Heck simple bluetooth audio playback has degraded year over year in my car. After an android update a few years back I don't get to see the track name any more, pause/play sort of works, and thankfully audio still comes through and I can go to the previous/next track.

Without constant updates, software that is part a a larger ecosystem will eventually breakdown.

>Without constant updates, software that is part a a larger ecosystem will eventually breakdown.

This is why we should be so skeptical of tight software integration with durable hardware (e.g., cars and appliances with operational lifespans 10+ years easily). Software has a pretty short half-life, especially software that integrates with internet services; vulnerabilities get discovered in third-party components and remote APIs shift out from under you.

Durable goods manufacturers have little skill or interest in long-term software upkeep (maybe they like the profits and the rent-seeking, but not the actual maintenance), so the most sustainable design is one where the software is easily seperable and replaceable from the core durable item. Manufacturer-specific internet-connected infotainment in cars ain't it.

>so the most sustainable design is one where the software is easily seperable and replaceable from the core durable item.

No, the most realistically sustainable design is one where the software is built into the durable item and not connected to the internet, so it never changes and doesn't need to worry about security issues. You can keep using the thing until it fails from mechanical issues and can't be easily repaired.

If it's internet-connected for some reason, then the software should be open-source so interested parties can take over maintenance after the OEM decides they don't want to bother any more. However, I don't consider this "realistic": how many manufacturers are going to do this in reality? Almost none: they want you to buy a replacement device.

> No, the most realistically sustainable design is one where the software is built into the durable item and not connected to the internet, so it never changes and doesn't need to worry about security issues.

How would that work in a car, where people expect map updates and streaming music or radio over the internet?

Just like that. Robust, simple software, open standards a r/w partition for map data. Having well-defined, narrow access to the outside world is much easier to secure and keep working.

I don't think it would. I was really thinking more about things like home appliances. An embedded computer is handy for a washing machine, for instance, but it doesn't need to be connected to the internet (no, notifying you it's finished isn't necessary: the machine should tell you when you press "start" approximately how long it will take).

For a car, I really don't know. I don't see any way of putting up-to-date navigation software into a dashboard without a significant security risk, which means needing the ability to keep software updated. Even CarPlay/AA are non-trivial and would need security updates.

> No, the most realistically sustainable design is one where the software is built into the durable item and not connected to the internet, so it never changes and doesn't need to worry about security issues. You can keep using the thing until it fails from mechanical issues and can't be easily repaired.

My car isn't connected to the internet, it has not received any updates. However Google enjoys messing with the Android BT stack for whatever reason (there was a period in the mid 2010s where BT on Android was dramatically ~broken~ rewritten every couple of years), so accordingly my car has lost functionality.

For me, the fact that it updates with your phone every year is a game-changer! The end of those bad user interfaces.

Do people do that? I just use my phone beside the old useless infotainment. Honestly, I wouldn't buy a new car that used an in-house infotainment specifically because they go obsolete quickly (<5-10 years) and cannot be economically (or at all) to the latest tech. Carplay seems to be long lived.

No degradation at all for me over seven years. It’s a game changer. Car still feels new

My vehicle (a mid teens Volvo) doesn’t support CarPlay or AA. Its infotainment system gets its data from 3G, so it doesn’t get data anymore. Music is through Bluetooth, which works well enough. Navigating means using the clunky in-car nav with no traffic data or a phone with the volume turned way up.

It’s far from ideal but at least I have zero expectations for my next car.

I replaced the head unit on my car from the same era with an aftermarket Sony XAV-9000ES unit that has wireless carplay support. It takes about 10 seconds to connect after powering up the electronics but is otherwise seamless. Full steering wheel controls too (volume, next/prev track, pause/resume, mute). No car info, but the car is old enough to have a proper gauge cluster.

There are also dash-mounted "carplay screens" that are both much cheaper and much easier to install but lack integrations/require hacky solutions to get, say, audio out.

Why don't you use bluetooth to navigate with your phone?

You don’t like paying $300 for a map update? On my car, Nav + traffic was $3k. CarPlay was $300 and I get multiple map choices like Waze or Google maps. Only infotainment that comes close is Tesla yet map data is always out of date with construction road closures.

come on. It is AOL of cars.

This isn't "we're going to deprecate your car, buy a new one". People will buy them anyway.

It is "You're going to pay for AOL, even though we have the internet"

And when you sell your car, some other dumb schmuck will buy it used and sign up for AOL-of-cars.