Yeah, I'm not sure why car companies invested at all in attempting to build their own mapping software. It's a hard thing to do well, and I had been using GPS in the car since Windows 98 + Microsoft Streets + Garmin eMap + serial adapter running NEMA days. PC or smartphone navigation software has always been better than what is available in cars. Additionally, while the upgrade cycle for phones is yearly for some people, the upgrade cycle for cars can be 10 years or more, and good luck ever getting a software upgrade after buying a car.
Whatever car I buy next, I wouldn't buy without CarPlay. There are also replacement stereos which support this (e.g. Pioneer appradio) but given how most cars don't still use a 2 DIN slot for the radio and have much more integrated systems (drive modes, HVAC controls, etc on the "radio"), it's not even possible to upgrade many without losing significant factory functionality.
My hope is that auto mfgs wise up and realize that they've been wasting billions developing these in-house systems, and instead switch to just having the car be a dumb monitor + speakers with a connection to your phone which runs all of the non-critical systems.
> ... and good luck ever getting a software upgrade after buying a car.
Nissan wants ~$800 USD for a map upgrade (which is just a microSD card, if I understand correctly) for my 2014 Nissan Altima and Dodge wants a little under $200 for a map upgrade for my 2013 Dodge Ram. Yet I can freely download updates and perform map upgrades myself on my 2014 Harley-Davidson motorcycle in about 10 minutes using just a USB flash drive.
Ironically, the Harley is the only one of these that I would ever actually consider paying for.
On the rare occasion that we find that the maps aren't up to date, either the girlfriend or myself will just whip out our iPhone and open up the Maps apps instead -- just as described in this article.
I'll probably stop paying extra for all of the "upgrades" the next time I buy a vehicle. I typically spring for every feature/option package that's available but they are becoming less and less "worth it" as time goes on.
"I'm not sure why car companies invested at all in attempting to build their own mapping software."
Given how much the OEMs charge for the systems (often it's a $2K upcharge), plus how much they charge for updates (typically $150 - $200), the manufacturers undoubtedly saw it as a potentially profitable product development effort.
I've always wondered why it took manufacturers so long to put in a 3.5mm jack into head units--it would have saved us a lot of awful tape adapters in the 90s and CD changer emulators in the 2000s.
I know its trendy right now to hate on the removal of the 35mm headphone jack but this comment is simply false. You can charge it while using the headphone jack - you just need a silly dongle or a dock to do it.
which is less than any super cheap android/whatever can do.
seriously, wrong and arrogant move. if we users are stupid enough to vote with our money for this, then of course it's all our fault collectively. i know i won't
Does Carplay allow choosing which maps app serves the maps, or are you forced to use the apple maps? I'm sure people love Apple's app but it's given me many, many, many too many illegal directions for me to ever trust it.
I have CarPlay in my 2016 VW Golf R and the only map app that shows up is Apple Maps. I can still use Google Maps; I just plan my route on that app, and then bring up Apple Maps in CarPlay if I need to actually see a map. Google Maps continues to send driving directions through the car audio system even while Apple Maps is displayed. Still hoping Google Maps becomes an authorized CarPlay app eventually.
Neither Carplay nor Android Auto have multiple supported maps apps yet. Android Auto only allows you to use Google maps, but I don't have a problem with that since Google maps is very good. IIRC, they announced at the last Google IO that they're going to be supporting Waze in the near future.
Automakers have wizened up that they aren't the software companies they had hoped to be, however, the alternatives on offered in Android Auto and Carplay aren't too appetizing of alternatives to them.
While I do see telematics going the "dumb terminal" route, Google and Apple's approach of becoming a major reason why you buy a car has brought automakers into an uneasy truce with big tech. Cars just become more data pipes to fuel the ad engine while becoming a primary interaction point with drivers, cutting auto guys out of the information loop.
That's partially what's been holding up adoption. You have entire divisions inside big auto being threatened. Their "new feature" pipeline also starts coming from Google and Apple, requesting deeper control and functionality in the car as consumers demand a more seamless experience.
Even then, the AC and other integrated controls could easily be ios/android apps and integrated into the device's connection... Yes, a given app for a/c might suck, but the rest of the ux doesn't have to.
Whatever car I buy next, I wouldn't buy without CarPlay. There are also replacement stereos which support this (e.g. Pioneer appradio) but given how most cars don't still use a 2 DIN slot for the radio and have much more integrated systems (drive modes, HVAC controls, etc on the "radio"), it's not even possible to upgrade many without losing significant factory functionality.
My hope is that auto mfgs wise up and realize that they've been wasting billions developing these in-house systems, and instead switch to just having the car be a dumb monitor + speakers with a connection to your phone which runs all of the non-critical systems.