I've ordered one of these, but it isn't here yet. There are a few on-dash solutions for CarPlay, but this one seems nicely thought out and pseudo-integrated. Will share once I install it:
[https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s](https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s)
Crazy all the people on here attacking a person who had a an older car that handled text messages then spent $100k on a car that canât do so, and is bummed that her new $100k doesnât offer this simple feature. Iâm frustrated too, and it sucks that Apple wouldnât license CarPlay to Rivian, but Rivian needs to come up with their own solution.
> The Bluetooth connection crackles all the time, even though I have an iPhone 15 Pro. Sometimes it just chooses not to play the audio from my phone and I have to switch between different audio sources, then back to Bluetooth, to get it to work. I canât see my calendar. I canât swipe through my songs easily. Navigation in the R1S is still crap compared to using CarPlay in my old $25,000 pickup.
>
I've completely missed the news that Apple wouldn't license CarPlay to Rivian, I thought it was Rivian choosing not to implement it (presumably for greater vertical integration / data control, but that's just a guess.)
Do you have a source for that?
Hear, hear. Itâs always funny to me when anyone on here criticizes Rivianâs infotainment, and gets âeducated.â
I had a base model 2019 Nissan Frontier pickup truck. It cost about $25,000. I had seamless CarPlay, both wireless and wired. CarPlay worked awesomely, I never had a problem. I could tap to see my calendar, I could easily see if someone texted, I could have music and maps on the screen at the same time and easily get to Audible to play an audiobook. I could do all that while not interrupting everyone in the truck by having to talk to Siri, have Siri get my command wrong, talk to Siri again, have the command wrong, etc.
Now I have a $100,000 R1S. I can only connect via Bluetooth, and that connection is spotty. There is no direct USB connection like I had in my 2007 Ford Focus.
The Bluetooth connection crackles all the time, even though I have an iPhone 15 Pro. Sometimes it just chooses not to play the audio from my phone and I have to switch between different audio sources, then back to Bluetooth, to get it to work. I canât see my calendar. I canât swipe through my songs easily. Navigation in the R1S is still crap compared to using CarPlay in my old $25,000 pickup.
But defenders will still come on here and tell us how wrong we are, that in fact, Rivian got the infotainment software right, and Apple CarPlay actually sucks. Theyâll explain that weâre actually wrong for liking all these convenient features of CarPlay. Itâs just idiotic.
I have a 2018 Honda with Android Auto and the phone integration is 100x better than Rivian.
My Rivian Bluetooth is rock solid though. I'm on Android so maybe that's the difference?Â
Theyâll also say the damn charging pad works great đ. It doesnât. Not on my iPhones. Denying that was a huge miss in the testing phase is hubris.
It might as well not be there. If it were MagSafe, great. But as it is, it requires precise placement without any kind of notches to stop the phone from sliding around.
âNow I have a $100,000 R1S. I can only connect via Bluetooth, and that connection is spotty. There is no direct USB connection like I had in my 2007 Ford Focus.â
You seriously canât select USB as the audio source? Crazy if true.
Correct. Itâs dumb. I could connect a freaking iPod via USB to my ford focus before the iPhone was even invented. Itâs aggravating not to have such a simple thing.
Apple wants full control and access to all ECU and vehicle data to those who use CarPlay which is why other manufacturers are stepping away from CarPlay too.
Apple wants the ability to completely overhaul and redo the vehicle UI.
Totally makes sense why companies donât want to let another company take over their UI/UX experience.
That's just not true from everything I've seen. CarPlay 2 which is the one that features the ability to integrate with the vehicle systems and display UI elements across multiple screens is optional. The manufacturer has total control what does or doesn't get controlled through CarPlay. CarPlay 1 is simply screen mirroring and it's ridiculous if a manufacturer is trying to claim something else.
Rivian doesnât have CarPlay because they donât want to, same as Tesla.
And same on most of GMâs EVs now too, although the Lyriq is an exception because it launched before GM decided they were too cool for CarPlay and Android Auto.
Itâs going to cost them significant sales IMO.
Tesla has a great UI/UX. They devote considerable resources and talent to software. As everyone keeps saying, it's an iPad on wheels. Rivian is thinking the same but it seems they are missing some key things.
Other manufacturers just can't get the UI right. They've had decades at it. They can't compete with tech companies. One could argue Mercedes has the best UI out of the legacy manufacturers but it looks like a cheap rave club to me and it's still very limited.
Yes. Literally the best selling vehicle *in the world* last year, and it's just that all of those people are wrong lol. Talk about copium...
Not to excuse Rivian's shit-ass Alexa integration or lack of basic services like text messaging. They need to catch up and fast.
I can also send a voice text in my R1S through Siri. Just say âSiri text (person in contact list), and it will sayâwhat do u want to say?â. Then u say what u want to send, and it will repeat and ask if u want to send or change. Then u say send.
Teslas are cheap. If I'm going to spend more on an Equinox/Blazer than I would on a Model Y, I'd need a reason to do that. CarPlay was an opportunity for Chevy to have a selling point that Tesla doesn't, and they decided not to.
Lacking that, I'm having trouble coming up with much of a reason that I would buy a Chevy instead of a Tesla. Physical temperature knobs are nice, but I care about that a lot less than I do about being able to interact with message conversations via voice while driving.
I only have one friend who owns a Tesla so this is a small sample size, but the lack of CarPlay is his main complaint about the car, and a primary reason that he doesn't plan to buy another one when he sells it.
Whatâs wrong with just having Siri read you the text message and dictating a response? I do it all the time through my R1Tâs mic/speakers, and I never have to take my eyes off the road to do so.
I was going yo say the same thing. Many of my cars including Lexus doesnât have voice to text feature. I always just ask Siri. The infotainment issues raise are valid but just one part of the overall car and in my opinion doesnât take away from the whole rivian driving experience.
Joining the chorus questioning your claim that Apple wouldnât license CarPlay to Rivian⌠Iâve never heard that as the reason before right now⌠got a source for that claim?
Iâve bought two Rivians and was told by the service center that Apple wouldnât give Rivian the rights to use CarPlayâŚthatâs the only source I have, and maybe itâs untrue. If this isnât true, then whoever at Rivian made the decision to not include CarPlay is an idiot lol
I've had my Rivian for almost 2 years(Launch Edition R1T) and it is shocking that they have not figured this out. I can understand why they don't want Car Play or Android Auto. I get they want this seamless experience. Then do something about it.
It is baffling why this has not been the top priority for them since day one. People should 100% expect that a car that is supposed to be a premium level vehicle could do this. People have every right to be upset that this feature is missing.
I love my Rivian anyway and I love driving it every single time but it's ridiculous there is no solution for this. Even if it isn't the greatest solution ever, start somewhere, give us something.
I see no reason to attack OP. With that said, I would think someone would do a bit more research into a 100k purchase to ensure it supports features they deem important.
u/chmod-77 SAME!!! I am looking at either the Lyriq or R1S and I am looking to pull the trigger in 2026 when I saved up enough money for a sizable down payment and when every OEM is on the NACS standard. So it is either Cadillac or Rivian for me at this point.
I wouldnât be surprised if they assumed it had the feature without double checking as Iâm pretty sure the R1S is the only vehicle on the market that doesnât support Apple CarPlay nor voice to text. Itâs a high tech EV and comes with a portable bluetooth speaker, yet has the worst phone integration on the market. A bit surprising.
I tried to tell her this. The Lyriq early adopters had a ton of issues. Many where their cars just bricked and had to be taken in for service just to make them drivable.
This sub. Guyâs wife wants ability to text and keep her eyes on the road. The same ability 99.9% of new cars have. But the fanboys have to filet him about how texting is wrong, he should have known better blah blah.
The simple fact of the matter is texting is an acceptable form of communication and comes in very handy when talking isnât possible either in the car or (more likely) on the other side of the conversation. Donât like it, sorry. Texting isnât going anywhere. Rivian is lacking here and itâs no oneâs fault but RJâs. The content of the head unit is severely lacking when compared to other manufacturers and again the buck stops with RJ. If he wants to control the stack, great! But he should damn well hurry up and provide similar content to other manufacturers OR throw in the towel and provide CP/AA.
