Rivian software boss says Google in, button out, open

Some of these changes and features will be rolled out before the end of the year

Google Cast will soon be available on Rivian vehicles. This was one of the most notable announcements made during a recent fireside chat with Rivian Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid, which included car spoon. During the discussion, Bensaid gave a brief overview of the brand’s ongoing software development and introduced features to look out for and some that might raise eyebrows.

For a company that has studiously eschewed Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, the addition of Google Cast marks an interesting, if somewhat sideways, step forward. Google Cast isn’t a perfect solution, but it will enhance the overall experience for Rivian customers. Now, the company is about to roll out software update .47 before the end of 2024. Rivian’s engineers didn’t stop there, they’re also working on giving back-seat passengers the ability to project content directly onto the rear screen.

Voice control to competitors’ physical interfaces

In addition to Google Cast, Rivian is also improving its speech-to-text functionality, with artificial intelligence playing a key role. Bensaid confirmed it will co-exist with Alexa, which is already integrated into its vehicles. He also said that everything you can access in the infotainment system should be accessible via speech-to-text.

More: Physical controls are back as drivers tire of endless touchscreen menus

Yes, he wanted to allow your voice to do anything in the system that your hands could do. He also believes owners will be able to access the same functionality via their mobile devices. Best of all, he said it will happen by 2025.

Physical buttons? Unlikely

To be fair, the brand doesn’t really have many physical buttons on its cars in the first place. Still, after decades of moving away from physical buttons and toward touch screens, the market appears to be moving back toward physical buttons. When asked if Rivian would start adding physical buttons as well, Bensaid made his stance clear.

While the company is adding tactile buttons to the steering wheels of its cars, the main interface won’t change much. “We believe that if we have an interface that is cluttered and has a lot of physical buttons, the challenge with physical buttons is that they’re always there,” Bensaid said.

“You can never change them, you’ve assigned the functionality. However, if you make it as software, you can improve it over time based on customer feedback. That’s why we don’t want to limit ourselves to physical buttons guidelines,” he added.

Carscoops goes the extra mile with things like the climate control buttons. Here’s what Rivian’s Vivek Surya told us.

“In Rivian vehicles, climate controls are integrated into the entire software stack, which means they interact with different systems within the vehicle,” Surya said. “We want as many features as possible to be scalable and modular so we can quickly evolve the in-car experience and reduce the mental burden on customers as complex hardware and software work together behind the scenes to enable features such as automation.”

For example, here are some of the latest features that demonstrate the untethered flexibility that physical buttons give us:

• Driver profile-specific customizable vent positions, allowing multiple vents to be set simultaneously with just one touch
• Three-zone climate control, expanding the scope of customization and adding access to more fine-tuned controls.

Unlockable power and range may be on the table

Rivian’s Connect+ software also raises questions about range and power. As of this writing, Connect+ only includes a bunch of additional features and is priced at $14.99 per month ($19.99 CAD) or $149.99 per year ($199.99 CAD). Owners can register in their car, on their phone or online. That said, the moderator asked Bensaid if the architecture will eventually sell other unlockable content.

“Do you think customers will want performance or range upgrades?” he responded. When the moderator confirmed, Bensaid simply said, “Well, if you think so, then I think we should do it.” This could mean we might see Rivians offer customers some of its full capabilities or scope or both. Everyone is locked behind a paywall. At the moment, it’s unclear when (or even if) this will actually happen, but it seems to be being considered.

Photo Stephen Rivers/Carscoops