Android when they already have this relationship?
"Users can buy Spotify subscriptions using Amazon.com. Also, the range of smart home assistants brought by Amazon, i.e., Alexa supports music streaming with the help of Spotify too. Thus, it can be seen that both Amazon and Spotify can be used in coordination with each other to give the best experience to the users. "
https://support.spotify.com/us/article/spotify-on-alexa-devices/

From Amazon's perspective, why would they want to facilitate the growth of their competition (Apple and Android)? And, in case you haven't heard, apple is interested in cars as well.
The more people that Amazon can get to use Alexa, the better, and a car is the perfect conduit for that exposure. On the other hand, the more people that use CarPlay and Android, the larger their two perspective market shares can grow.

Google, Amazon, and Apple are much more direct competitors than you probably realize. From cloud storage to home devices to app stores, they compete for similar users, market share, investors, and data.


Last point: At the time this decision was made (likely around 2018), Amazon was creating their own smartphone device...the Amazon Fire Phone. It flopped. But I think it would be pretty naive to not think that Amazon had some aspirations of leveraging the synergies and business relationship of that device and the vehicle and Rivian and Alexa. "You want to drive a Rivian, buy a Fire Phone for the best experience! We can even integrate your data plans, and alexa and amazon accounts for convenience!"

Sponsored

 

[cc84]

Joe Rogan is one main reason I cancelled my Spotify Premium and switched to YT Music. Turns out YT Music is actually better, so win win.

I only listen to music on Spotify, occasionally, so I had no idea who Joe Rogan is, nor ever heard of him until today. I've never heard of YT Music either, until today. I'm not a very interesting person.?....but, I'm happy you're in a win-win, situation.

Joe Rogan, Aaron Rodgers, etc.. have a right to be idiots, just no right to my $ or support.

Personally, I wouldn't call them idiots, as they have the right to their opinions, as you do to not give them your support, or dollars. You are an individual. As far as I know, you have no venue to present opposing views, so I think you should do whatever you wish, as you're doing. Neil Young has the right as well, it's just that I'm not a fan of what he's doing.

I do know Aaron Rodger's stance, but he's just a quarterback. It doesn't automatically make him intelligent, or an expert. I hear him and listen, but I don't follow his advice. It doesn't make sense to me. He is a good quarterback though, but just wasn't good enough this year.?

 

[frostbit3]

I think you are very wrong on this. Amazon is absolutely a major, if not the only, reason that Rivian does not have CarPlay. Okay, even if it is not a "major" reason, it is still certainly part of the reason. Amazon is more than just a silent investor, and they are more than an active investor, they are essentially Rivian's partner. There are many articles confirming this. You can even extrapolate that Rivian is essentially Amazon's EV division. I would seriously doubt that Amazon was not involved in any way about a decision as integral as this. Amazon absolutely has input on Rivian decisions, especially a business decision like this one.

Also, Amazon and Spotify are already integrated via Alexa and Amazon devices. Why spend the effort to integrate Apple CarPlay and Android when they already have this relationship?
"Users can buy Spotify subscriptions using Amazon.com. Also, the range of smart home assistants brought by Amazon, i.e., Alexa supports music streaming with the help of Spotify too. Thus, it can be seen that both Amazon and Spotify can be used in coordination with each other to give the best experience to the users. "
https://support.spotify.com/us/article/spotify-on-alexa-devices/

From Amazon's perspective, why would they want to facilitate the growth of their competition (Apple and Android)? And, in case you haven't heard, apple is interested in cars as well.
The more people that Amazon can get to use Alexa, the better, and a car is the perfect conduit for that exposure. On the other hand, the more people that use CarPlay and Android, the larger their two perspective market shares can grow.

Google, Amazon, and Apple are much more direct competitors than you probably realize. From cloud storage to home devices to app stores, they compete for similar users, market share, investors, and data.


Last point: At the time this decision was made (likely around 2018), Amazon was creating their own smartphone device...the Amazon Fire Phone. It flopped. But I think it would be pretty naive to not think that Amazon had some aspirations of leveraging the synergies and business relationship of that device and the vehicle and Rivian and Alexa. "You want to drive a Rivian, buy a Fire Phone for the best experience! We can even integrate your data plans, and alexa and amazon accounts for convenience!"