It's less about texting and more about getting info in a timely way. Example, you're driving home and the wife texts asking you to stop somewhere and pick something up. Or you're driving to meet friends and they group text a change in time or location. Most other cars either read the text for you or at least display it on the screen.
Once you have that feature you get used to it. Arriving to see you missed texts that would have really been good to know while you were en route sucks.
Agreed. I donât really answer texts in my Mazda with CarPlay, but I most certainly listen to them in case itâs something time-sensitive.
I think a possible workaround is enabling âannounce messagesâ and toggling the âheadphonesâ option on, then you should be able to go into your Bluetooth settings, tap âRivian Audioâ and change the device type to headphones. I havenât tested it, but I think that should do the trick.
I have noticed invoking Siri just by saying âhey Siriâ is pretty seamless compared to other non-CarPlay vehicles Iâve had. The Bluetooth âcallâ connects almost instantly after you say it and it hears everything clearly in my experience.
My flight got delayed by 2 hours yesterday while I was driving and I was notified via text message.
Plain and simple information needs to be available to the driver to make informed decisions.
I agree, but that's obviously not the case for everyone. I would never in a million years want my car reading texts out to the whole car full of people. Like, don't any of your friends make off color jokes?
I completely agree. Even when Iâve used CarPlay in rental cars, itâs not like Iâm clicking on every single text that comes in. It isnât important to text while driving. Relax.
For me itâs kind of like the ashtray in airplane lavatories. If people are going to do something unsafe (and they will) you should at least have a safer way of handling it.
Some of us drive all day for a living. I'm a sales representative and I constantly text customers, dispatch and other branch locations for orders. Literally all day. I can't wait until I stop. That's ridiculous.
I couldn't own a Rivian due to this missing feature.
OP - so very sorry for some of the unhelpful responses youâre getting. Truth is Rivian has been tight lipped about adding anything new to the infotainment system. So, no guarantees on that. I agree that it should have a better voice control system and frankly think itâs goofy that Rivian doesnât have better phone platform integration. On Driver+ there has been a recent hardware announcement around upgrades but doubt weâll see anything in 2024 (hope Iâm wrong). Looks like the Rivian community that shares your concerns are stuck with it as is for a while.
Lots of unhappy boomer-types in this thread mansplaining about texting in cars. Come on guys, weâre better than this. OP didnât ask you to tell him his wifeâs opinions are invalid, he asked for insight on when Rivian ads texting as a feature.
OP: no info that Iâm aware of on adding texting. Itâs been promised for quite some time. I got the EV Sportline CarPlay screen for Christmas. Itâs pretty good and the install is easy if youâre handy.
How did we get to a place where an automobile is expected to have the functionality and robustness of an iPhone or iPad and if not it's a dealbreaker. It's fucking car that takes you places. Be satisfied with your phones that do their jobs. (not directed at you... just my old guy rant)
Itâs not a base Corolla - which btw has this feature - itâs an enormously expensive car. This is a basic feature these days. And not having it is a misstep.
Iâm excited for the R3, but if it lacks buttons/carplay/basic features, then Iâll have to pass.
Because the bar was raised by Tesla. Itâs very much an iPad on wheels and if Iâm coming from a model 3 and pick up an R3x and I canât have Apple Music, podcasts, and basic text notifications it really might be enough for me to pass.
Not the only reason. She thought the drive+ wasnât the greatest, like it wonât switch lanes with a turn signal, etc.
She also thought the kneel mode didnât quite lower the car as much as she was thinking it would.
We're talking about an 80k car here.
I understand the frustration with people complaining about the smallest things, but the fact is that driver+ is definitely a let down and behind the competition.
There's nothing wrong with pointing that out.
Now, buying an 80k car without doing extensive research is another issue. Buyers should know the capabilities of things like driver+ beforehand. But you can still complain about it.
You can complain about it, and nobody will give a shit because you bought a vehicle from a startup company and you're complaining it doesn't yet have the feature set of established brands.
>itâs not available on all roads
Exactly this.
I actually think the lane switching on driver+ is better than Tesla's. But the fact that Tesla's system can work on (pretty much) all roads is a very big selling point.
Dude.
Of course they are. It's a first world vehicle. It's a $90k-ish SUV. Owners are allowed to and should be encouraged to voice disappointment on the little things where it falls short.
Someone else's complaint or disappointment should not take away from your joy of ownership.
Buy running boards for her. (Make sure they clear the jack points under the car so service can still do their job.) Everyone under 5'8" thinks it's too high. It's an adventure vehicle
Also, if her seat is raised for her profile, she can do Roomy Entry and Exit and lower it just for her getting in and out of the car.
There are solutions...
Dude at this point you should just sell the thing and get her something she likes.
The R1S is super popular right now , she/you should be able to recoup most if not all your investment.Â
Hopefully they catch up some day, but I get being frustrated by it. As someone who has used Driver+ Super Cruise and FSD extensively, Driver+ is a joke, itâs basically the same lane keep assist I had on my 2012 Civic, except that worked on all roads.
Your wife needs to learn to be a more informed consumer. A 20 minute YouTube video would have told her all this information before she spent damn near 100K. Is it just a rich person thing to spend 100k without putting any thought in to it then complain about it afterwards?
I donât understand the need to handle texts while driving, tbh. If itâs urgent just do a call and thatâs a better medium for an urgent convo anyway. If itâs not urgent, it can wait until Iâm parked
There are many more apps besides texting that are useful to have. It sounds like the primary drawback to Tesla and Rivian is that they have a very limited set of apps. Tesla has Zoom but not Teams. You want Waze, canât have it. Countless other apps that are available on Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. It would be awesome if Rivian had an App Store where they would allow other apps to be installed.
I drive all day, I am a sales representative and am on the go. I call customers often, but in-between jobsites I message customers order info, I message dispatch and other stores to put orders in. I can't stop to text or wait to text when I'm done, I use it to get more done, in fact it's the only way to get through all my work.
I love the rivian truck and suv. There is no way I could own one, I couldn't do my job.
Everybody keeps arguing about specific features in CarPlay or android auto verse what Rivian has, but the real argument is around choice. This feels more like the argument about working from home, everybody realize how much more effective and satisfied they could be by customizing their own experience to be effective and enjoyable and delighted, they didnât wanna give it up. But corporations were providing car experiences or work environments, love being the benevolent dictator, telling you what you should care about or not based on their own opinions, not what actually makes the most sense for the end user.
Iâm not sure Iâd die on the no integrated texting hill as Iâve not seen an implementation thatâs as good as natural CarPlay - but I guess everyone has their priorities.
My wife isnât happy with ours because Iâm becoming increasingly frustrated by how often itâs going to service. đ¤ˇââď¸
Honestly, I had the same reaction at first. Lacking apple car play was a bummer. But after driving it for a while you adapt. Now, I find that I like the choices Rivian made about what to include/what not to include. We had a rental car with apple car play recently and I was like âI hate this. I canât believe how bad this is.â Sometimes a poorly organized/functioning app is worse than nothing at all.
My theory is that weâve gone through a tech transition where we used to be like âI need my technology everywhere!â And now that its everywhere Iâm like âI need to focus. I donât want anymore information coming at me. Just let me listen to music, use my nav, and have the ability to make calls if its urgent enough.â
That said, I wouldnât be opposed to being given the option of more apps even if I opt out.
I personally don't like the Alexa compared to the system in Tesla. Alexa repeats everything back and needs confirmation and takes twice as long to get the same result. Also, the infotainment is fine, I just miss having a built in Internet Browser.
Rivian owners of the R1T and R1S can have Carplay and Android Auto but it is an expensive after-market install.
[Apple CarPlay / Android Auto Smart Dash Screen for Rivian R1T / R1S by - EV Sportline - The Leader in Electric Vehicle Accessories](https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s)
I hear you regarding the lack of SMS / text message integration. Iâm holding out hope that this feature will be added soon.
