According to this old thread, there is no licensing fee, don’t know if that’s still accurate though
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Who has or is planning to get an electric car / EV Talk
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There is no licensing. They do need to include a decryption chip that handles the AirPlay communication. No an expensive item, though. Lots of cheap aftermarket panels that can replace some older head units have them.
Can you imagine that other people do need phone streaming? We don’t all have the same needs and cars should be flexible enough to accommodate a reasonable range of choices.
It does both 🤷♂️, you can stream directly from the car, can stream from your phone, can also use CarPlay. Plenty of choice, what is the issue?
Actually, the cheap ones do not do that at all. They utilise a cracked software version, with a very similar fairly old no longer supported insecure android operating system. That is very different from getting formally licensed versions from Pioneer or Kenwood.
Tesla has Audible, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music. You can get all your podcast through them.
Yes, you may have to do things differently, but once you are in the Tesla ecosystem you won’t miss CarPlay as much as you would think.
Also, unfortunately by design of how much you have to customize your Tesla UI, renting a Tesla/Rivian doesn’t give you the full owner experience as you don’t get enough time to learn and set everything up. You also don’t usually get phone app access.
It would be nice, but with the Tesla UI, it isn’t a must have feature. With other manufacturers I 100% agree, as they are using it as a crutch because they can’t develop a good in house UI.
I thought someone mentioned in this thread in the past that CarPlay was open free to the world (I learned it here). So, based on that Tesla and Rivian (I believe are the two best UIs in the automotive industry) have made a conscious effort to not rely on CarPlay.
I have two Teslas and don’t miss CarPlay. Most owners will say the same. And if not there is a HUGE aftermarket scene that can add a gauge cluster with wireless CarPlay/Android Auto for <$300. I have felt no need to add these to my Teslas.
I think Tesla not adopting CarPlay is largely to do with Musk hating Apple in general, rather than CarPlay not being good enough. It’s certainly a feature I look for in a car and I enjoy the integration it provides, although I don’t have it in my older daily car but we do in our EV.[/QUOTE]
Tesla has taken a different approach pretty much from the get go - SW defined vehicle, and I also think that the way they implemented EV charging/navigation has contributed to their success. At the same token, the "Tesla way" turns many people away.
And whether or not other automakers will be successful, or even continuing the "SW defined vehicle" will remain to be seen as there are quite a few out there now re-introducing knobs ... but that is subject to another discussion.
As for "rely on CarPlay" - there is no need for that, but just image if CarPlay were to become an option to use for those who do like/miss it? would probably be at < $5 (vs $300 aftermarket).
Yet, I have a couple hundred subscriptions and years of listening history on my podcast client of choice. All of that stored on my phone. If I were to switch to another podcast app, which I don’t want to do, I would need to resubscribe and then mark thousands of episodes as “read” so that they don’t clog up my reading queue. Why should I need to do that? What is the benefit to me as a customer of this arrangement? Who could want to justify this situation?
Once again, I really don’t care how good Tesla’s UI is. It doesn’t and never will offer a feature that is critical to me. I see that as a reason to offer an alternative but that seems to not interest some car makers and seems to bother some people here.
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No the topic was about car makers, like GM, Tesla, and Rivian who don’t offer phone projection like CarPlay. I wrote “streaming” but I should have used “projection” as it is more specific to this case.
I do like Apple CarPlay, but I knew that an add-on display was a way to go, too. My old Jeep had no tech ... so I had to do that before. I know we are talking EV ... but I was also looking at hybrids ... saw the new Toyota Camry. Haven't read much about them ... but some hybrids can get up to 50 mpg. Not exactly the most 'green' solution ... but some help limiting CO2.
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For <$300 on top of the purchase you can have a vehicle that has a fantastic UI and have CarPlay/AA. You can have your cake and eat it too.
I would take Tesla’s UI over any other’s and add that device if CarPlay was that important to me.
I added SiriusXM to my TMY, which was never available. I got a radio module from an S plaid and swapped it into my Y. After a simple reboot, I have SXM. Tesla’s software is awesome…
Some of these CarPlay screens come with back-up cameras ... better than anything on my car. Also, I think the screen ergonomics can be adjusted. Of course it's not CarPlay 2.0 for controlling other car stuff ... but I think it will be fine with my retro car ... car does have 4 wheels (not including the steering wheel).
That and a built in dashcam/sentry mode that for some odd reason no one else (aside from Rivian) seems to want to copy.