Not saying you're wrong by any means as I haven't done any research it, but if that were the case why wouldn't they also include Amazon music? I have Amazon music as it comes with my Prime subscription so I'd be able to use that vs not having Spotify. So having Amazon music wouldn't be ideal for me, It'd at least give me an option that I could live with and use vs use spotify or bluetooth.

 

[astonius]

This "Amazon is blocking it" discussion has been rehashed a thousand times over.

I'd bet my LE reservation Amazon in no way dictated the lack of CP/AA.

 

[RivRev]

Not saying you're wrong by any means as I haven't done any research it, but if that were the case why wouldn't they also include Amazon music? I have Amazon music as it comes with my Prime subscription so I'd be able to use that vs not having Spotify. So having Amazon music wouldn't be ideal for me, It'd at least give me an option that I could live with and use vs use spotify or bluetooth.

That's an interesting question....does the Rivian have Amazon Music? I wish I had my Rivian to know for sure, but I don't. I would be very surprised if it didn't, or at least the ability to add it. I haven't seen this explicitly mentioned in any reviews or forums.
Also, my understanding is that Spotify in the Rivian is free. It's still a little unclear to me if this is basic spotify subscription littered with ads or it is a premium subscription, and if it is free for only a year or what. I'm also unsure how, or if, you connect your existing spotify account to the Rivian spotify...?

 

[jtshaw]

I think you are very wrong on this. Amazon is absolutely a major, if not the only, reason that Rivian does not have CarPlay. Okay, even if it is not a "major" reason, it is still certainly part of the reason. Amazon is more than just a silent investor, and they are more than an active investor, they are essentially Rivian's partner. There are many articles confirming this. You can even extrapolate that Rivian is essentially Amazon's EV division. I would seriously doubt that Amazon was not involved in any way about a decision as integral as this. Amazon absolutely has input on Rivian decisions, especially a business decision like this one.

Also, Amazon and Spotify are already integrated via Alexa and Amazon devices. Why spend the effort to integrate Apple CarPlay and Android when they already have this relationship?
"Users can buy Spotify subscriptions using Amazon.com. Also, the range of smart home assistants brought by Amazon, i.e., Alexa supports music streaming with the help of Spotify too. Thus, it can be seen that both Amazon and Spotify can be used in coordination with each other to give the best experience to the users. "
https://support.spotify.com/us/article/spotify-on-alexa-devices/

From Amazon's perspective, why would they want to facilitate the growth of their competition (Apple and Android)? And, in case you haven't heard, apple is interested in cars as well.
The more people that Amazon can get to use Alexa, the better, and a car is the perfect conduit for that exposure. On the other hand, the more people that use CarPlay and Android, the larger their two perspective market shares can grow.

Google, Amazon, and Apple are much more direct competitors than you probably realize. From cloud storage to home devices to app stores, they compete for similar users, market share, investors, and data.


Last point: At the time this decision was made (likely around 2018), Amazon was creating their own smartphone device...the Amazon Fire Phone. It flopped. But I think it would be pretty naive to not think that Amazon had some aspirations of leveraging the synergies and business relationship of that device and the vehicle and Rivian and Alexa. "You want to drive a Rivian, buy a Fire Phone for the best experience! We can even integrate your data plans, and alexa and amazon accounts for convenience!"

The Amazon Fire phone was discontinued in 2015. I worked on that product. As I said before, I worked at Amazon for a LONG time. They could be calling a bunch of shots here, but people (including yourself in the reply post) call out a level of meddling that doesn't even commonly occur between business units WITHIN Amazon. I worked there for 13 years, it's a company that highly highly values individual organizational autonomy.

 

[DuckTruck]

Removing Neil Young's music (which I like) from Spotify gave me the incentive to find out what CarPlay is, who Joe Rogan is and why Spotify removed his music. All the headlines gave me the impression Spotify had a beef with Neil Young, but it's the other way around. Neil Young asked for his music to be removed, due to Joe Rogan's spreading misinformation about the COVID vaccine, or treatment (?). Spotify regrets Neil Young wanting to remove his music.