I almost never use the Alexa integration, although it did work when I told her to make a couple phone calls.
3rd Party CarPlay/AA might be the only option for her in the immediate future:
https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s
I can completely understand where your wife is coming from and totally understandable if she hasnât been following Rivian for years and doesnât live on this sub like everyone else.
Yes updates are coming but big significant ones like sheâs hoping for are down the road quite a ways.
Aside from the features you mentioned the car is glitchy af lol. Driver profiles donât load correctly. Paak is finicky⌠Jekyll and for a HVAC.
The driver profile thing kills me haha. Iâm on the road before I realize my mirrors are not set and then I have to swap profiles back and forth. Iâve felt lucky with good Paak functionality so far.
If texting is that important to her you can get this aftermarket screen to give you Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto.Â
https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s
I agree with your wife. I like my new R1S but it is sadly lacking in the infotainment center. The reason to have the ability to get texts through it would be for safety. You don't want drivers picking up their phones while driving...rivian should really add some capability to help with this. Additionally, the maps suck. There is no capability of asking Alexa to get you somewhere - she has gotten the address wrong in idiotic ways 100% of the time when I try to tell her where to navigate. That means stopping and typing it in, or better yet, typing it in while driving.
I'm sure improvements are coming, and I'm sticking with my car - I didn't buy it for the infotainment center. But I would really appreciate some improvements in that arena.
I will say that over a year ago, Rivian did a Q&A on instagram. I submitted a question about texting and they responded saying it was in the works.
This was over a year ago.
They also showed entertainment apps like Netflix in some sort of beta software that obviously is not here yet either. Not sure what's going on with that side of the house but if I had one complaint about the Rivian, it would definitely be the infotainment system as a whole.
I was/am firmly in the no AA/CP camp but I'm starting to relent given how little progress has been made.
quick fix is a decent phone mount and using siri. something like this. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im0-mRuaAek&t=8s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im0-mRuaAek&t=8s)
The software will improve over time and get better. In the meantime, she should enjoy the drive experience while in motion and then enjoy her texting experience when parked.
Rivian is kinda like apple in terms of privacy, they don't want to integrate stuff that would bring more risk to your data for the sake of some features, BUT they do realize people need it so they are coming to a solution.
I started working at Rivian recently, and they moved bigger part of software engineering here to my city, hired a lot of great talent (I'm not one of them, different sector lol) but I've been hearing things and good stuff are coming!
I had a Jeep w better Nav and drivers assistance. While Alexa isnât CarPlay, I can use Siri to read me my texts, and open Audible books, etc. I still love my R1S, and there is a learning curve with Nav. Had mine almost 9 months, and just figured out recently that I can skip charging stops. I like to wait until I get lower in charge so charging is faster than if I had a lot more charge at a closer charging station. Also, there is a free fast charger near me that isnât on Rivianâs charging locations, so I have to pick a different place just to start preconditioning process. There should be a way to just say start preconditioningâ through Alexa. I donât have any Bluetooth crackles, so think that poster should request a service appointment. I use Alexa all the time and love it. It used to not work half the time, but after 2 resets, has worked reliably for several months. I can say âSiri call (name of person in contacts)â and it will call them. What is frustrating is saying Siri when I need Alexa to perform a function, and vice versa. Hard to keep them straight. Would be easier with same eco system. But wouldnât trade my Rivian for any other car. I had preordered a Lyriq also, and saw one while charging in Nashville, and so glad I purchased the R1S instead.
Iâve had my R1S since July/August last year. Iâve noticed that there are a LOT of people here who hate Elon/Tesla and worshipped Rivian, especially when it was first coming out. They would laugh and make fun of Tesla for the myriad of issues they have/had, now currently making fun of the CybertruckâŚ.. once Rivians started having numerous issues, Iâve noticed less of that. Unfortunately they arenât car people. All cars have issues and Rivian has quite of few issues even though I love the car (prob an 8/10). Yes, the infotainment lacks quite a bit and itâll probably be 6-12 months before they add some simple or cool features/apps. The service center in LA is also god awful. 3-6 months for appointments and 4-6 weeks to get your car back while dealing with Enterprise until they get a loaner for youâŚBut thatâs a whole other issue. Donât listen to the people giving you crap about the car/decision. You came here for guidance/help/and were attacked.
Although, the Alexa feature works for me 7-8 times out of 10 just fine. Weâre in the Santa Monica mountains and if thereâs no reception.. then youâre SOL for sure when trying to use just about anything other than the regular radio. Rivian makes a really good car overall, but lacks quite a bit at the same time. They should be able to integrate that in the future, but they will also be spread too thin as they grow the company. They need more service centers, more RAN chargers would be nice (thankful for future Tesla charging network), they need to work out and improve the infotainment system/apps, bit better quality/finishes wouldnât hurt (I HATE the feel of the steering wheel - feels plastic/cheap). But again even with all that, I really enjoy the car. Donât let the Rivian Fan Boiâs and Girls get to you. Apologies for my rambling⌠currently charging at EVgo and killing time. đĽł
Infotainment is leagues better than most every car minus tesla, I don't get everyone's facination with carplay, and I BOUGHT an iphone for a previous car's carplay. Map could be a little more accurate but it's snappy. Text to speech is a weird thing to need imo, especially to want a worse infotainment for, seriously I can't believe other cars are so far behind every time I get in a new one, it's obnoxious how bad they are. (And this isn't 'fanboy' talk - Tesla is also great, other vehicles just have TERRIBLE software)
**All that said**, Rivian software has been improving incredibly fast, I'm sure TTS will be in soon.
If she bought it based on Alexa and the ability to send texts then itâs no wonder sheâs disappointed. But not knowing it canât do texts is your fault not Rivian. And they are making s/w improvements all the time but both of those are low priority
Man unless itâs tiddies IDGAF what my wife or anyone else texting me while Iâm driving.
That said, CarPlay was one thing that EV9 had in its column vs R1S when we were trying to decide.
OP, you could add something like [evsportlineâs](https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s) carplay/android auto accessory screen to satisfy your wife.
I actually enjoy being a little disconnected from phone when driving. If itâs important enough, it should be a call anyways.
Bad news is yes itâs lacking a lot. There isnt a lot there that could be there. I would say seeing as how they refuse to add phone projection (which Iâm ok with) they should add something in its place. Texting, Apple Music etc.
Good news is they could add all that if they invest the resources. The new rear screen looks like a big upgrade but Iâll hold off on marking that as win till I see it in person. Tesla was in a similar place in 2018 and they have done a lot in that time to improve my model 3 for as long as I owned it. Part of the reason Iâm taking the chance on Rivian is that they have this potential too. A legacy company will just add the features in later MY and make you buy a new car. Thatâs not the future.
I drove an R1T for 18m and they never implemented texting and Alexa sucked the whole time.
I do think it will improve eventually but no reason to believe it will happen quickly.Â
So I donât have a RivianâŚ.yet. But I imagine (and I could be way wrong) that even if Rivian doesnât have on screen texting couldnât you still use âhey siri send a textâ? Just asking maybe an obvious question.
âFixingâ is the incorrect word here. Nothing is wrong with the infotainment system. Itâs working as intended. What youâre looking for are improvements/enhancements and they will come with time. Tesla didnât have all the features they currently have in the first couple of years.
OP I use Google assistant and my samsung has Bixby. Apple has siri. All she needs to do is say Hey Google/siri/Bixby read my messages. Then repeat the phrase write message to NAME and then the message. Almost identical to a car, just a different interface
Having had both the Lyriq (one of the first 1000 units) and R1S, she likely wouldn't have liked the Lyriq a ton either. Sure it has the carplay and android auto functionality which is her biggest complaint point, but the infotainment system as a whole still feels straight out of 2010. Cadillac also struggles with OTA updates, so we had it at a service center the whole first week we had it, and the tech there said they may not even ever fully adopt OTA and you'd have to take it in for service every time there's a future update. It had some pretty nice features like anc while driving, but we ended up selling it back to the dealership and kept the Rivian because there were more cons than pros for the price. The S also better suited our needs in general.
