Electric vehicle maker Polestar beats Tesla to Apple CarPlay

AppleInsider

An over-the-air update to the Polestar 2 is upgrading the in-car infotainment system with full CarPlay compatibility.

A replacement interface for its heads-up display will be made available for iPhone users, Polestar announced in a tweet Wednesday.

The most fun part about driving a Polestar is driving it, but there's more to it. Our latest over-the-air update for the Polestar 2 comes with Apple CarPlay, allowing Polestar owners with an iPhone to change music, use apps, and communicate through Siri or the infotainment system pic.twitter.com/mulkjIUR6D

— Polestar (@PolestarCars)

June 22, 2022

According to the company, this will allow the car's driver or passengers to "change music, use apps, and communicate through Siri" with an iPhone connected.

Polestar was purchased by by Volvo Cars in 2015, with it spun off into EV-only production in 2017. The company leverages technology and manufacturing from Volvo Cars.

Manufacturing for Polestar is mostly in China at the moment. An expansion into US manufacturing is expected in the next few years.

Apple CarPlay was first announced in 2013 as "iOS in the Car," and was first redesigned in 2019.

The company announced a revamp to CarPlay. The new version will supply the interface for the entire dashboard, including for the speedometer.

The upgrade announced at WWDC isn't coming until 2023 at the earliest.

Read on AppleInsider

mikethemartian

I was under the impression that Tesla had no desire to use CarPlay so I don’t know how they were “beat”.

apple4thewin

Elon Musk said it himself, he wants to create an os built entirely by Tesla, for Tesla, and eventually built on a Tesla original code. Also the Tesla os will be run by their own “dojo” program. Not once did they think of using CarPlay to replace their own os.

Beats

If the new CarPlay UI is an indication of what Apple Car could/would look like.

DAMN.

Kuyangkoh

Who cares about car play if your is a Tesla owner. I can do all in my car if music is what I want fm my iPhone …..at least I can go anywhere w/o worries about where to charge….

jib

mikethemartian said:

I was under the impression that Tesla had no desire to use CarPlay so I don’t know how they were “beat”.

They were "beat" because they are one of the very few car manufacturers that don't support CarPlay today.

Personally, I will not even consider a car that doesn't have CarPlay -- and that is one of many reasons I don't plan to buy a Tesla.

bloggerblog

Tesla and Rivian have been resisting CarPlay

illrigger

Beats said:

If the new CarPlay UI is an indication of what Apple Car could/would look like.

DAMN.

Polestar's current built-in OS is Android Auto (no phone connection needed, it's built from the ground up by Google), so you don't have to imagine very hard - it'll basically be the same as it is now but with an Apple UI instead of a Google one.

boxcatcher

You’d think an Apple-focused periodical would realize it’s not about being first.

 Or even know anything about the subject matter and realize CarPlay integration like this is likely never coming to Tesla.

Beats

illrigger said:

Beats said:

If the new CarPlay UI is an indication of what Apple Car could/would look like.

DAMN.

Polestar's current built-in OS is Android Auto (no phone connection needed, it's built from the ground up by Google), so you don't have to imagine very hard - it'll basically be the same as it is now but with an Apple UI instead of a Google one.

No, no, no. I was suggesting imagine THE ENTIRE CAR from hardware to features. 

tundraboy

bloggerblog said:

Tesla and Rivian have been resisting CarPlay

As CarPlay becomes more and more seamlessly integrated into cars' digital systems, only Tesla fanatics will be willing to put up with the inconvenience of having one system for their car and a different one for the rest of their digital needs and functions.  There aren't that many Tesla fanatics around to sustain a car company with mass rather than niche ambitions.  Most people who can afford a Tesla own iPhones not Androids.  It would be foolish for Tesla to close off the part of the car buying public who own iPhones.

Unless Tesla is planning to sell a smartphone good enough to yank customers from their iPhones, they will eventually fold and offer CarPlay integration.

Tesla probably knows all this, or would know all this if they stop lying to themselves.  But as we all know, lying and declaring things that cannot be backed up by something beyond saliva and exhaled gases is something that the top dog over there is very good at.

ichbinglitched

as other folks have pointed out, that headline is fairly ridiculous. you can’t “beat” somebody to something if they aren’t even going that direction. 

i’m not sure what the fuss is. the times i’ve tried carplay in rental cars i’ve found it lacking.  the built-in tesla system is no better or no worse.  they both handle music and phone calls from my phone and since that’s all that i care about the built in tesla interface is fine for me.  

illrigger

Beats said:

illrigger said:

Beats said:

If the new CarPlay UI is an indication of what Apple Car could/would look like.

DAMN.

Polestar's current built-in OS is Android Auto (no phone connection needed, it's built from the ground up by Google), so you don't have to imagine very hard - it'll basically be the same as it is now but with an Apple UI instead of a Google one.

