Comment by maldev | Hacker News Reader

Comment by maldev | Hacker News Reader

Everyones talking about alot of negatives. But I have a E53 AMG 4matic+ coup. It looks amazing, like constant compliments, i've even had people compliment it and give me their number in a wendy's drive through.

But the OS(MBUX 2) is actually really good, at first I was a bit negative on it. But the way they have everything integrated that isn't really possible with apple play is nice. The dash is customizable, I have my setup with speed, an array right in the center on when to turn, and the right is a mini map so I can see the road. On top of that the screen in the center is amazing and has a few views.

The voice assistant is really nice, does everything I want, they have it baked in so each seat can activate it and it knows based off a mic. Can't do that with apple play. So when a girl in my car says "Turn on the massage" or "Turn the temperature to 70", it only does for their side. And honestly, besides the map not having police checkpoints, it's a bit better than apple maps or google maps. And on top of that, I can lookup the location on apple maps on my phone, then send it to the car.

And according to my dealer, most people forgo using carplay for anything other than music in alot of the benzes.

I'm blown away you think "[women] give me their number" is like... something we ought to know about using the home grown Merc infotainment system? Like that's a feature I look for in my vehicle onboard computer, a "propensity for women to want to date me while I order fast food" metric.

So many questions. So many.

If it works consistently, it would sure be a major selling point. ;)

Wouldn't someone giving you their number based on the car you drive be a giant red flag?

People who drive those cars don't think it is.

Not with a Mercedes.

Right? Like Alan Harper said: never happened with a Volvo!

People driving a "coup" are also a red flag. So I guess it's red-flagged people meeting one another.

The infotainment and lighting + other controls really sells it…

I more meant that even from a style standpoint, I never had that happen when I drove a Honda. There’s also features like making the engine “purr” which works really well on dates. There’s just a lot of integrated features they can control, to the point that not only is it useable and I like it better than CarPlay. It also has tangible benefits and genuinely helps me score. With features that wouldn’t be possible with a CarPlay based os and not having everything super integrated.

> There’s also features like making the engine “purr” which works really well on dates.

100% it just plays some sound via speakers. Nothing to do with an engine. But a sale has been made.

It has a few things like this. https://youtu.be/mG3Uo0a8k5Q . It basically opens up the valves/exhaust a bit more for more noise. It's 100 % from the engine and not from speakers.

Okay. Good, so it’s mechanical. I was ready to sacrifice my arm so good to learn about this beforehand :)

I have an EQB and I totally agree. I insisted on getting CarPlay but I used it once and I don’t see any need for it. Much happier with MBUX. However, this new Android based OS isn’t good news and I’m not sure I would want to get a new car with an Android based OS in it.

It's likely using Jolla's AppSupport (no official announcements, just my guess). It's not Android Based but an Android compatibility layer.

Kind of how WINE lets you run Windows apps in Linux. I have a Sailfish OS, and it's a linux system (full command line, UI built with QT) but also has Android support via their translation layer.

Android Automotive has been getting very good reviews in vehicles that has it (mostly because its performance is pretty good).

If you look at e.g. Renault, it's also highly customizable by manufacturers so it's unlikely you'd even notice it's Android without looking into it.

Although, as far as I know MB isn't on board for it - BMW is though.

I rented an Audi and this was my experience too. It ended up working out really well to use the car navigation system and I still had car play right there for carplay and phone calls. And for navigation stuff you can still load up google or apple maps if you need to double check the route since they sometimes have different traffic information. But most of the time you don't need to

I was in the same boat, purchased my car with CarPlay because I thought I'd use it just as often as I do in my last car. MBUX is honestly good enough that I don't bother plugging in my phone, it does everything I want, integrates with the car, and stays out my way.

Are you showing off here?

No, I'm just trying to build a point that the high end car manufacturers are able to get some wild integrations going on that differentiate them from regular manufacturers due to their software. Especially Mercedes, who regularly has the best tech in their vehicles, years ahead of the other manufacturer, and usually a year before BMW or other high end ones. This makes a very nice product. Since otherwise you run into an issue of "Why would I buy this", when the reason people get these cars is how integrated they are and the attention to details.

So a big flashy glowing dick extension. It strokes the owner’s ego.

Sir, this is a Wendy’s.

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