Nick – as a multi car owner, it's so nice to have the continuity from one to the other via my mobile device. When i get in my car it knows where i'm going because it's on my calendar. When my wife uses my car, her music/podcasts continue playing from when she was driving her car. No one needs to learn new software interface for that no matter how great that interface is. Also, when you buy a used Rivian, the device (iphone/android) will be much more updated than the current interface.

Another thought; This is the same things when you rent a car (which is not the idea behind Rivian, but GM removing this technology from their cars) ... you don't want to learn an entire interface when you are just going to drive a rental car for a couple of days. Instead, you want your device to run Waze or such when you're traveling. Not having this is short sighted, IMO.

alex bob you must not own a Rivian. If you did, you’d know it does exactly what you’re describing. The second I open the door, my music/podcast is playing without delay. The UI is so simple there is no learning curve. I get more updates on my Rivian than I do on my iPhone. I also have a vehicle with CarPlay. Both are great, but I prefer Rivian’s integrated approach. GM’s software is not great, they need CarPlay for sure.

Nick Baxter Carplay is minimal effort to implement and maintain. If you dont like it, you dont have to use it.

Joonas – I totally agree. I cancelled my reservation for that. I'm bummed, but it's a key feature I enjoy in cars nowadays.

Joonas Lehtinen test drive it, try it out. You might change your mind. It really is an incredible vehicle. The software is great, the drivetrain and performance is even better. It’s a sports car, an off-roader, and everything in between. It’s fast, corners flat, grips on any surface, and insanely fun to drive. I look for excuses to drive it. I’ve never had a vehicle (especially not a truck) I could say that about.

Nick Baxter I do not doubt Rivian being amazing. And it is cool that Apple Car Key and Music support is coming.

The thing is that any car that does not allow projecting phone UIs will be outdated in a few years. Vendor just do not have incentive for maintaining up-to-date user experience for old cars. With a new iPhone every two years I can maintain great UX with a car that support Car Play. Was already burnt once with this with Tesla where their 1st gen UX rendered unusable in five years.

Importance of CarPlay will further be emphasized with introduction of local AI. Rivian will never have local LLM with access to all my data. I can have that on my iPhone through CarPlay in any car that supports it.

Rivian unfortunately has losing strategy here. As a shareholder I wish them all the best, but will not be using their products until they fix this.

Joonas Lehtinen maybe Rivian can make that a part of their phase out strategy when they no longer wish to support older vehicles. 😀

The trouble with car play is the competing functionality. A big one is navigation. CarPlay cannot start battery preconditioning. This creates a problem for the user unless the user is savvy enough to do manual preconditioning (which actually is not a feature that exists yet but is on the software road map), then the user must know to use the native navigation and not the navigation on their phone. This is just one of many examples of a conflict that can result in a sub-par experience.

I know CarPlay 2.0 is in the works that will integrate with the vehicle functionality, but I don’t know much about it. If CarPlay 2.0 can resolve these types of conflicts, then my guess is Rivian may consider it. I see it more as an Apple problem right now, and less of a Rivian problem. Rivian just wants things to work, things like battery pre-conditioning, charging stops, and trip planning. I believe this is the same reason Tesla does not offer CarPlay.

Jason Stanfield: its hubris from the executives. They think they can outspend google and apple on infotainment

Jason – Totally agree.

Jacob Friedman Rocs Upstate: I'm assuming the sense they are using is that they would have to pay money to both Google and Apple to add this in. It's not trivial.

Cody Lundquist both are free to license. There would be no cost to them.

Cody Lundquist both are free and trivial for the manufacturer.

Real reason is likely that Rivian would have harder time selling monthly subscription after the free connectivity ends in 2024. If CarPlay gives you music and maps for free, paying a monthly Rivian subscription is not as compelling.

Cody – As a user and car buyer, I don't see why you would not at least put that as a paid option on the buyer's shoulder. I would certainly pay for it.

Sidenote: The resale of these car will take a big hit not having this technology. Phone will always update their interface while cars companies will stop. I'm dealing with this on one of our BMWs which I am thankful has CarPlay.

George Chacko: I don't think it will be implemented to be honest. I'm also a reservation holder. I put a deposit on another 7 seater that will support android auto. I'm holding onto my reservation for the R1S until the last possible moment, just in case they come to their senses because I would prefer the rivian over the other option. But I'm about 98% sure at this point that I'll cancel my R1S. Not that the execs at rivian care-- there is a demand for EVs so they could literally slap you every time you turned the car on and people would buy it. Until there is more competition, that is.