Can a google-hater live with an XC40?

[DanishPastry]

Having shed my beloved petrol-driven XC40, I am missing it, and thinking about a pure EV.
But I'm distressed to hear that Volvo have jumped totally in to bed with google.

This household doesn't have any truck with them, so I'm wondering if it's possible to run a new XC40 and be mostly, or completely immune/isolated from google?

Or is it so deeply built-in the the car, you're stuck with it?

Thanks.
Mark

[eugen61]

Once you finished setting up the car, with an iPhone it’s possible to bypass almost everything “Google” in the car’s interface. Apple CarPlay integration is much better than in the old Sensus, it projects in portrait mode on the center display and Apple Maps can be projected in the driver display. That being said, the car’s operating system is Google and you’re stuck with it, but you won’t “see” it until it notifies an OTA system update. More details here: viewtopic.php?t=3636

[Cro]

Having shed my beloved petrol-driven XC40, I am missing it, and thinking about a pure EV.
But I'm distressed to hear that Volvo have jumped totally in to bed with google.

This household doesn't have any truck with them, so I'm wondering if it's possible to run a new XC40 and be mostly, or completely immune/isolated from google?

Or is it so deeply built-in the the car, you're stuck with it?

Thanks.
Mark

Android is pretty much unavoidable on new Volvos. Only the PHEV XC40s are still produced with the Sensus OS that offer some EV functionality.

[percymon]

I've been an iphone /ipad user for over 20 years. I've occasionally used Apple Carplay in a few previous cars, but never felt the need if i'm honest

Nearly 3k miles into C40 ownership and I've used Carplay once. I'm happy enough enough with Google maps; if i did use Carplay then I'd probably use Waze over Apple Maps anyway. If i covered a lot of business miles to many new destinations regularly then perhaps i'd have a different view; but for the occassional longer journey i have no issue with the Google system. As to the rest of the Google system it seems to work fine, albeit the app store is limited.

[eugen61]

It depends on each one’s app usage while driving. I don’t have AAOS in my car, I only test drove one for a couple of days and I agree with percymom. I’m fully into Apple universe and I won’t use Apple CarPlay in AAOS since my driving app choice is Waze (navigation), WhatsApp (calls and texting), SoundCloud (music streaming), apps that are available for AAOS. My other reason to avoid Apple CarPlay is that my iPhone gets overheated while using wired CarPlay, thus degrading the battery.

For now, iPhone owners using apps available only for iOS and not for AAOS, (Apple’s iMessage, FaceTime, Calendar, Music, Podcasts and Maps or Receiver, Mixcloud, VLC) could find Apple CarPlay a better solution compared with the AAOS Google native system.

Currently available apps for AAOS: https://play.google.com/store/apps?device=car

[Rifleman]

I have all of the music tracks I require on a Samsung 256Gb thumb drive. I have no intention of using a streaming service. Is there an app available in AAOS that would allow me to play tracks from a memory stick/drive?

[eugen61]

Is there an app available in AAOS that would allow me to play tracks from a memory stick/drive?

AudioWagon app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... audiowagon

[DanishPastry]

Thanks for the comments. As a seperate issue, "Is your new car spying on you", has appeared as a news topic, e.g. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29566764

Think anything using Android Auto will be off my list

[JFDIT]

Pretty much every car built in the last 10 years communicates with the Mother Ship one way or another.
I assume you don't have a smart phone or home WiFi....

[Bradders]

Thanks for the comments. As a seperate issue, "Is your new car spying on you", has appeared as a news topic, e.g. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29566764

Unless you’re an off grid spoon whittler, never use the internet and only ever pay in cash, you’re being spied on. Big data is just a fact of life these days. The aim is to minimise data collection through privacy settings because it’s impossible to eliminate it entirely. That said most of the time you’re a tiny data element in a huge data pool, or as one ex-colleague of mine put it, a floating tomato skin in a sewage works… almost invisible to the human eye. It’s the algorithms that do all the work. Cyber crime however is a very real threat though and sadly many of us have or will experience it.