Volvo-backed electric vehicle maker Polestar today announced that the latest over-the-air update for the Polestar 2 adds CarPlay support, allowing iPhone users to conveniently access commonly used apps from the dashboard, complete with Siri control. The addition of CarPlay in the Polestar 2 is interesting given that the vehicle's infotainment system is powered by Android Automotive, which is a full-stack operating system running directly on the in-vehicle hardware. Android Automotive is not to be confused with Google's similarly-named CarPlay competitor Android Auto.

In a tweet, Polestar said the over-the-air software update is rolling out to customers incrementally, and noted that the update is also available for installation at Polestar workshops. It's unclear when the rollout will be completed.

CarPlay is available in over 600 vehicle models from dozens of automakers, according to Apple, but some of the most popular electric vehicle brands like Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid Motors have yet to support the feature in their vehicles.


At WWDC 2022 earlier this month, Apple previewed the "next generation" of CarPlay, which includes support for multiple displays in a vehicle and direct integration with a vehicle's speedometer, fuel gauge, climate controls for A/C and heat, and more.

Apple said the first vehicles to support the new CarPlay experience will be announced in late 2023, with committed automakers including Ford, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Honda, Acura, Jaguar, Land Rover, Audi, Nissan, Volvo, Porsche, and more. Apple said it would share additional information about the new CarPlay experience in the future.

Article Link: Electric Vehicle Maker Polestar Announces CarPlay Support

if only tesla would follow suit with their barebones, buggy ui that breaks something with every update.

Meh,..cheaper to buy a simple cradle than a new car. Next..

Is this wireless or wired CarPlay?

I recently watched a report on EVs and manufacturers such as Tesla who want to control the whole experience much as Apple does with its products. Tesla does not make parts or services manuals available to the public so third party repair shops and vehicle owners are unable to repair or service Tesla vehicles. Apparently Tesla has a lot of former Apple employees working for them. Also interestingly, a former Tesla employee who now has his own Tesla repair shop and hires former Tesla service technicians said some along the lines of: Tesla isn't a car company. Tesla is a software company that makes cars.

MacRumors said:

CarPlay is available in over 600 vehicle models from dozens of automakers, according to Apple, but some of the most popular electric vehicle brands like Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid Motors have yet to support the feature in their vehicles.

Sure, I’ve heard of Volvo, and I’ve heard of Tesla, and I’m admittedly not really in the market currently (I could see owning an electric car if I lived out in the suburbs, but, charging infrastructure issues aside, I’m not even in the market for a car right now), but I’ve never once heard of Lucid or Rivian (or Polestar for that matter). Why do I suddenly suspect that there’s a ton of VC money flowing into electric vehicles in the hopes of finding the next Tesla?

Honestly, most VCs seem incapable of independent thought. It’s all, “oh this idea led to a unicorn [or a great IPO], let’s try to replicate it.” It’s like the Apple lemmings commercial!

(As an aside, boy does Google label some weird stuff as “for kids”.)

The size of those bezels makes me think they just slapped an HP Touchpad on the dash and called it a day.

kc9hzn said:

Sure, I’ve heard of Volvo, and I’ve heard of Tesla, and I’m admittedly not really in the market currently (I could see owning an electric car if I lived out in the suburbs, but, charging infrastructure issues aside, I’m not even in the market for a car right now), but I’ve never once heard of Lucid or Rivian (or Polestar for that matter). Why do I suddenly suspect that there’s a ton of VC money flowing into electric vehicles in the hopes of finding the next Tesla?

Honestly, most VCs seem incapable of independent thought. It’s all, “oh this idea led to a unicorn [or a great IPO], let’s try to replicate it.” It’s like the Apple lemmings commercial!

(As an aside, boy does Google label some weird stuff as “for kids”.)

Click to expand...

Because those are not actually popular brands of EV's. Those are the equivalent of Trumpism twitter poseur influencer brands.

Volume, popular models would be things like the Nissan Leaf, GM Bolt, or Ford Mach E.

Menel said:

Because those are not actually popular brands of EV's. Those are the equivalent of Trumpism twitter poseur influencer brands.

Volume, popular models would be things like the Nissan Leaf, GM Bolt, or Ford Mach E.

