Considering the lifecycle of a car vs an Android device, they better just build in a touch screen w/ a HDMI + USB connection, and let the compute brains get swapped out inexpensively ...
>> Considering the lifecycle of a car vs an Android device, they better just build in a touch screen w/ a HDMI + USB connection, and let the compute brains get swapped out inexpensively ...
> This is literally what Android Auto and CarPlay are.
The in-dash systems these days do a lot more than they used to. Mine (VW Atlas) has 50% of the temperature control, all vehicle settings, etc baked in. All could theoretically be maintained and upgraded, but these are not really separable from the car itself.
I like the idea of them being upgradable, but it would seem to depend on more software and API discipline than I imagine VW or any the other manufacturers being interested in.
Relatedly, the lifecycle of a lease is much closer to a phone, so for owners of the 30%[1] of cars out there that are leased, the upgrade cycle will presumably keep them "up to date". If the car manufacturers are pushing us more towards away from ownership (analogous to phones, software, etc.) then there is little incentive for them to make significant investments in upgrade-ability. And like legacy phone hardware companies, they are too busy preparing new phones to give much love to upgrading older ones.
They're just industry standard CANBUS signals sent over a wire, there's no technical reason a third party head unit couldn't support all this extra functionality.
Hopefully either of those will still work with latest gadgets 10 years from today.
Think of all the car owners with iPod connectivity crying in their new 5 years old cars all over the world. By the way, today's iPhones do not support iPod connectivity. And I'm talking about protocol, not about hardware port. Which is a hassle to replace in quite a few vehicles too.
My car has a 2005 Kenwood head unit with a 30 pin connector. It has worked fine with every iPhone including my iPhone 7, using a 30-pin to Lightning connector. What support is missing?
True, but same can be said about built in google maps. What happens when volvo stops paying the license? I think right now android auto/carplay/mirrorlink are the best we got
Fully replaceable industry standard DIN mounts in dashboard is the best we got. Well, had. Car info, rear camera etc could be shown via mirrorlink-like setup inside of a replacable head unit.
Maybe we could have car stereo game going again and it'd start to improve. Today's infotainment suuuuucks. Thank god for steering wheel buttons. Otherwise they wouldn't be safely usable while driving. And yes, skipping songs or adjusting volume must be physical knobs to make it doable without taking eyes off the road.
Volvo already supports both. I can’t speak to android auto, but the CarPlay experience is awful. I’ve also used CarPlay in several GM vehicles with similar disappointing results.
Honest question, are there people that have had good CarPlay experiences?
Yep, carplay was the sole deciding factor of my last car purchase and I've been happy with it since. There are some cars I've rented with absolutely horrific carplay integrations. Audi for some reason didn't use a touchscreen so everything is selected using their pretty terrible control wheel. A kia I rented turned on night mode on maps whenever the daytime running/parking lights were on - really weird. Nicest carplay I've had was a 2018 dodge charger. That screen they used was beautiful and huge.
I have an Audi now with Android auto, and I prefer their non-touchscreen interface to the touchscreen one. Cars and touchscreens just don't work in my opinion, I'd much rather work using just a scroll wheel and selector.
Although AA might be better suited to it than carplay is.
And I mirror your feelings, AA was a significant factor in my purchase, and it is a non-negotiable feature in my next car purchase.