Finally a car manufacturer realizes it can't out-compete a software company at making good software.
The reason infotainment sucks so hard is that car companies want to "own the experience" and also want to cut costs, so they underinvest and create poor experiences.
Nope. There's a current mismatch between automotive hardware life cycles and consumer software life cycles.
This Volvo hardware is going to be a minimum of 3 years old before it ships and will have to function for 10 years+.
How good is your 10 year old phone? How does it match up to the average consumer experience today? How's the speakers, camera, audio, OTA software, and display compare to what's available today?
Not owning the software ecosystem is a good first step but will be severely hampered by not aligning hardware development cycle expectations.
I think there's a larger story, which I'll explain through a personal anecdote. I purchased the Samsung Gear 3 LTE smartwatch because I've always hated how mobile phones get in the way of personal interaction, but then was very disappointed to find out it ran Tizen and not Android Wear, which means no Google Assistant.
So one the one hand you have Google Assistant: great voice recognition and queries against the Google search engine, and on the other hand you have Samsung which doesn't own a search engine and can't compete in the voice search market.
So it looks like Google is going to dominate the entire hands-free computing world (smartwatch, cars, and home assistants)
Google I/O is tomorrow so hopefully they'll announce some Android Wear with LTE and voice assistant.
If you want Next-Gen infotainment with Assistant and Maps, you need to buy a new shiny Volvo car... or, you know, just use your Android phone and hack a Raspberry Pi and install Crankshaft on it.
Crankshaft does all of the above, plus it doesn't talk to the cloud, doesn't require you to be connected to "the cloud," doesn't collect your data, doesn't ask you to buy a new expensive car, doesn't nudge you to subscribe to any service, and has a stallmanism approach to software freedom.
The switch to Google Maps will definitely be nice since their current maps are crap. Not sure about the other pieces but it probably can't get worse than it currently is. I have the newest XC90 and the on-screen stuff is absolutely horrible. I run into many bugs every day and the response from support has been abysmal.
My wife got an XC90 about 2 years ago and I have to agree. Even changing the channel on the radio is bad - I press next channel, next channel, and it takes me back to the first channel repeatedly.
The car looks and handles great, but we won't be getting another Volvo just because the electronics are so bad.
Agree. I have the same vehicle and am simply astounded at how bad the entire UI is. How can a company like that with such a good brand ship something so awful in their flagship product?
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 ...
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.
It will be interesting to see how useful this will be vs. vanilla Android Auto & CarPlay.
I've had CarPlay for the last couple years, and I use it exclusively now. Even for things like radio, I've started using the Sirius app via CarPlay instead of the native radio interface. I don't use built-in navigation either, I just use my phone's on the same head unit.
What kind of benefits can the deliver through a tighter integration? And will they be able to keep it up-to-date as easily I keep my phone up-to-date? Will be interesting to watch.
The level of customization an OEM can do is pretty remarkable. This is Android Auto in an Audi Q8 and it looks nothing like Vanilla Android Auto or Carplay for that matter.
That's basically what CarPlay and Android Auto are, with the addition of specific app UIs when they are projecting to the car display and a few other bits of shared data between the phone and car (for things like steering wheel controls).
Volvo supports both of those as well in their current infotainment systems.
They already have your location, and based on how fast you're moving they know if you're in a vehicle. Based on how you leave that vehicle in a certain spot and come back to it, they already know that's your vehicle.
Man I was really hoping they would bootstrap something awesome. Since they were acquired by Geely I was thinking that they would go there own path and pave a way for AI cars in China’s future.
Maybe they are just evaluating it to get an idea of what to copy in the future?
I need Google maps more then most as have poor sense of direction. But so dangerous looking at phone. Love to just have Google maps built into the car.
I own a Volvo but not a mobile device? Any "advanced" tech baked into a vehicle makes zero sense to me. Tech runs in to 2-3 yr leap cycles. An auto can last you (+ a 2nd or 3rd owner) 10+ years.
Why would a manufacturer intentionally hurt the Blue Book value of their vehicles?
So, can I replace these or are they embedded-embedded?
The Google Assistant seems to have custom code, so it would be understandable, if I can't replace that, but then it's hopefully at least possible to turn it off.
Anyone with concerns about privacy and thinking about buying a car in Europe should have eCall in mind.
An European citizen unwilling to have an embedded system that tracks location, accesses mic and transmit GPS data has three options: burn the SIM card module, buy a pre-April-2018 car or something outside the EU.
This is the opposite for me. I'm switching from an iphone to an android mainly so I can use android auto with google maps support in my new car. Google assistant is the cherry on top. This would be nice though since I would not have to switch phones just to get around apple carplay forcing their garbage maps on me.
Can you follow up on that? What if the Volvo, other than Google's involvement, was otherwise the best vehicle for you? Would you get an otherwise worse car, just because of the G stamp on it?
