Facelift Google Earth view no longer supported

[Spinstorm]

http://www.vwroc.com/forums/topic/21657-official-google-earth-no-longer-supported/?page=2

May or may not be true. Someone tweet Audi.

 

[Audi Bairn]

Something else to get peed off about if true.
I've Tweeted them.
Hopefully they get back within 24 hours.

 

[glospete]

And it's not just Google Earth view, which I happen to use all the time, but presumably Google Street View also which I find very useful. That's a real shame if this turns out to be true.


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[Lehn]

After searching for the last 10 min on Google I keep bumping into that post as the only one saying something like that. I can't come up with one reason to why Audi wouldn't use the Google Earth layout anymore. Yes the license may be expensive but it really makes Audi have an advantage compared to competitors GUI-wise.

 

[paradigital]

Which means we'd likely lose the ability to send a destination to the car from Google Maps also.

 

[Salty]

Which means we'd likely lose the ability to send a destination to the car from Google Maps also.

The MMI connect app works really well for this I find.

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[cuke2u]

Its not google earth, it is a satellite image on top of a navigation map as far as I understand from HERE https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4...n-212/google-earth-going-away-2021-a-2924440/

 

[glospete]

I sent an email this morning to my contact at Audi Exeter with the post from AudiWorld re this and he checked and according to their official information on Connect there are no bulletins re this. Let's hope the rumour on AudiWorld is incorrect.


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[Vertigo1]

They'll get a lot of flack if they dropped this, especially as they use the full Google Earth map display to promote the virtual cockpit feature a lot.

 

[Spinstorm]

From VW:

Vehicle Identification Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Dear Dr XXXXXX

Thank you for your patience.

First of all, we want to inform you that your Volkswagen Golf was produced for the British market. This has no influence on the
usage of the Car-Net services mentioned in your previous e-mail.

Google has changed its technical interface. Therefore, the Google features “Google Earth” and “Google Street View” are
unfortunately not available anymore. This affects all vehicles which have been produced after 28th May 2017. Your Volkswagen
Golf was produced after this date. For this reason the Google services are not available.

The service “Gracenote” was implemented as a new function with the model upgrade in calendar week 22, 2017 and is available in
whole Europe.

In this context a reset of your vehicle is not necessary or even possible.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Yours sincerely,
i. V. Mario Meyer i. V. Denis Magiera

Volkswagen AG
38436 Wolfsburg
Tel +49 (0) 5361 83 89 99 17
Mail to customercare@volkswagen.de
Homepage http://www.volkswagen.com



VOLKSWAGEN AG
Sitz/Domicile: Wolfsburg
Registergericht/Court of Registry: Amtsgericht Braunschweig
HRB Nr./. Commercial Register No.: 100484
Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats/Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Hans Dieter Poetsch
Vorstand/Board of Management: Matthias Mueller (Vorsitzender/Chairman), Karlheinz Blessing, Herbert Diess, Francisco J. Garcia
Sanz, Jochem Heizmann, Andreas Renschler, Rupert Stadler, Hiltrud D. Werner, Frank Witter


Wichtiger Hinweis: Die vorgenannten Angaben werden jeder E-Mail automatisch hinzugefuegt und lassen keine Rueckschluesse auf den
Rechtscharakter der E-Mail zu.
Important Notice: The above information is automatically added to this e-mail. This addition does not constitute a
representation that the content of this e-mail is legally relevant and/or is intended to be legally binding upon VOLKSWAGEN AG.

 

[glospete]

So what's the story behind this letter? Is it genuine? It is actually contradictory because it says it affects all cars produced after 28 May 2017 but then says your Golf was produced after that date and for this reason Google services are not available. Doh!
Looks like a wind up to me.

 

[Spinstorm]

It's from the other forum. Not mine. It obviously says Golf not Audi.

And my car was built after May 28th! But I think it's a safe assumption that if VW are dropping it that Audi will follow as the MMI system is the same underneath even if it looks different.