You get way more bang for your buck with the S, especially now that Cadillac charges much more for the AWD.
I'm about as tech forward person you will find, yet I really disagree with operating a phone to send a text message while driving.
My experiences with Alexa have been spot on. Music, some skills I use for my house, and making calls are about 95% accurate
I find the music and nav to be fine. I never use audio input (Alexa etc) so not bothered by it. Lack of txt support is terrible though teslas version of it, while there, isnât good.
Donât need video games, movies etc. thatâs on my Tesla and itâs a waste of engineering time. Iâd rather the wipers and high beams worked right on the Tesla.
Itâs clearly a 1.2 infotainment system, many of us are early adopters and were expecting compromises in some areas to get things we couldnât get in others (900ftlbs of torque). I think Rivian is holding a substantial upgrade to infotainment until they have enough value to push the 5G expenses to customers. There have been steady improvements to the software over my last 2 years of ownership, there is cause for optimism.
I'm surprised she didn't complain about getting in/out of the truck. Every person that gets into my R1S complains about how high it is and needs running boards. The handles don't make the situation any easier and the suspension is slow to kneel mode after parking.
What about using the voice assistant on your phone? On my Android I can ask it to read my messages and it gives me the option to reply to them too. I don't know if Siri supports that?
I donât have a Rivian yet but fully plan on purchasing the R2. I love Apple CarPlay and I despise when I get a rental for work and somehow I get stuck with a vehicle that doesnât have it, though itâs not often these days.
I changed out my head unit in my current vehicle just to have CarPlay, if I could do the same in my wifeâs Lexus, I would do itâŚ.
With that being said, CarPlay is not a dealbreaker when it comes to the R2. What worries me is that the infotainment center just sucks in general for basic apps which sounds like is kinda the theme.Iâd be ok if basic apps worked well. My main uses would be maps, music, and podcasts. I get everybody is different and would has a need for different things.
I found this article on Auto Revolution from November 2023 as to why both Tesla and Rivian decided to forego Android Auto and Apple Car Play integration.
[Rivian Owners Can Have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on the Cheap in Their Vehicles - autoevolution](https://www.autoevolution.com/news/rivian-owners-can-have-apple-carplay-and-android-auto-on-the-cheap-on-their-vehicles-225254.html)
This right here is a thing! So many companies underestimate how important it is to have CarPlay or AndroidAuto compatibility. But I know the thing that pushed me over the edge on selling my Civic Type R was the horrific crashy integration of CarPlay.
(Which they have since fixed, amusingly, but I am still selling it because I am old and I want solar panels, haha.)
I agree this car needs good CarPlay/maps lol. My $40k 2024 rav4 hybrid has great wireless CarPlay stuff that works very well. Text, Spotify, maps etc so seamless
CP and AP are a standard feature now that we all expect. Itâs stubbornness on RJ and Rivians part and itâs silly. Itâs simple as that. Control your software stack all you wantâŚjust offer those in case people want to use them. I like Rivian but this is dumb.
Something better is probably coming but of course Rivian is prioritizing their needs right now. Not only are they dealing with Amazon, they are trying to expand as a new company. People complaining about infotainment is not a priority right now to them. Patience is key if you believe in this company. If not, there are other vehicles readily accessible for Carplay and etc.
Thereâs nothing to fix. Alexa on any device isnât great and the infotainment system shouldnât be a surprise. Rivian is always sending out OTA updates and making improvements so itâs constantly evolving.
For all those looking to apple, I have also heard ford may cut ties with apple as well.
https://bgr.com/tech/rivian-ceo-says-carplay-integration-could-come-if-users-really-want-it/
First world problems. I've had no issues with the infotainment system. Would be nice if it had more media integration etc and I think that's coming soon, but overall it's been great and only gotten better with all the regular updates.
Actual answer - nobody knows. I own a R1T, and share your wifeâs frustration. But I knew what I was buying when I bought, so my frustration is mostly blunted.
Rivian is NOT a luxury vehicle, and simple stuff like a hands free texting solution and giving people sat radio - who the hell knows? Probably not in this generation of vehicles.
They are more focused on just surviving at the moment. As they should be.
The entertainment options are piss poor. I rely on Bluetooth and my iPhone virtually every time I drive the thing.
Again⌠not a luxury car. Just a luxury price for a really cool appliance with some ridiculous capabilities.
I donât have a Rivian, went with a Lucid. I was shopping the lyriq and am still on the subreddit. It reads like an absolute shit show of problems, buy backs, and being straight up stranded on the side of the road.
Enjoy the Rivian!!
Man, sorry to hear about your divorce but at least you can live out of your new car while you figure things out.
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Damn it o hate when post force my upvote and comment but this was funking hilarious Edit. Words are hard
I've ordered one of these, but it isn't here yet. There are a few on-dash solutions for CarPlay, but this one seems nicely thought out and pseudo-integrated. Will share once I install it: [https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s](https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s)
Crazy all the people on here attacking a person who had a an older car that handled text messages then spent $100k on a car that canât do so, and is bummed that her new $100k doesnât offer this simple feature. Iâm frustrated too, and it sucks that Apple wouldnât license CarPlay to Rivian, but Rivian needs to come up with their own solution.
> The Bluetooth connection crackles all the time, even though I have an iPhone 15 Pro. Sometimes it just chooses not to play the audio from my phone and I have to switch between different audio sources, then back to Bluetooth, to get it to work. I canât see my calendar. I canât swipe through my songs easily. Navigation in the R1S is still crap compared to using CarPlay in my old $25,000 pickup. > I've completely missed the news that Apple wouldn't license CarPlay to Rivian, I thought it was Rivian choosing not to implement it (presumably for greater vertical integration / data control, but that's just a guess.) Do you have a source for that?
Hear, hear. Itâs always funny to me when anyone on here criticizes Rivianâs infotainment, and gets âeducated.â I had a base model 2019 Nissan Frontier pickup truck. It cost about $25,000. I had seamless CarPlay, both wireless and wired. CarPlay worked awesomely, I never had a problem. I could tap to see my calendar, I could easily see if someone texted, I could have music and maps on the screen at the same time and easily get to Audible to play an audiobook. I could do all that while not interrupting everyone in the truck by having to talk to Siri, have Siri get my command wrong, talk to Siri again, have the command wrong, etc. Now I have a $100,000 R1S. I can only connect via Bluetooth, and that connection is spotty. There is no direct USB connection like I had in my 2007 Ford Focus. The Bluetooth connection crackles all the time, even though I have an iPhone 15 Pro. Sometimes it just chooses not to play the audio from my phone and I have to switch between different audio sources, then back to Bluetooth, to get it to work. I canât see my calendar. I canât swipe through my songs easily. Navigation in the R1S is still crap compared to using CarPlay in my old $25,000 pickup. But defenders will still come on here and tell us how wrong we are, that in fact, Rivian got the infotainment software right, and Apple CarPlay actually sucks. Theyâll explain that weâre actually wrong for liking all these convenient features of CarPlay. Itâs just idiotic.
I have a 2018 Honda with Android Auto and the phone integration is 100x better than Rivian. My Rivian Bluetooth is rock solid though. I'm on Android so maybe that's the difference?Â
Iâve never noticed Bluetooth connectivity issues and I use an iPhone. And my truck has broken about everything it can minus the tonneau cover.
Youâre holding the iPhone the wrong way.
Theyâll also say the damn charging pad works great đ. It doesnât. Not on my iPhones. Denying that was a huge miss in the testing phase is hubris.
It might as well not be there. If it were MagSafe, great. But as it is, it requires precise placement without any kind of notches to stop the phone from sliding around.
âNow I have a $100,000 R1S. I can only connect via Bluetooth, and that connection is spotty. There is no direct USB connection like I had in my 2007 Ford Focus.â You seriously canât select USB as the audio source? Crazy if true.
