Hey, folks! I've vaguely followed EVPlay for a bit when thinking about buying a Gen2 Rivian, but I was on the fence considering an R2 so I didn't dig too deeply. Once I learned that the R2 will not feature a native FM tuner in its hardware stack, I realized I'll more than likely end up with an R1 rather than an R2.
My primary use cases are simply around having full control over a device I own, and continuing to support my abhorrence of subscription payment models. As such, my questions!
I'd like to potentially use the native EVPlay OS for most use cases, rather than wired or wireless Android Auto. As a result, my Android Auto questions:
- It sounds like there's a bit of latency with wireless Android Auto. Is that still the case?
- Is wired Android Auto more performant and less laggy?
My EVPlay native OS questions:
- Does the current generation of HW (available for $425) include native GPS available to a Google Maps application without a personal phone connected (i.e.: when just connected to the puck + car hotspot)?
- It sounds like a nice little keyboard is included (lovely if so!), but could I be wild and pair my own Bluetooth based keyboard/mouse/trackpad? Wondering about being a nutter and carrying a lightweight Apple Keyboard and Trackpad.
- Is it feasible to trigger audio input on the native OS via the EVPlay UI when doing things like inputting an address in a Maps application -- VIA a button on the steering wheel?
- Presumably you can click a microphone icon in Google Maps to provide input?
- Is it fair to say if it's in the mainline Google Play Store, you can install it? Basically curious about Pocket Casts, Plex, PlexAMP ... I'm pretty simple!
My wider questions:
- Is trying to / planning to try and stay with the native EVPlay-only UI a fools errand, or a first-class citizen in the ecosystem?
- How's the update process for the native OS? I suppose I really mean AndroidOS here, not necessarily the updates I've seen posted in the change log area.
- Does the device support side loading? I don't do much, but occasionally I install a thing or two through FDroid.
- Any concerns / plans around Android's upcoming lockout process around side loading?
Finally, I'd just like to say thank you for producing such a product as this. It makes me happy to see there's a community of folks doing stuff like this. Thank you!