There are a long list of Tesla’s UI features that excel…
Cloud Profiles
Profiles contain seat, ac, radio, steering wheel, and all other UI settings
Phone/Card Key linked to profiles
Phone calendar integration (gps automatically loads your next destination)
Scheduled preconditioning by GPS location
Route planning with L3 charging and preconditioning
Camp/Dog/Keep modes (as mentioned)
Voice activation that actually works with most functions (set ac temp, set gps, find businesses, there is a long list floating around the internet)
Speed/Red light camera notifications (on screen and audible notifications)
FSDs/autopilot love it or hate it, the self driving functionality is fundamentally part of the UI, which may differ than CarPlay routes on one’s phone
Amazon Music/Youtube Music/Apple Music/Apple Podcasts/Spotify/Live One (Sketcher)
Consistent OS updates with added features, even for 10+ year old vehicles.
I know I’m missing a million things. But Tesla’s UI is almost at the level of a personal assistant. Things just work And require minimal input from the driver.
But like everything there are areas for improvement like their vision based wipers. They have significantly improved since I got my teslas, but there is still more room for improvement.
I use the Actually Smart Summons (A.S.S.) daily. I have my TMY drive out my parking spot at work and come about a block to me and my son. The spot is too tight to open his door and load him into the car seat. My parking spot is in a private parking lot (one floor uncovered). This has been a game changer for me. I constantly was struggling with being able to get him in the car, especially with a bad back and neck from car accidents (I had a single level cervical fusion 2 days ago).
I honestly think, if Tesla had gone the route of CarPlay/AA they wouldn’t have been forced into developing such an advanced UI. This is why I said I think it is a crutch.
Cloud Profiles
Profiles contain seat, ac, radio, steering wheel, and all other UI settings
Phone/Card Key linked to profiles
Phone calendar integration (gps automatically loads your next destination)
Scheduled preconditioning by GPS location
Route planning with L3 charging and preconditioning
Camp/Dog/Keep modes (as mentioned)
Voice activation that actually works with most functions (set ac temp, set gps, find businesses, there is a long list floating around the internet)
Speed/Red light camera notifications (on screen and audible notifications)
FSDs/autopilot love it or hate it, the self driving functionality is fundamentally part of the UI, which may differ than CarPlay routes on one’s phone
Amazon Music/Youtube Music/Apple Music/Apple Podcasts/Spotify/Live One (Sketcher)
Consistent OS updates with added features, even for 10+ year old vehicles.
I know I’m missing a million things. But Tesla’s UI is almost at the level of a personal assistant. Things just work And require minimal input from the driver.
But like everything there are areas for improvement like their vision based wipers. They have significantly improved since I got my teslas, but there is still more room for improvement.
I use the Actually Smart Summons (A.S.S.) daily. I have my TMY drive out my parking spot at work and come about a block to me and my son. The spot is too tight to open his door and load him into the car seat. My parking spot is in a private parking lot (one floor uncovered). This has been a game changer for me. I constantly was struggling with being able to get him in the car, especially with a bad back and neck from car accidents (I had a single level cervical fusion 2 days ago).
I honestly think, if Tesla had gone the route of CarPlay/AA they wouldn’t have been forced into developing such an advanced UI. This is why I said I think it is a crutch.
Although there is in my opinion so much not to like about Tesla, there is that part that is very well sorted. I think people who haven’t actually used it don’t quite get that. Same as the removal of the stalks, the software is so good it doesn’t matter.
And similarly, albeit differently, Google AAOS is really good, seriously good. And many cars use it. GM is just being GM and isn’t representative for all the Euro and Chinese cars that use it properly.
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I'm not in the market for an EV, but there are some good deals to be had. Used Porsche Taycan, Mercedes Benz EQS to name two of my favorites. For the money (half price) they're a bargain. I like Rivian but they haven't depreciated enough yet. Unfortunately these EVs are depreciation monsters.
There's another thing about Teslas that make them unacceptable: Repairability is horrendous. You cannot purchase parts for these cars. Repairs are Tesla only. I maintain and repair my cars and these cars are not owner-maintainable or repairable.
I read a story of someone who it a road hazard and it snapped off the coolant line going into the battery pack. Tesla wanted $35,000 to replace the entire battery pack. Instead, the guy found a mechanic who tapped new threads into the battery pack and re-threaded the coolant line going into the pack. That's just ridiculous.
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I doubt that that is wholly accurate. Isn’t there something called the right to repair or something similar in the USA? I know here in Europe you can get parts and do it yourself if you want to.
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When they passed right to repair in my state, the law said it applies to cars sold at dealerships. Tesla has no dealerships.