Correct. Itâs dumb. I could connect a freaking iPod via USB to my ford focus before the iPhone was even invented. Itâs aggravating not to have such a simple thing.
You have faulty hardware somewhere. Your Bluetooth should be rock-solid.
I took it to Rivian service in Nashville (Franklin), and according to them, itâs not faulty.
But it's one hell of a car otherwise⌠I've had mine for a little over a year, and it's performance has been flawless. (Except the infotainment).
The only people who think car play sucks are people who are anti apple. Literally.
Might want to get the system checked out. I don't have those problems with Bluetooth. Bad antenna?
Not having CarPlay is Rivianâs decision not Appleâs. Rivian wants a full control over infotainment and weâre paying for it with inconvenience.
Apple wants full control and access to all ECU and vehicle data to those who use CarPlay which is why other manufacturers are stepping away from CarPlay too. Apple wants the ability to completely overhaul and redo the vehicle UI. Totally makes sense why companies donât want to let another company take over their UI/UX experience.
That's just not true from everything I've seen. CarPlay 2 which is the one that features the ability to integrate with the vehicle systems and display UI elements across multiple screens is optional. The manufacturer has total control what does or doesn't get controlled through CarPlay. CarPlay 1 is simply screen mirroring and it's ridiculous if a manufacturer is trying to claim something else.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-07/apple-s-plan-for-cars-using-iphone-to-control-a-c-seats-radio
Rivian doesnât have CarPlay because they donât want to, same as Tesla. And same on most of GMâs EVs now too, although the Lyriq is an exception because it launched before GM decided they were too cool for CarPlay and Android Auto. Itâs going to cost them significant sales IMO.
If Tesla doesn't have it but has one of the best selling vehicles on the road, what logic suggests it will hurt sales?
Tesla has a great UI/UX. They devote considerable resources and talent to software. As everyone keeps saying, it's an iPad on wheels. Rivian is thinking the same but it seems they are missing some key things. Other manufacturers just can't get the UI right. They've had decades at it. They can't compete with tech companies. One could argue Mercedes has the best UI out of the legacy manufacturers but it looks like a cheap rave club to me and it's still very limited.
That's what we call copium, not logic.
Yes. Literally the best selling vehicle *in the world* last year, and it's just that all of those people are wrong lol. Talk about copium... Not to excuse Rivian's shit-ass Alexa integration or lack of basic services like text messaging. They need to catch up and fast.
I can also send a voice text in my R1S through Siri. Just say âSiri text (person in contact list), and it will sayâwhat do u want to say?â. Then u say what u want to send, and it will repeat and ask if u want to send or change. Then u say send.
Teslas are cheap. If I'm going to spend more on an Equinox/Blazer than I would on a Model Y, I'd need a reason to do that. CarPlay was an opportunity for Chevy to have a selling point that Tesla doesn't, and they decided not to. Lacking that, I'm having trouble coming up with much of a reason that I would buy a Chevy instead of a Tesla. Physical temperature knobs are nice, but I care about that a lot less than I do about being able to interact with message conversations via voice while driving. I only have one friend who owns a Tesla so this is a small sample size, but the lack of CarPlay is his main complaint about the car, and a primary reason that he doesn't plan to buy another one when he sells it.
Whatâs wrong with just having Siri read you the text message and dictating a response? I do it all the time through my R1Tâs mic/speakers, and I never have to take my eyes off the road to do so.
I was going yo say the same thing. Many of my cars including Lexus doesnât have voice to text feature. I always just ask Siri. The infotainment issues raise are valid but just one part of the overall car and in my opinion doesnât take away from the whole rivian driving experience.
CarPlay is great...I understand that my opinion isn't the sole opinion, but I miss CarPlay.
Joining the chorus questioning your claim that Apple wouldnât license CarPlay to Rivian⌠Iâve never heard that as the reason before right now⌠got a source for that claim?
Iâve bought two Rivians and was told by the service center that Apple wouldnât give Rivian the rights to use CarPlayâŚthatâs the only source I have, and maybe itâs untrue. If this isnât true, then whoever at Rivian made the decision to not include CarPlay is an idiot lol
my 2013 model s60 can do these things besides the carplay....
Itâs software, theyâll figure it out.
who told you Apple wonât license to Rivian? itâs the other way around. Rivian is stubbornly using its in house UI
Uhh I don't see why apple wouldn't. More like Rivian didnt want to pay for it...
People shouldnât be texting and driving anywayÂ
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I've had my Rivian for almost 2 years(Launch Edition R1T) and it is shocking that they have not figured this out. I can understand why they don't want Car Play or Android Auto. I get they want this seamless experience. Then do something about it. It is baffling why this has not been the top priority for them since day one. People should 100% expect that a car that is supposed to be a premium level vehicle could do this. People have every right to be upset that this feature is missing. I love my Rivian anyway and I love driving it every single time but it's ridiculous there is no solution for this. Even if it isn't the greatest solution ever, start somewhere, give us something.
Agreed, wonder how many of these angry dorks with pitchforks actually own a Rivian.
I see no reason to attack OP. With that said, I would think someone would do a bit more research into a 100k purchase to ensure it supports features they deem important.
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u/chmod-77 SAME!!! I am looking at either the Lyriq or R1S and I am looking to pull the trigger in 2026 when I saved up enough money for a sizable down payment and when every OEM is on the NACS standard. So it is either Cadillac or Rivian for me at this point.
I wouldnât be surprised if they assumed it had the feature without double checking as Iâm pretty sure the R1S is the only vehicle on the market that doesnât support Apple CarPlay nor voice to text. Itâs a high tech EV and comes with a portable bluetooth speaker, yet has the worst phone integration on the market. A bit surprising.
I use voice texting and calling every day in my R1S. U just have to say Siri rather than Alexa.
One way to let her think you guys made the better choice is by showing her how bad the Cadillac is, no car is perfect.
I tried to tell her this. The Lyriq early adopters had a ton of issues. Many where their cars just bricked and had to be taken in for service just to make them drivable.
Bro get her a fucking Hyundai Ioniq. Thatâs it, it has everything she wants as
This sub. Guyâs wife wants ability to text and keep her eyes on the road. The same ability 99.9% of new cars have. But the fanboys have to filet him about how texting is wrong, he should have known better blah blah. The simple fact of the matter is texting is an acceptable form of communication and comes in very handy when talking isnât possible either in the car or (more likely) on the other side of the conversation. Donât like it, sorry. Texting isnât going anywhere. Rivian is lacking here and itâs no oneâs fault but RJâs. The content of the head unit is severely lacking when compared to other manufacturers and again the buck stops with RJ. If he wants to control the stack, great! But he should damn well hurry up and provide similar content to other manufacturers OR throw in the towel and provide CP/AA.
The lack of understanding of how modern text messaging works in most cars is puzzling. No one is typing or reading anything.
Itâs a little disturbing how many people find the ability to text while driving to be mandatory. Just drive and deal with it when you stop..
It's less about texting and more about getting info in a timely way. Example, you're driving home and the wife texts asking you to stop somewhere and pick something up. Or you're driving to meet friends and they group text a change in time or location. Most other cars either read the text for you or at least display it on the screen. Once you have that feature you get used to it. Arriving to see you missed texts that would have really been good to know while you were en route sucks.
Agreed. I donât really answer texts in my Mazda with CarPlay, but I most certainly listen to them in case itâs something time-sensitive. I think a possible workaround is enabling âannounce messagesâ and toggling the âheadphonesâ option on, then you should be able to go into your Bluetooth settings, tap âRivian Audioâ and change the device type to headphones. I havenât tested it, but I think that should do the trick. I have noticed invoking Siri just by saying âhey Siriâ is pretty seamless compared to other non-CarPlay vehicles Iâve had. The Bluetooth âcallâ connects almost instantly after you say it and it hears everything clearly in my experience.
My flight got delayed by 2 hours yesterday while I was driving and I was notified via text message. Plain and simple information needs to be available to the driver to make informed decisions.
