Internet-connected devices like tablets and smartphones tend to stop getting security updates after 5 years or so, making them basically useless.
That's frustrating but tolerable on a $300 device. But on a $30,000 car?
That's frustrating but tolerable on a $300 device. But on a $30,000 car?
We did upgrade the central computer a few years ago to get 4g support, but $1500 felt very cheap for a whole new center screen, a new higher resolution instrument cluster, and a new computer making the whole car run faster.
The beauty of CarPlay and Android Auto is that it turns your infotainment system into a dumb terminal for your smartphone. As long as it can decode the video and audio streams, there is no reason it will not continue to get new features indefinitely via phone upgrades and new versions of iOS or Android.
Our phones are perfectly capable of doing all the things these car companies want us to pay extra for.