Interesting considering that Volvo are Chinese owned. Since their parent company are at the front of EV development and since the 5 year plan of China is 80% of the global EV market it looks to me like we will have lots of Waymo cars in due course. Maybe they have decided to go with mere Carplay for now with a view to future Waymo tech being what the real deal is to be.
In car tech is set on autopilot features which stymies development of anything that does not share that future. You can't invest $$$ in the next dashboard gizmos if you know that autopilot is going to 'change everything'. So it makes sense to just hnd it all over to Google now.
nimish|7 years ago
The reason infotainment sucks so hard is that car companies want to "own the experience" and also want to cut costs, so they underinvest and create poor experiences.
Dwolb|7 years ago
This Volvo hardware is going to be a minimum of 3 years old before it ships and will have to function for 10 years+.
How good is your 10 year old phone? How does it match up to the average consumer experience today? How's the speakers, camera, audio, OTA software, and display compare to what's available today?
Not owning the software ecosystem is a good first step but will be severely hampered by not aligning hardware development cycle expectations.
0x4f3759df|7 years ago
So one the one hand you have Google Assistant: great voice recognition and queries against the Google search engine, and on the other hand you have Samsung which doesn't own a search engine and can't compete in the voice search market.
So it looks like Google is going to dominate the entire hands-free computing world (smartwatch, cars, and home assistants)
Google I/O is tomorrow so hopefully they'll announce some Android Wear with LTE and voice assistant.
jimmies|7 years ago
Crankshaft does all of the above, plus it doesn't talk to the cloud, doesn't require you to be connected to "the cloud," doesn't collect your data, doesn't ask you to buy a new expensive car, doesn't nudge you to subscribe to any service, and has a stallmanism approach to software freedom.
Disclaimer: I made it.
josteink|7 years ago
jlward4th|7 years ago
jatsign|7 years ago
The car looks and handles great, but we won't be getting another Volvo just because the electronics are so bad.
nathantotten|7 years ago
jasonjayr|7 years ago
izacus|7 years ago
stuart78|7 years ago
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.
[1] https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/buying-vs-leasing
dawnerd|7 years ago
favorited|7 years ago
I've had CarPlay for the last couple years, and I use it exclusively now. Even for things like radio, I've started using the Sirius app via CarPlay instead of the native radio interface. I don't use built-in navigation either, I just use my phone's on the same head unit.
What kind of benefits can the deliver through a tighter integration? And will they be able to keep it up-to-date as easily I keep my phone up-to-date? Will be interesting to watch.
bitmapbrother|7 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xf5hVqZHPY
djajshgsjja|7 years ago
tokyodude|7 years ago
Install the Volvo app on my phone, pair, done.
don't really want random apps running in my car.
alex_duf|7 years ago
I don't care if the connection is cable, bluetooth wifi etc.
stetrain|7 years ago
Volvo supports both of those as well in their current infotainment systems.
mistrial9|7 years ago
64kbisalluneed|7 years ago
DannyBee|7 years ago
gregknicholson|7 years ago
How is this better than just sticking your phone on the dashboard?
Is driving so tedious that drivers are crying out to be infotained?
sorokod|7 years ago
Ninn|7 years ago
hansjorg|7 years ago
notatoad|7 years ago
ariwilson|7 years ago
remir|7 years ago
If I'm going to have a car connected at all time to a LTE network, I want the software on it to be secure.
jacksmith21006|7 years ago
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/volkswagen-an... Volkswagen and Audi Cars Vulnerable to Remote Hacking
iamaelephant|7 years ago
bitmapbrother|7 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BuRMdjij4g
Here's Audi's system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xf5hVqZHPY
kuwze|7 years ago
Maybe they are just evaluating it to get an idea of what to copy in the future?
jacksmith21006|7 years ago
dexterdog|7 years ago
chiefalchemist|7 years ago
Why would a manufacturer intentionally hurt the Blue Book value of their vehicles?
Sylos|7 years ago
The Google Assistant seems to have custom code, so it would be understandable, if I can't replace that, but then it's hopefully at least possible to turn it off.
If not, I'm not buying a Volvo in my lifetime.
leowoo91|7 years ago
chicob|7 years ago
An European citizen unwilling to have an embedded system that tracks location, accesses mic and transmit GPS data has three options: burn the SIM card module, buy a pre-April-2018 car or something outside the EU.
mrep|7 years ago
pavel_lishin|7 years ago
wintorez|7 years ago
Theodores|7 years ago
In car tech is set on autopilot features which stymies development of anything that does not share that future. You can't invest $$$ in the next dashboard gizmos if you know that autopilot is going to 'change everything'. So it makes sense to just hnd it all over to Google now.
unknown|7 years ago
[deleted]
SpikeDad|7 years ago
Google - "You are our product"