Well yeah, models I’ve heard of (or at least I’ve heard of the Leaf), by manufacturers I’ve heard of. These Polestar guys are Volvo backed, but I don’t understand why Volvo doesn’t just bring them in house (unless they’re not really serious about this market segment but just want to play around with it). I suppose it’s a little like when Ford was playing with the TH!NK concept.

When Polestar was on the horizon, I thought it might be interesting to consider. I’m not a huge Tesla fan and wouldn’t mind seeing a viable competitor in the space.

When I found out it was not just running Android Auto, but the whole software stack was Google, I lost interest. I don’t need Google in my car.

kc9hzn said:

Well yeah, models I’ve heard of (or at least I’ve heard of the Leaf), by manufacturers I’ve heard of. These Polestar guys are Volvo backed, but I don’t understand why Volvo doesn’t just bring them in house (unless they’re not really serious about this market segment but just want to play around with it). I suppose it’s a little like when Ford was playing with the TH!NK concept.

I'm guessing, grasping at straws.
Volvo already blew through their federal tax credits, tax refund credit for EV was limited to certain production #'s.
New company Polestar, resets that to zero. So customers can get tax credit and it makes their cars less expensive and more competitive.
Wild speculation on my part.

mikeb13 said:

Is this wireless or wired CarPlay?

Wired

Menel said:

I'm guessing, grasping at straws.
Volvo already blew through their federal tax credits, tax refund credit for EV was limited to certain production #'s.
New company Polestar, resets that to zero. So customers can get tax credit and it makes their cars less expensive and more competitive.
Wild speculation on my part.

Interesting theory. I was also wondering what exactly Polestar is, since Volvo seems to be actively pursuing EV technology on their own with the attractive XC-40 Recharge.

Analog Kid said:

When Polestar was on the horizon, I thought it might be interesting to consider. I’m not a huge Tesla fan and wouldn’t mind seeing a viable competitor in the space.

When I found out it was not just running Android Auto, but the whole software stack was Google, I lost interest. I don’t need Google in my car.

Im with you on that one. Big disappoint this morning find that out.

I guess that’s a nice addition for owners, or prospective owners… but Google behind the infotainment???

kc9hzn said:

Sure, I’ve heard of Volvo, and I’ve heard of Tesla, and I’m admittedly not really in the market currently (I could see owning an electric car if I lived out in the suburbs, but, charging infrastructure issues aside, I’m not even in the market for a car right now), but I’ve never once heard of Lucid or Rivian (or Polestar for that matter). Why do I suddenly suspect that there’s a ton of VC money flowing into electric vehicles in the hopes of finding the next Tesla?

Honestly, most VCs seem incapable of independent thought. It’s all, “oh this idea led to a unicorn [or a great IPO], let’s try to replicate it.” It’s like the Apple lemmings commercial!

(As an aside, boy does Google label some weird stuff as “for kids”.)

Click to expand...

Lucid doesn't really have anything on the market yet - they're still in PR stage at this point.

Polestar's been around for several years, at least in the bay area. Dunno how proliferated they are elsewhere in the states.

Rivian was kinda the first to have an actual electric truck on the road.

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But I have a question for you - when the first automotive makers arrived on the scene, do you think they were all hoping to be the next Ford? Is the fact that we have several dozen ICE makes in the market now indicative of un-original "I want to replicate their success!" thinking from last century? I mean - it's not like Cadillac or Chevrolet came up with the concept of motorized carriages all on their own years after other manufacturers were already in business.

Or like, literally any other free enterprise category that has multiple vendors.

kc9hzn said:

Sure, I’ve heard of Volvo, and I’ve heard of Tesla, and I’m admittedly not really in the market currently (I could see owning an electric car if I lived out in the suburbs, but, charging infrastructure issues aside, I’m not even in the market for a car right now), but I’ve never once heard of Lucid or Rivian (or Polestar for that matter). Why do I suddenly suspect that there’s a ton of VC money flowing into electric vehicles in the hopes of finding the next Tesla?

Honestly, most VCs seem incapable of independent thought. It’s all, “oh this idea led to a unicorn [or a great IPO], let’s try to replicate it.” It’s like the Apple lemmings commercial!

(As an aside, boy does Google label some weird stuff as “for kids”.)

