Frustration regarding lack of a good smartphone interface in the Tesla
I just came back from helping a friend purchase a new Subaru Forester, and about 2 months ago helped my son purchase a new Kia Soul. Both of these vehicles are substantially less expensive than my state of the art tech 2017 Tesla S90D, yet they come with Apple Car Play / Android Auto, allowing safer driving by mirroring their phone functions on their touchscreens, allowing both cars to audibly read incoming text messages, create voice texts through the car's audio system, integrate Waze traffic info, and many other features - basically taking full advantage of existing smartphone's capabilities and integrating it in their audio systems for the driver's convenience.
Please, no flaming - I realize the Tesla is not a compatibly priced car for a multitude of reasons which we all know in great detail - price and vehicle performance are not the source my frustration. The idea that virtually every new vehicle offered on the market today, regardless of price / brand / propulsion method, already have superior smartphone integration than Tesla owners have available to us, is very frustrating to me.
Over the course of dozens and dozens of updates, through Version 8.0, 8.1, and now 9.0, over the 3 years and 2 Teslas I've had, I've seen several new features added, and many improvements on others - but no improvement has been offered or or any imminent changes mentioned for smartphone integration. No Apple, No Android. And while I sort of understand not using those 2 systems from Tesla's "everything we do ourselves" point of view - why is there still no dedicated (and hopefully superior) Tesla smartphone interface system to better handle our smartphone features, and allow for safer driving? Given the focus on technology and safety that Tesla claims to prioritize (and we all enjoy enough to own), I find this one technological abyss unfortunately frustrating.
Look, I am addicted to my Tesla, I get every vehicle can't do everything...but integrating your smartphone in your vehicle is high tech at it's most basic, and given that fact virtually every Tesla owner uses a smartphone of some type, I find it a shame that it hasn't been made a higher priority for Tesla vehicles to provide such a system to us by now.
Thanks for listening....
Please, no flaming - I realize the Tesla is not a compatibly priced car for a multitude of reasons which we all know in great detail - price and vehicle performance are not the source my frustration. The idea that virtually every new vehicle offered on the market today, regardless of price / brand / propulsion method, already have superior smartphone integration than Tesla owners have available to us, is very frustrating to me.
Over the course of dozens and dozens of updates, through Version 8.0, 8.1, and now 9.0, over the 3 years and 2 Teslas I've had, I've seen several new features added, and many improvements on others - but no improvement has been offered or or any imminent changes mentioned for smartphone integration. No Apple, No Android. And while I sort of understand not using those 2 systems from Tesla's "everything we do ourselves" point of view - why is there still no dedicated (and hopefully superior) Tesla smartphone interface system to better handle our smartphone features, and allow for safer driving? Given the focus on technology and safety that Tesla claims to prioritize (and we all enjoy enough to own), I find this one technological abyss unfortunately frustrating.
Look, I am addicted to my Tesla, I get every vehicle can't do everything...but integrating your smartphone in your vehicle is high tech at it's most basic, and given that fact virtually every Tesla owner uses a smartphone of some type, I find it a shame that it hasn't been made a higher priority for Tesla vehicles to provide such a system to us by now.
Thanks for listening....
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Comments
I suspect most car companies include Carplay etc hoping you're crunch the car and then buy another. Great deal for them - not so much for you if you get killed.
You'll also find very few ultra luxury cars include things like Carplay. So Tesla can emulate the high end or low end. I prefer Tesla looks towards the high end rather offering bottom end disposable cars.
One would think that this possibility might have occurred to the designers who decided where the phone charge plug should go.
If they introduced the features you ask for but locked them out automatically while the car was not in park, then yes, I would agree with you entirely.
After several years, Musk stated that instead of the 3rd party app store and programming interface, Tesla planned to provide some form of screen mirroring, though not necessarily Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, either a 3rd party or inhouse solution.
Due to potential security issues, eliminating the 3rd party apps running onboard makes a lot of sense. It's easier to protect the onboard software by only allowing access through screen mirroring applications running on smartphones.
It's been several years since Musk made this statement, and there hasn't been any indication Tesla has made progress on screen mirroring. Other than adding the limited calendar integration, there hasn't been any significant improvement in smartphone integration since the Model S was first sold mid-2012.
And with other manufacturers introducing competing long range EVs (starting with the Bolt) with vehicles including Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, the lack of this feature could start impacting Tesla's sales, especially when they introduce the $35K Model 3 (this year?).
