Apple CarPlay to be whole car OS?

[radami1]

Apple will use their mountain of cash to buy a couple of car brands like Ford and VW or BMW and Mercedes when they are ready for bankruptcy. I think they want to rely on these companies' expertise in car manufacture and supply apple software. It could work but probably a mistake. Tesla is proving the old companies' "expertise" is obsolete and all they will get is a brand same as the Chinese got with Volvo. In the end it won't be worth much.

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[SwampNut]

Lots of issues with Teslas UI.

But CarPlay is an iPhone extension, TeslaOS is the car. The two are not the same.

Of course. I have no issue with the rest of the UI, just the interaction with media and communications. CarPlay isn't an OS, likely never could be.

 

[Crissa]

Apple will use their mountain of cash to buy a couple of car brands like Ford and VW or BMW and Mercedes when they are ready for bankruptcy. I think they want to rely on these companies' expertise in car manufacture and supply apple software. It could work but probably a mistake. Tesla is proving the old companies' "expertise" is obsolete and all they will get is a brand same as the Chinese got with Volvo. In the end it won't be worth much.

Apple has never bought established manufacturers before. It would be a change in strategy.

-Crissa

 

[SwampNut]

Apple has a test track in Wickenburg AZ for their own self driving cars. I thought this was common knowledge. One day, the iCar will be introduced, out of thin air. This is the Apple way. The closest I can get to the facility even on a dirt bike, I couldn't see anything fun.

 

[SwampNut]

I wonder if the iCar will have Android Auto?

 

[Ogre]

Of course. I have no issue with the rest of the UI, just the interaction with media and communications. CarPlay isn't an OS, likely never could be.

Would love to have the Apple/ CapPlay media player with access to phones media. I tend to just use the phone interface which sucks when driving (and illegal locally)

 

[charliemagpie]

They might buy a legacy company to pick the bones. i.e., brand. Any more than that is throwing good money after bad.

 

[Ogre]

They might buy a legacy company to pick the bones. i.e., brand. Any more than that is throwing good money after bad.

Neither Tesla nor Apple acquire companies for brand names like this. I suppose Beats?! Might be the sole exception to this, but it’s arguable that beats was as much about some of the other assets they owned.

Seriously doubt Apple will want GM or Ford. Teslas brand already exceeds both.

 

[SwampNut]

The very reason we don't have CarPlay is the reason Apple would never buy something to make a new product line. Not invented here--no good. Musk and Apple have that same mentality. For good and bad, though really, mostly good. Both have up-ended markets and have the best cost-return proposition in their fields.

 

[Unwho1943]

Google already does this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Automotive

Apple is just getting around to completely integrating themselves. Its better to have car manufacturers license software manufacturers for their car OS than do it themselves. What will suck is that will now be a deciding factor in which car brands you buy similar to how it goes now with buying a TV.

I hate roku OS.. so I specifically buy tv's with android TV OS.

I hate Apple iOS and OS, so I would hate to have my car or truck with Apple iOS because I will never buy another Apple phone... and they are hardline strict about having to use their hardware to connect into their ecosystem.

It would be better if there was an auto os api standard This way the manufacturer can offer the same model car but with os designed by each individual car os software company, giving the end user choice of apple/android/tesla os themselves. Or a standard car os developing/deployment package so that the manufacturers software developers could design the ui themselves within the constraints of each brand of car os from Android, apple, Tesla, etc and export/deploy the design to all os variants at once from their own in house software teams. Similar to how phone app developers can design their apps for both Android and apple phones within the ui constraints of each os and deploy their one app for both os's at the same time.





Similarly, if Amazon did their own auto OS, they would refuse to allow Android phone users to connect and use it the same way they lock Android phones out of Chromecast sharing on their Fire Sticks. This is why solutions like AirPlay to Chromecast apps become so useful, allowing users to bridge ecosystems more easily and enjoy seamless streaming across devices regardless of platform.

You make some great points about the importance of user choice and interoperability in car operating systems. The idea of a standardized auto OS API is especially interesting — it could really open up the market and let consumers pick what suits them best without being locked into a single ecosystem. Right now, too many platforms are siloed, forcing users to adapt rather than having the freedom to choose.
Allowing car manufacturers or even third parties to develop customizable UIs that can be deployed across multiple OS variants would benefit everyone — consumers, developers, and automakers alike. It would also encourage innovation and reduce fragmentation.
Ultimately, more openness and flexibility would help avoid the “one size fits all” approach that frustrates many users today. Hopefully, the industry moves in that direction over time.

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

You make some great points about the importance of user choice and interoperability in car operating systems. The idea of a standardized auto OS API is especially interesting — it could really open up the market and let consumers pick what suits them best without being locked into a single ecosystem. Right now, too many platforms are siloed, forcing users to adapt rather than having the freedom to choose.
Allowing car manufacturers or even third parties to develop customizable UIs that can be deployed across multiple OS variants would benefit everyone — consumers, developers, and automakers alike. It would also encourage innovation and reduce fragmentation.
Ultimately, more openness and flexibility would help avoid the “one size fits all” approach that frustrates many users today. Hopefully, the industry moves in that direction over time.

Interesting point you make. I have been using PLEX (video streaming) for many years. Early on they had a wonderful user interface that blew away ROKU, etc., but when they decided to support all televisions, OSes, streaming devices, etc. their user interface became ‘white bread’. It was uniform but boring as all hell. So the argument goes both ways.

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