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So my lease is almost up on my 15 ES and I test drove the 19.
My salesman mentioned that Android Auto will be available in a few months with a firmware upgrade.
Has anyone else heard about this?
When I picked up my 2019 on Wednesday I asked the Technology Specialist about Android Auto and if Lexus would be providing it for the 3/4 of the world that uses Android.
He stated that he had heard nothing about it coming any time soon... Who knows at this point...
When I picked up my 2019 on Wednesday I asked the Technology Specialist about Android Auto and if Lexus would be providing it for the 3/4 of the world that uses Android.
He stated that he had heard nothing about it coming any time soon... Who knows at this point...
The venn diagram of the “3/4 of the world that uses Android”, 70% of which live on less than $3/day, and Lexus buyers is narrow. Just FYI, having the title “OS of Choice in the Third World” is not persuasive to luxury car makers!
I think that kind of defeats the point of things like Android Auto and Car Play. The point of those is to have the smart phone system accessable directly from the car using the car display and car controls. It's the reason why I use the built in navigation in my 2011 Camry instead of Google Maps on my Android phone and why I will continue to do so when I get my 2019 ES in February. Having to hold my phone and keep looking down at of for navigation sucks but not nearly as bad as those windshield or vent holders.
The venn diagram of the “3/4 of the world that uses Android”, 70% of which live on less than $3/day, and Lexus buyers is narrow. Just FYI, having the title “OS of Choice in the Third World” is not persuasive to luxury car makers!
70% of Android users in the world live on less than $3/day? Where do you come up with that? There are way more than just 30% of Android users world wide that are in the market for luxury cars and in places that are that low income luxury car makers probably aren't selling many cars anyways.
Your comment gives the impression that the vast majority of people that can afford a luxury car are iPhone users. That's simply not true.
Originally Posted by DJH6881
So my lease is almost up on my 15 ES and I test drove the 19.
My salesman mentioned that Android Auto will be available in a few months with a firmware upgrade.
Has anyone else heard about this?
That would be cool but my expectations are pretty low. As an Android user who's getting an ES in February I'm perfectly fine with using the car's built in navigation. Sure, Android Auto would be great but it's not a big enough deal to not get the car. It would just be a bonus.
Android owns 54% of the US market. bc6152's point is well made. Android does own 75% of the world market. Even just considering the US. Lexus is missing over half of the cell phones users. Currently there are only a few manufacturers not offering Android Auto.
Toyota reportedly agrees to add Android Auto to vehicles
September 24, 2018 @ 8:00 am Kevin Buckland
Bloomberg Send us a Letter
Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to add Android Auto to its vehicles, according to a person familiar with the matter, ending years of resistance to the Google infotainment software because of safety and security concerns.
For the first time, Toyota will allow Android Auto devices to connect directly to its cars, after announcing compatibility with Apple Inc.'s CarPlay in January. Previously both platforms could only connect with Toyota vehicles using SmartDeviceLink, a telematics system developed by Ford Motor Co. that controls how Android Auto and CarPlay look on the dash and limits their access to car data.
The addition of Android Auto may attract customers who had stayed away from Toyota vehicles because of the lack of connectivity. More than 80 percent of smartphones use the software from Google, with the rest using Apple's iOS system, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. An announcement could come as early as October, according a different person familiar with the plans. The people didn't want to be identified discussing information that isn't yet public.
For Alphabet, it's another step toward getting its software into more vehicles -- albeit on a much smaller scale than its technology partnership with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.
A Toyota spokesperson said that the carmaker acknowledges demand for Android Auto and that direct connection is something the company is considering, declining to comment beyond that. Google declined to comment.
70% of Android users in the world live on less than $3/day? Where do you come up with that? There are way more than just 30% of Android users world wide that are in the market for luxury cars and in places that are that low income luxury car makers probably aren't selling many cars anyways.
Your comment gives the impression that the vast majority of people that can afford a luxury car are iPhone users. That's simply not true.
