Well, iOS 17.4 happened.
There’s a lot of hype around the EU specific changes of the iOS core supporting multiple stores and multiple payment solutions. As interesting as that is, I don’t care too much about it. It’s old news since some years ago.
It’s another point that is interesting to me:
Carplay
Let’s review a few features of the new carplay:
- climate controls piped through carplay
- TPM
- Charge monitoring and management for EVs
- Some vehicle settings
- Trip management
How would you rate the driver facing software in a current era, digital dash car? (EV, partial EV, or conventional) On a scale of 1 to 10?
I’d give a maximum of 3. Let me put it this way. If it is a 5 on usability, it’s a 0.5 in features, or the other way around. Ok, maybe 4 in a top-class 90k+ car. But, not more. Be honest. As proud as you are of your car 🙂
Once a tech giant in software starts touching the software in a car, things can change very quickly.
The car industry’s supply chain does not have the know-how to build driver facing software. This is not my opinion, unfortunately, it is fact. And listen, it is not their fault. That’s how things are set-up.
What software do they know how to build? Mission-critical. That’s all.
Who fills in the gap? Well, lately, the apple carplay release that came with iOS 17.4. A huge foot in the mouth for this exact industry.
I can only imagine the VAG cutting in half all the future feature plans for the digital dash and driver-facing software, and giving it to apple and google. For free.
If things go on this way, and they seem to do, the next crisis of software developer human resource is going to be fueled, at least in part, by the drastic reduction coming from the automotive industry’s useless branch of driver facing software. Yes, hate me for the speech.
I never saw the infamous “goodbye screen” of the new carplay. If this feature is still there, I see it as a nice subliminal message easter egg. It’s addressed to the next dying industry.
There will be other battles, in the realm of influence that are going to take place, but still, the ground is shifting, 17.4 on the Richter scale.
F**k!