BubbaHotep

Tesla owner and lover. Apple owner and lover. And the intersection, or lack of intersection, of the two is a huge pain point.

Tesla's navigation system has been behind Apple Maps and Google Maps for awhile in terms of accurate and up-to-date data. For the first six months of ownership Tesla's navigation system directed me to take a non-existent road near my house. It took a couple of data updates before this problem was fixed. It is a good thing I didn't have FSD and FSD doesn't work on city streets yet or my Tesla would have driven itself through someone's house. (Yes, that is a bit of hyperbole.)

It is great that Tesla's navigation can help you plan long trips by routing you to your destination via Super Chargers. But it doesn't recognize Destination chargers or other chargers. And it doesn't give you alternate route options in this instance. (Alternate route options for shorter trips was a recent upgrade.)

I know I am suppose to keep my eyes on the road, but I do like being able to see my texts on the main dashboard and hear them being read. Tesla's texting is less than perfect.  I hate the less than accurate dictation. I hate that sentences never start with capital letters unless the first word is "I". I hate that it stops listening and assumes your done after a short sentence. I hate the fact that I cannot have the texts re-read.

Adding Apple Music to Tesla's Infotainment system has been a small step forward, but it is so slow and buggy. I used to have to log out and log back in every other day. Now it is every couple of weeks.

As much as I love and want CarPlay, though, no other EV offers the performance and features of a Tesla. The biggest draw is the Super Charging network. I have planned family trips using hypothetical vehicles from other manufactures and it just doesn't work. Not enough fast chargers available or no fast chargers available. Not enough distance on a charge. Most importantly though is the combination of features. No other EV allows my disabled daughter easy access to the vehicle and has room for her wheel chair and lets all five of us sit inside.

What all of these advocates for, "right to repair," leave out is just how damn difficult it is to repair a modern Apple device especially an iPhone. I worked for Apple in an Apple retail store and I HATED repairing iPhones, especially ones with cracked screens. Everything is tiny and fragile. Even for experienced and trained technicians repairing an iPhone is not fun. The danger of destroying a cable or connector if you use the wrong amount of force or apply force in the wrong direction is ever present. It is delicate work. Despite training, it was common for new Apple technicians to break the first iPhone or two they worked on.A

And I haven't had to repair an iPhone much past the iPhone 6.

If I had the choice of saving $200 repairing an iPhone or paying Apple $200 to fix an iPhone, I would gladly hand my credit card over to Apple for a trained, experienced technician with ALL of the proper equipment to do the job right.

The irony here is so thick. Instagram was originally an iOS app only. But of course Facebook, I mean Meta, purchased Instagram and then the founders left. This douche dongle wouldn’t even have a job if it weren’t for iOS.

In many ways, this is not news. The fact that Apple is now on a trajectory to make all of their products look identical is not something that Steve or Jony would have come up with. I for one think each product should have distinct look and feel reflective of its purpose and target audience. The MacBook Air has had a unique wedge shape design for 17 years. That shape was iconic and Apple. Now, other than the fact that the Air comes in different colors, it looks exactly like the other MacBook Pro. Nothing different. Nothing unique. Nothing to make it stand out. Nothing that says pick me up and use me. I hate hold my iPhone 13 and my iPad Pro when they are not in a case because I find the flat edge to be very uncomfortable. Design and Apple were synonymous because of Steve and Jony. Now that Jony has no influence on Apple design, the Apple and the products we all knew and loved will be no more.