That would be cool but my expectations are pretty low. As an Android user who's getting an ES in February I'm perfectly fine with using the car's built in navigation. Sure, Android Auto would be great but it's not a big enough deal to not get the car. It would just be a bonus.
Your comment gives the impression that the vast majority of people that can afford a luxury car are iPhone users. That's simply not true.
Might want to ask your dealer, since they help almost every buyer pair their phone.
Of course there are exceptions, but it is the general rule: Android is the platform of poverty, world wide, with a small segment of loyal techies/contrarians at all income levels.
Maybe you can find something different, but everything I see points one way...
I know people who use an Android because they will never trust encrypted cloud storage and need a pocketful of SD cards for their photos, or they insist on having a clapping sound as their keystroke click, or they rage at the idea of a curated app store preventing the installation of apps from unvetted sources. Numerous edge cases that iOS does not and will never accommodate. And while high-end Android phones are a VERY small splinter of the overall Android market of meh hardware, those seldom-sold top of the line Android phones are quality devices.
I'd expect Lexus to incorporate Android Auto since the effort is relatively small. But their choice to first concentrate on CarPlay just makes sense, since that takes care of most of their buyers.
Might want to ask your dealer, since they help almost every buyer pair their phone.
Of course there are exceptions, but it is the general rule: Android is the platform of poverty, world wide, with a small segment of loyal techies/contrarians at all income levels.
Maybe you can find something different, but everything I see points one way...
I know people who use an Android because they will never trust encrypted cloud storage and need a pocketful of SD cards for their photos, or they insist on having a clapping sound as their keystroke click, or they rage at the idea of a curated app store preventing the installation of apps from unvetted sources. Numerous edge cases that iOS does not and will never accommodate. And while high-end Android phones are a VERY small splinter of the overall Android market of meh hardware, those seldom-sold top of the line Android phones are quality devices.
I'd expect Lexus to incorporate Android Auto since the effort is relatively small. But their choice to first concentrate on CarPlay just makes sense, since that takes care of most of their buyers.
Yeah, it certainly is true that Android is the "platform of poverty" world wide. That's because manufacturers that make low budget phones use Android as the OS for those phones because of it's open source nature. Literally anyone can use and build on Android for free. That includes budget phone makers and high end phone makers.
That is not at all the same as saying way more luxury car buyers use an iPhone. That's why Android has 3/4 of the market world wide. It's because the OS is used for budget phones for high poverty areas AND high end phones. Lexus/Toyota chose not to include Android Auto for "privacy concerns" not because luxury car buyers are primarily iPhone users.
The venn diagram of the “3/4 of the world that uses Android”, 70% of which live on less than $3/day, and Lexus buyers is narrow. Just FYI, having the title “OS of Choice in the Third World” is not persuasive to luxury car makers!
I agree that the Android statistics are a worldwide figure and don’t really relate to developed countries. The statistic I would be more interested in would be the number of luxury car shoppers in countries where Lexus is popular that use Android.
For Toyota/Lexus this is very likely a business decision. I imagine licensing fees are a big part of this debate from Lexus’ perspective - and having dealt with some of Google’s outrageous fees, I can understand why it isn’t a simple decision for the manufacturer. It isn’t merely about building cars that can be all things to all people, but also making them affordable. This is actually why I support subscription services. The manufacturer shouldn’t be paying licensing to both vendors and passing that on to every buyer, when the odds are good that most buyers just only want one or the other. If these were licensed based on a subscription, the customer that wants both could simply purchase both subscriptions and the buyer that doesn’t want either doesn’t have to subsidize those that do when he or she purchases a Lexus automobile.
My personal experience is in a technology field rather than the automotive industry, so this is very speculative on my part. If anyone has any inside information and can confirm how the manufacturer procures these services please do share.
Are we really getting into a debate about which smartphone OS is “better” now?
I don't think it's about which is better (although I wouldn't ever buy an iPhone). It's about assuming that more luxury car buyers are iPhone users because Android happens to dominate the high poverty market.
12-07-18, 03:04 PM
Android Auto?