I respect Neil Young's choice to do what he wants, but he's hurting his fans that choose to use Spotify (me), IMO.

However, I'm also not a big fan of anyone giving an ultimatum to specifically hurt a company, college, or individual, that has a venue for all type of opinions to be voiced. It's kind of saying "do it my way, or the highway." "For What it's Worth" (my favorite), trying to shut down free speech and opposing views is dangerous, IMO and I think this is another example. All I can see in my mind, is a child saying, "I'm not going to play with you anymore, if you don't choose me to be on your side!" Maybe we never grow up.

CarPlay is a different story. Being I've never had it, I can't miss it. I think I understand some aspects of it, but until I see it in action, I can't comment one way, or the other. I do like options though.

cc84,

Stills and Young together, in any iteration was lightning in a bottle. "For What It's Worth" will always be in my all-time Top 10. I've always been a big fan of both those men, but Neil's antics can sometimes be a little off-putting. Laying down that ultimatum didn't surprise me, it just disappointed me. As you mentioned, it's always good to have options. I'm looking forward to having Spotify, but hope Bluetooth connectivity opens up several other services and features desired by many folks here.

Neil is quite the amazing entrepreneur, in business, as he is musically. Pono was an amazing product, one that sadly didn't gain enough traction and/or suffered from bad timing/production issue. He also has an ownership position in the company that makes his beloved Lionel Trains. He had a hand in making their remote controls and sound engineering better.

About a dozen years ago, he even converted his '59 Lincoln Continental into a biodiesel-electric hybrid. The first version didn't go so well. In 2010, it's said that a malfunction while the car was charging set off a three-alarm blaze that caused about $1 million in damage. Most of the damage was done to a lifetime of his rock 'n' roll memorabilia - instruments, photos and film footage, as well as the car itself. Undaunted, he repaired and restored the Lincoln. Being in insurance and a huge fan of Young, I got a kick out of the statement from the insurance company, regarding his conduct: "The altering of a gas-powered 1959 vehicle and its components is an extreme departure from what a reasonably careful person would do."

I'm guessing Neil wears that statement like a badge of honor.

The attached is one of the best middle fingers an artist has ever raised to coroporate America and commercialism. It's classic Neil: "This Note's For You." Crank it up! (While Neil may have had this blocked, the link to YouTube does seem to play the video.)

 

[cc84]

The attached is one of the best middle fingers an artist has ever raised to coroporate America and commercialism. It's classic Neil: "This Note's For You." Crank it up! (While Neil may have had this blocked, the link to YouTube does seem to play the video.)

I love it. Thanks for the video Duck, and the other information you provided. This forum is educational. For me anyway. If not for this forum, I would never have known people climb rocks in $80,000 vehicles.? But, as usual, I'll do what makes sense to me. To each their own. I still bend over to pick up pennies, if they're heads up. I won't be climbing any rocks though......not until the new wears off.

BTW, IMO, Spuds Mackenzie by far had the best role in the video.

 

[DuckTruck]

I love it. Thanks for the video Duck, and the other information you provided. This forum is educational. For me anyway. If not for this forum, I would never have known people climb rocks in $80,000 vehicles.? But, as usual, I'll do what makes sense to me. To each their own. I still bend over to pick up pennies, if they're heads up. I won't be climbing any rocks though......not until the new wears off.

BTW, IMO, Spuds Mackenzie by far had the best role in the video.

I remember the small uproar back in the day when the Whitney look-alike poured the soda over Michael Jackson's head to put out the fire. I recall when the story broke about MJ's hair product igniting, not long before Neil made the video.

And you're right, Spuds stole the show....

The whole video is classic Neil and it makes me laugh to this day. ?

 

[U100]

 

[tomis916]

So, is it true that the only options for music using the stereo system in the Rivian are currently FM radio and Spotify?

 

[COdogman]

So, is it true that the only options for music using the stereo system in the Rivian are currently FM radio and Spotify?