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[glospete]

I have received a follow up call from my contact at my dealership after I questioned him about this Google Earth situation. The Technical guy has visited them today and can confirm that:
1. Google Street View will disappear from all our cars from the end of 2017.
2. VW and Seat will definitely drop Google Earth also but there is a debate within Audi as to whether they keep it. My contact reckons it is a 60% chance that it will continue.
So there we have it. No more Street View and there is only a slightly better than evens chance that Google Earth will stay. My contact said his dealership knew nothing at all about all this until I highlighted it. Great German Communication.


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[OST]

I have received a follow up call from my contact at my dealership after I questioned him about this Google Earth situation. The Technical guy has visited them today and can confirm that:
1. Google Street View will disappear from all our cars from the end of 2017.
2. VW and Seat will definitely drop Google Earth also but there is a debate within Audi as to whether they keep it. My contact reckons it is a 60% chance that it will continue.
So there we have it. No more Street View and there is only a slightly better than evens chance that Google Earth will stay. My contact said his dealership knew nothing at all about all this until I highlighted it. Great German Communication.


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If this is indeed correct, that renders my very expensive VC ae useless...

Oh Audi..

 

[cuke2u]

Very strange considering that the licence to use google earth has been extended to 2020, whereas the licence previously stated the services may not be available after the end of 2017. See post #51 http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/google-earth-map-excessive-loading.330860/page-2
See section 12 here https://www.audiusa.com/technology/intelligence/audi-connect

 

[cemerson]

Google has changed its technical interface. Therefore, the Google features “Google Earth” and “Google Street View” are unfortunately not available anymore. This affects all vehicles which have been produced after 28th May 2017. Your Volkswagen
Golf was produced after this date. For this reason the Google services are not available.

This doesn't look real to me. For one, changing the 'technical interface' is not a reason to discontinue, unless Audi's software engineers are EXTREMELY incompetent. They just implement the new interface, as they will have had to do with the original.

Secondly, that reason doesn't make sense for setting a cut-off date for the cars that support it or not.

 

[Spinstorm]

Actually one factor to consider is going forward all Audi cars will use Android so Google Maps will be built in - and quite possibly it may have satellite view.

We will see on the A8 which is the first Audi with Android.

 

[itf]

Would this mean losing the online live traffic? Would be extremely disappointed if this is the case.

 

[Vertigo1]

Don't care about StreetView but, if Earth maps disappear from the virtual cockpit then, as I said, Audi are going to have a lot of complaints about mis-selling.

 

[vamos]

Sounds like google playing games again. I've been through this loop with them in the past; apis changed; protocols completely redesigned. You'll probably find they've imposed some impossible security requirements as well just to make everyone's life hell. Audi don't help though - in general all these automotive systems are far too static in terms of design; access and control.

 

[cemerson]

It's not 'playing games' - they give users plenty of warning and time to change to the new API. If they've designed their software correctly, it's a case of writing a simple adapter for the new API, hardly expensive.

 

[vamos]

I'm afraid we'll disagree on that. I've seen them redesign apis constantly to waste users time. Software engineering time is expensive; bodging a wrapper around a wrapper is hardly elegant or easy to test.
I'm pretty sure Audi doesn't have the man power to play this game nor the time or risk of constantly updating mmi software. Wouldn't be surprised if Audi get it done by some 3rd party sweat shop like crapita or such like.

 

[cemerson]

I don't think someone like google gets where they are by "wasting users' time". They have legitimate needs to upgrade to support new features, security contexts, deprecate old features it becomes too expensive to support etc. As for 'bodging a wrapper around a wrapper' - coding to an interface rather than an implementation is one of the core principles of good software design, and in fact makes it much easier to test, as well as being more elegant, so you're talking rubbish there I'm afraid.

 

[vamos]

Whatever pal. You've obviously never had to work with the ril in android.

 

[James Travis]

Clarification from Audi CS. Very frustrating!