No, no, no. I was suggesting imagine THE ENTIRE CAR from hardware to features. 

So, basically the same thing as everyone else but 20% more expensive, more colorful and with a proprietary charge port? (Kidding!)

mark.statkus

I can't come up with a reason I'd want CarPlay in my Tesla.
I've got a old rig with a Alpine deck w/ CarPlay and it needs it because that interface is jank lol

Beats

illrigger said:

Beats said:

illrigger said:

Beats said:

If the new CarPlay UI is an indication of what Apple Car could/would look like.

DAMN.

Polestar's current built-in OS is Android Auto (no phone connection needed, it's built from the ground up by Google), so you don't have to imagine very hard - it'll basically be the same as it is now but with an Apple UI instead of a Google one.

No, no, no. I was suggesting imagine THE ENTIRE CAR from hardware to features. 

So, basically the same thing as everyone else but 20% more expensive, more colorful and with a proprietary charge port? (Kidding!)

Are you joking about the “same thing as everyone” part? Because I’d like to see a time Apple did the same thing as everyone else when they released a product. 

illrigger

Beats said:

illrigger said:

Beats said:

illrigger said:

Beats said:

If the new CarPlay UI is an indication of what Apple Car could/would look like.

DAMN.

Polestar's current built-in OS is Android Auto (no phone connection needed, it's built from the ground up by Google), so you don't have to imagine very hard - it'll basically be the same as it is now but with an Apple UI instead of a Google one.

No, no, no. I was suggesting imagine THE ENTIRE CAR from hardware to features. 

So, basically the same thing as everyone else but 20% more expensive, more colorful and with a proprietary charge port? (Kidding!)

Are you joking about the “same thing as everyone” part? Because I’d like to see a time Apple did the same thing as everyone else when they released a product. 

In the end, my iPhone 13 and my Galaxy S21 do the same things, with very minor differences between the way they do them (I have to carry both, one for work and one for personal). The iPhone is a better product overall, but they aren't doing anything that different from everyone else; it's all back and forth between new features at this point with nobody really innovating. Android and IOS are more similar to each other now than they ever have been, with Apple finally catching up with widgets, an app tray and now always-on displays. I like the iPhone's focus on privacy and will recommend it over Android for that one reason, but I wouldn't ever say that it's different enough to dissuade anyone who thinks that Android is better at this point. The same goes for my Mac vs my PC - I'm a gamer so I would not want to live with a Mac alone, but for everything else there's no real reason to choose one or the other at this point - they both do everything you ask of them about as well as the other as long as you stick with the same platform (Mac/IOS or Windows/Android).

This is off-topic, though. I'm sure I'll get all kinds of guff for being a cross-platform user expounding on the "not as special as the keynotes make it out to be"-ness of Apple products like I always do, just like I get the same thing when I talk about Apple's advantages on the Android sites. There just aren't enough people out there with experience with products outside of one silo or the other, and way too many who drink the cool-aid on both sides.

mknelson

apple4thewin said:

Elon Musk said it himself, he wants to create an os built entirely by Tesla, for Tesla, and eventually built on a Tesla original code. Also the Tesla os will be run by their own “dojo” program. Not once did they think of using CarPlay to replace their own os.

CarPlay doesn't replace the cars OS, it supplements it for certain functions.

StrangeDays

boxcatcher said:

You’d think an Apple-focused periodical would realize it’s not about being first.

 Or even know anything about the subject matter and realize CarPlay integration like this is likely never coming to Tesla.

What part about this is about being "first"? None. It's more about being last. I wouldn't buy a car without CarPlay, it's that simple. The seamless integration of what I'm searching for or looking up on my iPad or iPhone automatically being a suggested destination when I enter the car has value. Or sending directions from my Mac to my iPhone and likewise have it auto-suggest in the car...these things improve my experience.

A siloed car UX does not improve my experience.

mattinoz

Surely they were beaten by one of the Traditional  car maker who already had good CarPlay and now have good all EV versions of the same models?

dcgoo

bloggerblog said:

Tesla and Rivian have been resisting CarPlay

They are not really resisting, they simply do not NEED it. Tesla, and I assume Rivian have their own solution which duplicates everything CarPlay provides and then some. For example navigation is tightly coupled to their charging network, including current availability updated in real time. 

Tesla is considering becoming an AirPlay 2 destination. They also could use Apple Music as a media source. Right now Tesla is limited to  LiveOne (FKA Slacker), Spotify and Tidal. 

Tesla’s media and navigation capabilities are really pretty decent. CarPlay would be a step backward for Tesla, and I assume Rivian (I have no direct experience with Rivian). 

Paul_B

If I need a computer, I can use my iPhone or laptop.  I wish one car manufacturer would still build a vehicle with a cigarette lighter.