Click to expand...

lucid is backed by saudi funds and rivian is backed by amazon, they are not some small start up anymore.

scheinderrob said:

if only tesla would follow suit with their barebones, buggy ui that breaks something with every update.

Tesla won't ever. Elon would never let another company horn in on their operation.

Menel said:

I'm guessing, grasping at straws.
Volvo already blew through their federal tax credits, tax refund credit for EV was limited to certain production #'s.
New company Polestar, resets that to zero. So customers can get tax credit and it makes their cars less expensive and more competitive.
Wild speculation on my part.

I don’t think the U.S. tax credits has anything to do with it.
Here’s a few other reasons:
1. Branding. Volvo is known for security and well, rather boring cars. Polestar isn’t an entirely new brand from Volvo, but has been used in the past for their more sporty and fun initiatives.
2. Sales model. Unlike Volvos, Polestars aren’t sold through dealerships. Instead, just like Tesla, they are sold directly to customers without any middle hands.

So the whole idea is to create a bit more freedom without any of the Volvo baggage. While still being able to use all the tech and experience of Volvo.

kc9hzn said:

Sure, I’ve heard of Volvo, and I’ve heard of Tesla, and I’m admittedly not really in the market currently (I could see owning an electric car if I lived out in the suburbs, but, charging infrastructure issues aside, I’m not even in the market for a car right now), but I’ve never once heard of Lucid or Rivian (or Polestar for that matter). Why do I suddenly suspect that there’s a ton of VC money flowing into electric vehicles in the hopes of finding the next Tesla?

Honestly, most VCs seem incapable of independent thought. It’s all, “oh this idea led to a unicorn [or a great IPO], let’s try to replicate it.” It’s like the Apple lemmings commercial!

(As an aside, boy does Google label some weird stuff as “for kids”.)

Click to expand...

Polestar is fantastic. They have the Polestar 1 and 2 already out, with the 3, which I believe is their SUV, coming soon. They were even in Apple's presentation on extended CarPlay when they showed all the companies that will support it. Polestar is owned by Volvo and some other investment firm. The cars themselves are quite nice and unlike many EV concepts, actually exist and can be bought.

scheinderrob said:

if only tesla would follow suit with their barebones, buggy ui that breaks something with every update.

lol that will never happen, i think elon would rather let tesla close shop before letting apple car play to be integrated into a tesla.

It didn't have it to begin with!??!

DanteHicks79 said:

Lucid doesn't really have anything on the market yet - they're still in PR stage at this point.

Polestar's been around for several years, at least in the bay area. Dunno how proliferated they are elsewhere in the states.

Rivian was kinda the first to have an actual electric truck on the road.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

But I have a question for you - when the first automotive makers arrived on the scene, do you think they were all hoping to be the next Ford? Is the fact that we have several dozen ICE makes in the market now indicative of un-original "I want to replicate their success!" thinking from last century? I mean - it's not like Cadillac or Chevrolet came up with the concept of motorized carriages all on their own years after other manufacturers were already in business.

Or like, literally any other free enterprise category that has multiple vendors.

Click to expand...

But Ford’s competitors didn’t all try to create Model T clones! Early cars were a lot like early smartphones, a lot of non-starters, a lot of trying every new design possible. From when cars began (which happened well before Ford) to well into the 20s or 30s, there was no guarantee, if you could drive one car, that you could drive another. Each manufacturer and each male had their own control methods, even if the basic idea of a steering wheel and multi speed manual transmission were already established.

This is something Polestar promised at launch 2 years ago and they’ve only just managed to deliver on it. Plus, they had to take a step back and only offer wired when they’d originally promised wireless. And even after that, they’ve provided a bare-bones experience, for example, no Maps CarPlay display in the centre console despite CarPlay supporting that for years.

It’s hardly something Polestar should be shouting from the rooftops about.

And those who say they wouldn’t touch a car with an Android OS, you need to look at how many car manufacturers have now signed up to it. Spoiler: there’s a lot of big names on that list

DanteHicks79 said:

Lucid doesn't really have anything on the market yet - they're still in PR stage at this point.

The Lucid Air is out now. I was surprised to run across one in a parking lot last week. Good looking car.