If I understand correctly, and I do not have first hand experience with the system, it sounds like FM, Spotify and TuneIn are the built in options right now. You can listen to your Amazon/ Apple Music via BT, although there are not apps in the system to do that directly. Same thing with Sirius/ XM. You could listen to it by using the app on your phone, streaming it via BT. So to change channels, etc you would need to use your phone, not the Rivian system.

Who knows what they might add in the future. They could eventually add all of it, or they could go the Tesla route and keep it native. The owners manual is very vague about the infotainment system. It doesn’t mention Spotify or any of those above options. It tells you how to connect via BT and listen to “music and podcasts”.

 

[Obioban]

If I understand correctly, and I do not have first hand experience with the system, it sounds like FM, Spotify and TuneIn are the built in options right now. You can listen to your Amazon/ Apple Music via BT, although there are not apps in the system to do that directly. Same thing with Sirius/ XM. You could listen to it by using the app on your phone, streaming it via BT. So to change channels, etc you would need to use your phone, not the Rivian system.

Who knows what they might add in the future. They could eventually add all of it, or they could go the Tesla route and keep it native. The owners manual is very vague about the infotainment system. It doesn’t mention Spotify or any of those above options. It tells you how to connect via BT and listen to “music and podcasts”.

Bluetooth sound quality is crap.

Tunein and Spotify only exist if you pay the subscription fee (rivian has estimated they will make an average of $15,500 per owner off subscription based features).

Using Rivian native anything sucks if you use more than one car (I have 5, truck would be 6) and want to have a consistent experience across them (e.g. picking up a podcast or book in one car where you left off in the other). Or want apps Rivian doesn't offer. Or think $15,500 of subscription based features is shit.

 

[COdogman]

Bluetooth sound quality is crap.

Tunein and Spotify only exist if you pay the subscription fee (rivian has estimated they will make an average of $15,500 per owner off subscription based features).

Using Rivian native anything sucks if you use more than one car (I have 5, truck would be 6) and want to have a consistent experience across them (e.g. picking up a podcast or book in one car where you left off in the other). Or want apps Rivian doesn't offer. Or think $15,500 of subscription based features is shit.

Oh I agree on the BT. I said in this thread yesterday that having a 14 speaker Meridian sound system is wasted if the only way to connect is via BT. You will never know how good it sounds without the ability to have a wired connection.

The subscription model sucks, I agree. But it’s the direction everything is going. To me it’s acceptable if they 1. Give people the option to not subscribe but still don’t miss out on basic functions of their truck. 2. Offer lots of options so that those who do want to take advantage of the subscriptions can add what they want.

I hate Spotify, so I wouldn’t be using that ever. TuneIn I had never looked into until I started reading this thread. For me it will replace Sirius XM. I would pay $10/ mo to listen to news and sports, which is all I used Sirius for anyway.

I don’t know what you use to listen to your audiobooks, but if you use Audible it doesn’t pick up in the same place each time you connect in another vehicle, device, etc?

 

[Obioban]

Oh I agree on the BT. I said in this thread yesterday that having a 14 speaker Meridian sound system is wasted if the only way to connect is via BT. You will never know how good it sounds without the ability to have a wired connection.

The subscription model sucks, I agree. But it’s the direction everything is going. To me it’s acceptable if they 1. Give people the option to not subscribe but still don’t miss out on basic functions of their truck. 2. Offer lots of options so that those who do want to take advantage of the subscriptions can add what they want.

I hate Spotify, so I wouldn’t be using that ever. TuneIn I had never looked into until I started reading this thread. For me it will replace Sirius XM. I would pay $10/ mo to listen to news and sports, which is all I used Sirius for anyway.

I don’t know what you use to listen to your audiobooks, but if you use Audible it doesn’t pick up in the same place each time you connect in another vehicle, device, etc?

Doesn't have to be wired-- Apple gets full quality audio through CarPlay (which runs over bluetooth AND wifi). But, yes, bluetooth audio is compromised.

I use Audible for books, yes-- which I interface with in the other 5 cars using CarPlay

Sponsored