Alexander Levy – on Yandex services in Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
Kommersant FM columnist Alexander Levy talks about why Yandex. Navigator “and” Yandex. Maps ”decided to improve their system.
The client must suffer. This is the only way I can explain such a long adaptation of Yandex's key services for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which finally happened. These automotive systems have been around for at least six years. And all this time, the Russian leader in the field of car navigation has diligently avoided the obvious request of users.
There are several reasons for this. But, I think, the key one is the healthy ambitions of the Russian IT company. She grows her own ecosystem. Claims or at least dreams of competing with Google, Apple, Amazon and others. There is also this “Sberbank” at hand. Therefore, it is trivial to develop one of its most valuable resources, Yandex did not want to.
The company did a good job by creating its own version of the Yandex. Auto “. You have probably met this in car sharing. On different machine models, it behaves with varying degrees of predictability, speed, and fault tolerance. To put it mildly, it is far from Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
And two years ago Yandex. Auto ”went on sale for certain car models. I remember very well how it seemed at least some way out of the situation when there is no Apple CarPlay in the car, but there is a need to use the navigator almost daily. Moreover, a whole head unit with installed Yandex. Auto “. And for my car, for example, it cost 25 thousand rubles.
All this time, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay have acquired new applications, including navigation analogs. What prevented Yandex from taking this seriously? I think looking for more benefits.
No illusions, this is just business. Selling Yandex. Auto ”among ordinary users, it seems, did not have the desired success. And, for example, the 2GIS service purchased by Sber, launched testing in Android Auto at the end of last year, and in April it already began to work fully in the automotive system. And the arrival of 2GIS on Apple CarPlay happened three years ago.
And we must admit that even in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other megacities the superiority of Yandex. Navigator ”is beyond doubt, in the regions 2GIS is often more accurate, and most importantly, more useful. So why should users pay for Yandex in automotive systems? After all, it turned out that using its services in Android Auto and Apple CarPlay is possible only by subscription. I think because the navigator on the home screen in the car in Yandex view is still a unique luxury.
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