CarPlay = Fail!
What in the hell are automakers thinking? I hated Ford's Sync technology based on Microsoft's embedded OS. But, and here is the key, it wasn't tied to a specific mobile platform. In fact, it wasn't tied to a mobile device at all. And it certainly wasn't tethered via a physical connection.
True, I don't have all of the facts, and no one has actually rolled out a car based on these. But the official announcement imply that an iPhone is needed and that it needs to be physically connected via thunderbolt thus eliminating anything old than the iPhone 5 series.
iOS isn't even the dominant mobile OS on the market.
I hate to say it... but Google save us from this monstrosity!
And in reality, Google doesn't need to do anything, the auto manufacturers simply need to build a Google compliant OS. Microsoft has shown that their embedded OS is too difficult to work with to deliver a viable product (or at least that Ford is too inept to do the work) and Apple has now shown that they are simply trying to control the mobile market by forcing you to use their products in cars that adopt their platform. Which leaves Google (or perhaps Nokia) to clean up the mess.
Honestly, here, I would rather see Nokia. I just don't see it happening. Nokia has a history of building embedded OS's. They have the right collection of services. And heck, they could probably even build in some limited support for Android apps.
Either way... an embedded car OS that requires a smart device in the first place is stupid. One that requires a specific brand of smart device is ridiculous and one that requires that the device be connected via a proprietary connector is downright insane. You are basically being punished for wanting to control which smart phone you use if you buy such a car. Anyone with a brain will boycott them.
I tend to think this trend will die rather quickly. As much as I love my car, my phone is a much more personal device. And if I'm told "here is our top of the line model, but you can't use half of the media and navigation features unless you change your phone", I'll walk down the road to the next dealer and buy a different car. These CarPlay features are premium features that will undoubtedly only be in higher trim lines. I don't think many people will take kindly to needing a specific phone to exploit features they already paid a premium for.
But hey, I could be wrong.
Perhaps with the phone subsidy market shrinking Apple is hoping automakers will subsidize the phones instead and steal market from their competitors through via the auto market.
True, I don't have all of the facts, and no one has actually rolled out a car based on these. But the official announcement imply that an iPhone is needed and that it needs to be physically connected via thunderbolt thus eliminating anything old than the iPhone 5 series.
iOS isn't even the dominant mobile OS on the market.
I hate to say it... but Google save us from this monstrosity!
And in reality, Google doesn't need to do anything, the auto manufacturers simply need to build a Google compliant OS. Microsoft has shown that their embedded OS is too difficult to work with to deliver a viable product (or at least that Ford is too inept to do the work) and Apple has now shown that they are simply trying to control the mobile market by forcing you to use their products in cars that adopt their platform. Which leaves Google (or perhaps Nokia) to clean up the mess.
Honestly, here, I would rather see Nokia. I just don't see it happening. Nokia has a history of building embedded OS's. They have the right collection of services. And heck, they could probably even build in some limited support for Android apps.
Either way... an embedded car OS that requires a smart device in the first place is stupid. One that requires a specific brand of smart device is ridiculous and one that requires that the device be connected via a proprietary connector is downright insane. You are basically being punished for wanting to control which smart phone you use if you buy such a car. Anyone with a brain will boycott them.
I tend to think this trend will die rather quickly. As much as I love my car, my phone is a much more personal device. And if I'm told "here is our top of the line model, but you can't use half of the media and navigation features unless you change your phone", I'll walk down the road to the next dealer and buy a different car. These CarPlay features are premium features that will undoubtedly only be in higher trim lines. I don't think many people will take kindly to needing a specific phone to exploit features they already paid a premium for.
But hey, I could be wrong.
Perhaps with the phone subsidy market shrinking Apple is hoping automakers will subsidize the phones instead and steal market from their competitors through via the auto market.
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