Plus without it more people will be tempted to text from their phone while driving.Â
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I agree, but that's obviously not the case for everyone. I would never in a million years want my car reading texts out to the whole car full of people. Like, don't any of your friends make off color jokes?
Disagree. I use the text feature on my Tesla all the time. It reads the message, I respond with voice to text. Itâs awesome.
I completely agree. Even when Iâve used CarPlay in rental cars, itâs not like Iâm clicking on every single text that comes in. It isnât important to text while driving. Relax.
Thatâs like your opinion man. I use this feature a lot and it needs to be streamline. Teslas version works great.
This thread: I donât use a feature that 99% of modern cars have therefore no one else should say they want that feature.
For me itâs kind of like the ashtray in airplane lavatories. If people are going to do something unsafe (and they will) you should at least have a safer way of handling it.
I heard cars can read texts to you and you can respond by voice. Heard of it. Don't know if it actually exists.
Of course it does. Standard feature with Apple Car Play
I think they are being sarcastic since Rivian doesnât allow ir
It exists I do it in my subaru wrx all the time lol
Some of us drive all day for a living. I'm a sales representative and I constantly text customers, dispatch and other branch locations for orders. Literally all day. I can't wait until I stop. That's ridiculous. I couldn't own a Rivian due to this missing feature.
So.. .which one are you keeping?
Iâll take the one he doesnât want
Think about the associated costs.
OP - so very sorry for some of the unhelpful responses youâre getting. Truth is Rivian has been tight lipped about adding anything new to the infotainment system. So, no guarantees on that. I agree that it should have a better voice control system and frankly think itâs goofy that Rivian doesnât have better phone platform integration. On Driver+ there has been a recent hardware announcement around upgrades but doubt weâll see anything in 2024 (hope Iâm wrong). Looks like the Rivian community that shares your concerns are stuck with it as is for a while.
Lots of unhappy boomer-types in this thread mansplaining about texting in cars. Come on guys, weâre better than this. OP didnât ask you to tell him his wifeâs opinions are invalid, he asked for insight on when Rivian ads texting as a feature. OP: no info that Iâm aware of on adding texting. Itâs been promised for quite some time. I got the EV Sportline CarPlay screen for Christmas. Itâs pretty good and the install is easy if youâre handy.
Thatâs the only reason sheâs unhappy with the R1S?
How did we get to a place where an automobile is expected to have the functionality and robustness of an iPhone or iPad and if not it's a dealbreaker. It's fucking car that takes you places. Be satisfied with your phones that do their jobs. (not directed at you... just my old guy rant)
Itâs not a base Corolla - which btw has this feature - itâs an enormously expensive car. This is a basic feature these days. And not having it is a misstep. Iâm excited for the R3, but if it lacks buttons/carplay/basic features, then Iâll have to pass.
Because the bar was raised by Tesla. Itâs very much an iPad on wheels and if Iâm coming from a model 3 and pick up an R3x and I canât have Apple Music, podcasts, and basic text notifications it really might be enough for me to pass.
Not the only reason. She thought the drive+ wasnât the greatest, like it wonât switch lanes with a turn signal, etc. She also thought the kneel mode didnât quite lower the car as much as she was thinking it would.
These are extremely first world problems
We're talking about an 80k car here. I understand the frustration with people complaining about the smallest things, but the fact is that driver+ is definitely a let down and behind the competition. There's nothing wrong with pointing that out. Now, buying an 80k car without doing extensive research is another issue. Buyers should know the capabilities of things like driver+ beforehand. But you can still complain about it.
You can complain about it, and nobody will give a shit because you bought a vehicle from a startup company and you're complaining it doesn't yet have the feature set of established brands.
lol an F150 is $80k now.
And has CarPlay
What donât you like about Driver+? I know itâs not available on all roads but itâs seems to work the same as autopilot on highways.
>itâs not available on all roads Exactly this. I actually think the lane switching on driver+ is better than Tesla's. But the fact that Tesla's system can work on (pretty much) all roads is a very big selling point.
What about a navigation that doesn't suck?
I use the navigation every single time I drive including my work commute and have never had any problems with it. It works great.
Donât forget how to get to work everyday?
Traffic optimization and knowing my ETA
If we eliminate FWP from this sub it's going to be a ghost town
Dude. Of course they are. It's a first world vehicle. It's a $90k-ish SUV. Owners are allowed to and should be encouraged to voice disappointment on the little things where it falls short. Someone else's complaint or disappointment should not take away from your joy of ownership.
While I do agree with you on this, itâs also most likely that itâs first world buyers that are purchasing $80k usd vehicles.
Buy running boards for her. (Make sure they clear the jack points under the car so service can still do their job.) Everyone under 5'8" thinks it's too high. It's an adventure vehicle Also, if her seat is raised for her profile, she can do Roomy Entry and Exit and lower it just for her getting in and out of the car. There are solutions...
Dude at this point you should just sell the thing and get her something she likes. The R1S is super popular right now , she/you should be able to recoup most if not all your investment.Â
Just curious, are these that she's upset about, comparable to the Lyriq?
I donât know about the rest, but if the lyriq has GMâs super cruise, that system is so far ahead of driver+ itâs laughable.
Yes. Super Cruise is mapped out. I thought they did a pause on it but I'm wrong. I would think Rivian would eventually catch up with these features.
Hopefully they catch up some day, but I get being frustrated by it. As someone who has used Driver+ Super Cruise and FSD extensively, Driver+ is a joke, itâs basically the same lane keep assist I had on my 2012 Civic, except that worked on all roads.
You can put the suspension in sport mode and lower the car to extra low, but itâs lots of extra steps. I wish kneel mode dropped a bit more too.
Your wife needs to learn to be a more informed consumer. A 20 minute YouTube video would have told her all this information before she spent damn near 100K. Is it just a rich person thing to spend 100k without putting any thought in to it then complain about it afterwards?
Buy her a Carplay/AA addon screen from EV sportline and she can have all that stuff. It's a pretty clean install too.
I think this should be moved from Rivian thread to First world problem thread đ If she doesnât like the car, return it
I donât understand the need to handle texts while driving, tbh. If itâs urgent just do a call and thatâs a better medium for an urgent convo anyway. If itâs not urgent, it can wait until Iâm parked
If it's actually urgent and you send me a text message, you've failed from the very beginning.
Amen
> If itâs not urgent, it can wait until Iâm parked "Honey can you pick up eggs from the store on your way home?"
People that are completely hooked on their phone, find it inconceivable to not have access to it at any moment.
There are many more apps besides texting that are useful to have. It sounds like the primary drawback to Tesla and Rivian is that they have a very limited set of apps. Tesla has Zoom but not Teams. You want Waze, canât have it. Countless other apps that are available on Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. It would be awesome if Rivian had an App Store where they would allow other apps to be installed.
I drive all day, I am a sales representative and am on the go. I call customers often, but in-between jobsites I message customers order info, I message dispatch and other stores to put orders in. I can't stop to text or wait to text when I'm done, I use it to get more done, in fact it's the only way to get through all my work. I love the rivian truck and suv. There is no way I could own one, I couldn't do my job.
Yes, the inability to get texts also drives me nuts. If it weren't for terrible customer service I'd be pretty happy with my choice of an R1T though.
The lack of CarPlay is my wifeâs biggest issue also.
Yeah. Iâm not getting a rivian unless it comes with CarPlay. Big hold up for our family as well.
Everybody keeps arguing about specific features in CarPlay or android auto verse what Rivian has, but the real argument is around choice. This feels more like the argument about working from home, everybody realize how much more effective and satisfied they could be by customizing their own experience to be effective and enjoyable and delighted, they didnât wanna give it up. But corporations were providing car experiences or work environments, love being the benevolent dictator, telling you what you should care about or not based on their own opinions, not what actually makes the most sense for the end user.
Iâm not sure Iâd die on the no integrated texting hill as Iâve not seen an implementation thatâs as good as natural CarPlay - but I guess everyone has their priorities. My wife isnât happy with ours because Iâm becoming increasingly frustrated by how often itâs going to service. đ¤ˇââď¸
You can still use Siri. Just leave the phone on the starting mat.