 

[Salty]

Nice and clear....so that's talking about street view, what about google earth?

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[glospete]

As I said in my earlier post #13 it appears that Audi have not made a decision on Google Earth. Let's keep everything crossed that they see the sense of continuing with it.

 

[OST]

If they go ahead with this, they will be receiving one hell of a stinking letter/email of complaint - in my opinion, it makes the VC pointless

 

[cuke2u]

Nice and clear....so that's talking about street view, what about google earth?

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Well as Audi have just renewed the licence until 2020 that suggests it is still going to work beyond this year...

 

[paradigital]

If they go ahead with this, they will be receiving one hell of a stinking letter/email of complaint - in my opinion, it makes the VC pointless

So the ONLY thing you use VC for is street view?

 

[OST]

So the ONLY thing you use VC for is street view?

Haha...go on then, what else do you use it for? Clearly I check I am within the speed limit and how many more miles I have put on the car since the month before and to call the occasional person but yes, primairly, I use the street view close in and the main screen for a wider range view.

I am able to do everything on the main screen apart from using different map views which I use daily as I am in central London.

Dont get me wrong, I love it, but without the ability to use the street view its an unnecessary extension of the main screen...

 

[glospete]

If they go ahead with this, they will be receiving one hell of a stinking letter/email of complaint - in my opinion, it makes the VC pointless

I think you should begin to draft your letter as there seems no doubt that Street View is history from the end of this year. What gets me (besides losing it) is that we all know that they'll be no communication from Audi to us owners that it's disappearing. As I told my guy at Audi Exeter (who as a company knew nothing about this until I told them!) you'll receive a bunch of complaints from customers who don't follow forums, that their Connect isn't working correctly because Street View isn't visible. This will clog up the service department etc - and all for the sake of a letter from Audi UK to customers telling them that it's happening and when and also why, but I doubt that they'll ever do that!


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[paradigital]

Haha...go on then, what else do you use it for? Clearly I check I am within the speed limit and how many more miles I have put on the car since the month before and to call the occasional person but yes, primairly, I use the street view close in and the main screen for a wider range view.

I am able to do everything on the main screen apart from using different map views which I use daily as I am in central London.

Dont get me wrong, I love it, but without the ability to use the street view its an unnecessary extension of the main screen...

You are actually meaning that you use street view every single time you use nav, or are you confusing the satellite overlay with first person POV street view?

 

[OST]

You are actually meaning that you use street view every single time you use nav, or are you confusing the satellite overlay with first person POV street view?

Both, no confusion.

Now what do you use VC for (if you have it)

 

[cemerson]

This is just like Facebook disappearing. Not that I'm bothered about it as I never used it, but the story was that Facebook deprecated an API version and Audi were too lazy/tight to update their code to communicate with a newer version. If they do the same with Google Earth, will be time to look at other brands I think, especially if the touch screen from the new A8 filters down into lower models.

 

[paradigital]

Both, no confusion.

Now what do you use VC for (if you have it)

I use it almost exclusively rather than using the main MMI display. I leave the middle display and controls for the wife to use without interrupting me seeing the navigation data. Don't think I've used street view once on my S3, used it a few times on my old A4 B8 but mainly as a talking point to passengers. From what I recall, street view isn't even usable whilst the vehicle is in motion. A feature I can only use whilst stationary is hardly a major factor in choosing to spec VC or not!

 

[kevpuk]

....just catching up on this, but the same thing happened with Mercedes quite recently: My previous car was a (facelift) Mercedes CLS......when I bought it, factory fresh in December 2014, the COMAND system had, amongst other things, Facebook, Google maps and Google Street View, but over the course of a year or so these features started disappearing. First Facebook went, no big loss in a car, but then Maps and Street View.....additionally, the system lost the 'jukebox' function, so no longer able to store music on the HDD.

Now I have moved brands to Audi....bit of a sense of deja vu?!