We regularly use the Audible app on our smartphones because Tesla still hasn't fixed the long standing issues with playing audio books using USB files. We periodically will listen to the SiriusXM app when travelling so we can listen to our hometown live sports broadcasts. And, if we had it, we'd likely use our smartphone apps, if we could interact with them on the large console display (probably a better solution for a browser, than using the slow and limited onboard browser).
Tesla (Musk) should at least make a new statement about Tesla's plans in this area. Since they've demonstrated the ability to add new features with OTA updates, even if they don't have screen mirroring today, if it's coming in the next major release (V10?), that might be enough to satisfy potential customers.
Bolt 2018 sales: 18, 019
Model 3 2018 sales: 139,782
So it appears having CarPlay in the Bolt has dramatically hurt sales of the Bolt and GM should remove CarPlay to boost Bolt sales. Ok, a silly argument both ways
All the rest you wrote is good!
In the Cadillac, you had to physically connect the phone, which is one big strike against it in my mind. Once that was done (and it often took multiple tries to connect and have the phone recognized), you had to manually start the CarPlay interface on the screen. This had to be done every time I got in the car.
I can still hold a button on my phone and use Siri to make phone calls or start playlists through the Tesla speakers, even if I leave the phone in my pocket. Tesla's nav has evolved to become my favorite nav system and even the Tesla voice recognition seems to be pretty good.
It's amazing for how impressive the tech in the car is, the software we interact with on a daily basis is meh.
Just like with smartphones themselves, Tesla's popularity will be affected as more EV options enter the market, making the creature comforts of each a more important part of the consumer's decision to buy. Tesla has it easy right now - basically, no competition, so its easy to overlook many other features available elsewhere. That situation is certain to change, and it would be a shame for someone as forward thinking as Mr .musk to fall behind the 8-ball due to stubbornness or shortsightedness.
This will likely change - possibly first in Europe and then in the US - and when that happens customers may start comparing features like smartphone integration before making their purchase.
Today, if a customer wants a long range EV, Tesla still is the only choice in town, so the extra features like smartphone integration doesn't currently have a major impact on sales.
Most buyers look at the combination of features, style, price, performance, utility, etc. to elect which car to buy. Tesla does not satisfy every possible need, nor does any other car. Those that did buy the Tesla, felt the features and value met our needs, or we would have bought another car. Now, I love features, and there is nothing wrong with wanting better features or new features - but I really doubt the lack of CarPlay will have a significant influence on Tesla sales for years to come.
@larry - it's clear we disagree on the safety aspects, and I respect that. My view is any kind of texting (text or voice) while driving is highly distracting and a significant safety concern. Ideally, phone companies should completely block texting (incoming or outgoing) while the phone is moving more than 5 mph. Sadly, I realize too many people are highly addicted to texting and are unwilling to stop no matter how much danger it puts themselves, their family or others on the road. I appload Tesla for doing as much as they can to restrict this dangerous practice.
I find that the existing interface is needy (requiring often more physical interaction than necessary) and non tactile (meaning it requires the attention of my eyes). As well as that, the size of the screen means the cognitive load on scanning for the right place and then touching it is greater.
For tactile inputs like the scroll wheel/buttons on the steering wheel, it seems they didn’t find the sweet spot for tension. I often scroll and click where I intended to just click. Maybe this has been resolved in newer models.
“The podcast player we have right now is a sin against humanity. Thank god I have autopilot” - this comment should worry you. Someone is depending on the car driving itself while they interact with it. Some of us do not have AP.
Stating that Tesla is obsessed with safety, then acknowledging that they give us a (terrible) web browser that you can operate while driving, seems a very clear oxymoron.
I think it would be nice if we got something like that with our smartphone plugged into USB or connected over bluetooth. I 100% believe that Tesla has the SW prowess to make it happen and would be great in conjunction with say...spotify instead of Slacker in the US.
I have been waiting for a part (windshield washer nozzle) replacement, as the stream keeps going out of alignment. I brought this to their attention in March, at my 4 year service. They readjusted it twice, but it doesn't hold. So they ordered a replacement nozzle, mobile service brought the wrong part, and now they tell me if they need to reorder the part, it won't be covered as I'm out of warranty. But I brought up this issue WITHIN warranty. Just an example of what you will be dealing with.