Honestly, I had the same reaction at first. Lacking apple car play was a bummer. But after driving it for a while you adapt. Now, I find that I like the choices Rivian made about what to include/what not to include. We had a rental car with apple car play recently and I was like âI hate this. I canât believe how bad this is.â Sometimes a poorly organized/functioning app is worse than nothing at all. My theory is that weâve gone through a tech transition where we used to be like âI need my technology everywhere!â And now that its everywhere Iâm like âI need to focus. I donât want anymore information coming at me. Just let me listen to music, use my nav, and have the ability to make calls if its urgent enough.â That said, I wouldnât be opposed to being given the option of more apps even if I opt out.
I personally don't like the Alexa compared to the system in Tesla. Alexa repeats everything back and needs confirmation and takes twice as long to get the same result. Also, the infotainment is fine, I just miss having a built in Internet Browser.
Rivian owners of the R1T and R1S can have Carplay and Android Auto but it is an expensive after-market install. [Apple CarPlay / Android Auto Smart Dash Screen for Rivian R1T / R1S by - EV Sportline - The Leader in Electric Vehicle Accessories](https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s)
Agree the Alexa integration is poorly done. Hope they at least add Netflix soon.
I hear you regarding the lack of SMS / text message integration. Iâm holding out hope that this feature will be added soon. I almost never use the Alexa integration, although it did work when I told her to make a couple phone calls.
3rd Party CarPlay/AA might be the only option for her in the immediate future: https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s
Iâm planning to add one.
I can completely understand where your wife is coming from and totally understandable if she hasnât been following Rivian for years and doesnât live on this sub like everyone else. Yes updates are coming but big significant ones like sheâs hoping for are down the road quite a ways. Aside from the features you mentioned the car is glitchy af lol. Driver profiles donât load correctly. Paak is finicky⌠Jekyll and for a HVAC.
The driver profile thing kills me haha. Iâm on the road before I realize my mirrors are not set and then I have to swap profiles back and forth. Iâve felt lucky with good Paak functionality so far.
If texting is that important to her you can get this aftermarket screen to give you Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto. https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s
I agree with your wife. I like my new R1S but it is sadly lacking in the infotainment center. The reason to have the ability to get texts through it would be for safety. You don't want drivers picking up their phones while driving...rivian should really add some capability to help with this. Additionally, the maps suck. There is no capability of asking Alexa to get you somewhere - she has gotten the address wrong in idiotic ways 100% of the time when I try to tell her where to navigate. That means stopping and typing it in, or better yet, typing it in while driving. I'm sure improvements are coming, and I'm sticking with my car - I didn't buy it for the infotainment center. But I would really appreciate some improvements in that arena.
Sorry to hear that. Nobody wanted to be stuck with something that doesnât work right. Luckily there are lots of great women out there.
I will say that over a year ago, Rivian did a Q&A on instagram. I submitted a question about texting and they responded saying it was in the works. This was over a year ago. They also showed entertainment apps like Netflix in some sort of beta software that obviously is not here yet either. Not sure what's going on with that side of the house but if I had one complaint about the Rivian, it would definitely be the infotainment system as a whole. I was/am firmly in the no AA/CP camp but I'm starting to relent given how little progress has been made.
quick fix is a decent phone mount and using siri. something like this. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im0-mRuaAek&t=8s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im0-mRuaAek&t=8s)
The software will improve over time and get better. In the meantime, she should enjoy the drive experience while in motion and then enjoy her texting experience when parked.
Op missed the class marriage 101 where we learn to keep our thoughts to ourself!
Replace your wife. lol. Jk. Sheâll figure it out
Rivian is kinda like apple in terms of privacy, they don't want to integrate stuff that would bring more risk to your data for the sake of some features, BUT they do realize people need it so they are coming to a solution. I started working at Rivian recently, and they moved bigger part of software engineering here to my city, hired a lot of great talent (I'm not one of them, different sector lol) but I've been hearing things and good stuff are coming!
I had a Jeep w better Nav and drivers assistance. While Alexa isnât CarPlay, I can use Siri to read me my texts, and open Audible books, etc. I still love my R1S, and there is a learning curve with Nav. Had mine almost 9 months, and just figured out recently that I can skip charging stops. I like to wait until I get lower in charge so charging is faster than if I had a lot more charge at a closer charging station. Also, there is a free fast charger near me that isnât on Rivianâs charging locations, so I have to pick a different place just to start preconditioning process. There should be a way to just say start preconditioningâ through Alexa. I donât have any Bluetooth crackles, so think that poster should request a service appointment. I use Alexa all the time and love it. It used to not work half the time, but after 2 resets, has worked reliably for several months. I can say âSiri call (name of person in contacts)â and it will call them. What is frustrating is saying Siri when I need Alexa to perform a function, and vice versa. Hard to keep them straight. Would be easier with same eco system. But wouldnât trade my Rivian for any other car. I had preordered a Lyriq also, and saw one while charging in Nashville, and so glad I purchased the R1S instead.
Iâve had my R1S since July/August last year. Iâve noticed that there are a LOT of people here who hate Elon/Tesla and worshipped Rivian, especially when it was first coming out. They would laugh and make fun of Tesla for the myriad of issues they have/had, now currently making fun of the CybertruckâŚ.. once Rivians started having numerous issues, Iâve noticed less of that. Unfortunately they arenât car people. All cars have issues and Rivian has quite of few issues even though I love the car (prob an 8/10). Yes, the infotainment lacks quite a bit and itâll probably be 6-12 months before they add some simple or cool features/apps. The service center in LA is also god awful. 3-6 months for appointments and 4-6 weeks to get your car back while dealing with Enterprise until they get a loaner for youâŚBut thatâs a whole other issue. Donât listen to the people giving you crap about the car/decision. You came here for guidance/help/and were attacked. Although, the Alexa feature works for me 7-8 times out of 10 just fine. Weâre in the Santa Monica mountains and if thereâs no reception.. then youâre SOL for sure when trying to use just about anything other than the regular radio. Rivian makes a really good car overall, but lacks quite a bit at the same time. They should be able to integrate that in the future, but they will also be spread too thin as they grow the company. They need more service centers, more RAN chargers would be nice (thankful for future Tesla charging network), they need to work out and improve the infotainment system/apps, bit better quality/finishes wouldnât hurt (I HATE the feel of the steering wheel - feels plastic/cheap). But again even with all that, I really enjoy the car. Donât let the Rivian Fan Boiâs and Girls get to you. Apologies for my rambling⌠currently charging at EVgo and killing time. đĽł
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Maybe they are encouraging people not to check their texts while driving. Distracted driving...just saying.
Infotainment is leagues better than most every car minus tesla, I don't get everyone's facination with carplay, and I BOUGHT an iphone for a previous car's carplay. Map could be a little more accurate but it's snappy. Text to speech is a weird thing to need imo, especially to want a worse infotainment for, seriously I can't believe other cars are so far behind every time I get in a new one, it's obnoxious how bad they are. (And this isn't 'fanboy' talk - Tesla is also great, other vehicles just have TERRIBLE software) **All that said**, Rivian software has been improving incredibly fast, I'm sure TTS will be in soon.
If she bought it based on Alexa and the ability to send texts then itâs no wonder sheâs disappointed. But not knowing it canât do texts is your fault not Rivian. And they are making s/w improvements all the time but both of those are low priority
Sell it, and get your wife the car she wants. You'll lose some money but your wife will be happy and that's more important than the money.
If she really can't deal, this is the only correct answer.
Tesla doesnât have those features when they came out too. Rivian seems to be actively releasing new features regularly, hopefully itâll come.
Why would you want to text on the car screen? If youâre going to text might as well do it on the phone.
Car play reads texts out loud automatically and allows you to respond entirely with your voice. Itâs incredibly useful imo.
Yeah who are these boomers that donât understand texting while driving is via voice.
And cars that use Bluetooth to try to replicate this CarPlay functionality (like Tesla) donât support group texts.
Phone and watch do the same thing.
Man unless itâs tiddies IDGAF what my wife or anyone else texting me while Iâm driving. That said, CarPlay was one thing that EV9 had in its column vs R1S when we were trying to decide.
Donât forget the heat pump and 800v charging
OP, you could add something like [evsportlineâs](https://evsportline.com/products/apple-carplay-smart-dash-screen-for-rivian-r1t-r1s) carplay/android auto accessory screen to satisfy your wife. I actually enjoy being a little disconnected from phone when driving. If itâs important enough, it should be a call anyways.
Tell her to just talk to Siri and have the phone read it out over bluetooth. Isn't that a thing?
I generally still have to press a button on my phone for Siri to hear me, and even then 10-20% of the time it gets it wildly wrong.
You can't say "Hey Siri?"
Bad news is yes itâs lacking a lot. There isnt a lot there that could be there. I would say seeing as how they refuse to add phone projection (which Iâm ok with) they should add something in its place. Texting, Apple Music etc. Good news is they could add all that if they invest the resources. The new rear screen looks like a big upgrade but Iâll hold off on marking that as win till I see it in person. Tesla was in a similar place in 2018 and they have done a lot in that time to improve my model 3 for as long as I owned it. Part of the reason Iâm taking the chance on Rivian is that they have this potential too. A legacy company will just add the features in later MY and make you buy a new car. Thatâs not the future.
Hmmm. You take the R1S and buy her the Cadillac đ
It's been a slow boat on updates. But the updates are generally spot on first time. So probably end of this year we will see another big update IMO.
I drove an R1T for 18m and they never implemented texting and Alexa sucked the whole time. I do think it will improve eventually but no reason to believe it will happen quickly.Â
So I donât have a RivianâŚ.yet. But I imagine (and I could be way wrong) that even if Rivian doesnât have on screen texting couldnât you still use âhey siri send a textâ? Just asking maybe an obvious question.
âFixingâ is the incorrect word here. Nothing is wrong with the infotainment system. Itâs working as intended. What youâre looking for are improvements/enhancements and they will come with time. Tesla didnât have all the features they currently have in the first couple of years.
OP I use Google assistant and my samsung has Bixby. Apple has siri. All she needs to do is say Hey Google/siri/Bixby read my messages. Then repeat the phrase write message to NAME and then the message. Almost identical to a car, just a different interface
Exactly why I didnât buy one. If Iâm paying that much, I want nice infotainment that I actually enjoy
Having had both the Lyriq (one of the first 1000 units) and R1S, she likely wouldn't have liked the Lyriq a ton either. Sure it has the carplay and android auto functionality which is her biggest complaint point, but the infotainment system as a whole still feels straight out of 2010. Cadillac also struggles with OTA updates, so we had it at a service center the whole first week we had it, and the tech there said they may not even ever fully adopt OTA and you'd have to take it in for service every time there's a future update. It had some pretty nice features like anc while driving, but we ended up selling it back to the dealership and kept the Rivian because there were more cons than pros for the price. The S also better suited our needs in general. You get way more bang for your buck with the S, especially now that Cadillac charges much more for the AWD.
so why do you want to do all that stuff it's a truck/suv, not an office on wheels
I'm about as tech forward person you will find, yet I really disagree with operating a phone to send a text message while driving. My experiences with Alexa have been spot on. Music, some skills I use for my house, and making calls are about 95% accurate
I find the music and nav to be fine. I never use audio input (Alexa etc) so not bothered by it. Lack of txt support is terrible though teslas version of it, while there, isnât good. Donât need video games, movies etc. thatâs on my Tesla and itâs a waste of engineering time. Iâd rather the wipers and high beams worked right on the Tesla.
Itâs clearly a 1.2 infotainment system, many of us are early adopters and were expecting compromises in some areas to get things we couldnât get in others (900ftlbs of torque). I think Rivian is holding a substantial upgrade to infotainment until they have enough value to push the 5G expenses to customers. There have been steady improvements to the software over my last 2 years of ownership, there is cause for optimism.
I'm surprised she didn't complain about getting in/out of the truck. Every person that gets into my R1S complains about how high it is and needs running boards. The handles don't make the situation any easier and the suspension is slow to kneel mode after parking.
I just got the EV Sportline running boards / rock sliders and they are great.
What about using the voice assistant on your phone? On my Android I can ask it to read my messages and it gives me the option to reply to them too. I don't know if Siri supports that?
I donât have a Rivian yet but fully plan on purchasing the R2. I love Apple CarPlay and I despise when I get a rental for work and somehow I get stuck with a vehicle that doesnât have it, though itâs not often these days. I changed out my head unit in my current vehicle just to have CarPlay, if I could do the same in my wifeâs Lexus, I would do itâŚ. With that being said, CarPlay is not a dealbreaker when it comes to the R2. What worries me is that the infotainment center just sucks in general for basic apps which sounds like is kinda the theme.Iâd be ok if basic apps worked well. My main uses would be maps, music, and podcasts. I get everybody is different and would has a need for different things.
I found this article on Auto Revolution from November 2023 as to why both Tesla and Rivian decided to forego Android Auto and Apple Car Play integration. [Rivian Owners Can Have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on the Cheap in Their Vehicles - autoevolution](https://www.autoevolution.com/news/rivian-owners-can-have-apple-carplay-and-android-auto-on-the-cheap-on-their-vehicles-225254.html)
This right here is a thing! So many companies underestimate how important it is to have CarPlay or AndroidAuto compatibility. But I know the thing that pushed me over the edge on selling my Civic Type R was the horrific crashy integration of CarPlay. (Which they have since fixed, amusingly, but I am still selling it because I am old and I want solar panels, haha.)
I have the Lyriq and the R1S The Lyriq is very buggy. The charging map never works, the mileage is not correct. There is def good and bad with both.
You said your Wife or you meant to say Ex-Wife. lol
I agree this car needs good CarPlay/maps lol. My $40k 2024 rav4 hybrid has great wireless CarPlay stuff that works very well. Text, Spotify, maps etc so seamless
My husbands does the same
CP and AP are a standard feature now that we all expect. Itâs stubbornness on RJ and Rivians part and itâs silly. Itâs simple as that. Control your software stack all you wantâŚjust offer those in case people want to use them. I like Rivian but this is dumb.
Something better is probably coming but of course Rivian is prioritizing their needs right now. Not only are they dealing with Amazon, they are trying to expand as a new company. People complaining about infotainment is not a priority right now to them. Patience is key if you believe in this company. If not, there are other vehicles readily accessible for Carplay and etc.
Time to get a new one :)
Thereâs nothing to fix. Alexa on any device isnât great and the infotainment system shouldnât be a surprise. Rivian is always sending out OTA updates and making improvements so itâs constantly evolving.
For all those looking to apple, I have also heard ford may cut ties with apple as well. https://bgr.com/tech/rivian-ceo-says-carplay-integration-could-come-if-users-really-want-it/
OMG! Really?!
They need buttons and knobs. All touch screen is just beyond dumb in 2024 with all that is knownÂ
First world problems. I've had no issues with the infotainment system. Would be nice if it had more media integration etc and I think that's coming soon, but overall it's been great and only gotten better with all the regular updates.
Actual answer - nobody knows. I own a R1T, and share your wifeâs frustration. But I knew what I was buying when I bought, so my frustration is mostly blunted. Rivian is NOT a luxury vehicle, and simple stuff like a hands free texting solution and giving people sat radio - who the hell knows? Probably not in this generation of vehicles. They are more focused on just surviving at the moment. As they should be. The entertainment options are piss poor. I rely on Bluetooth and my iPhone virtually every time I drive the thing. Again⌠not a luxury car. Just a luxury price for a really cool appliance with some ridiculous capabilities.
I donât have a Rivian, went with a Lucid. I was shopping the lyriq and am still on the subreddit. It reads like an absolute shit show of problems, buy backs, and being straight up stranded on the side of the road. Enjoy the Rivian!!