california-audi

I received an email from Audi inviting me to participate in the "myAudi Talking Progress series" today.
What I found in the fine print is this interesting gem:
That's the first I've heard about end of Google Earth. Granted...it's a few years away...but I was planning to keep the car for 5 years. And Google Earth is one of the best features of this vehicle.

What's the story here? Is this just news to me? Or is anyone else caught off guard by this statement?

Cheers from California!
2017 Audi A4 - First Edition Series

KevinB656

There have been a couple of threads on this. Audi, BMW and Mercedes recently bought Nokia's "Here" mapping service, which includes imagery. Most people think Audi is going to replace GE with Here. More info:

https://www.wired.com/2015/08/bmw-au...-mapping-tech/

JDA_yeg

^ After reading that article, I guess I see the benefits of moving away from Google Maps to HERE since it offers a lot more than just satellite imagery.

Edelwild

Is Audi actually going to upgrade MY18 and older cars to the new system though? That doesn't sound very Audi to me.

KevinB656

I think they'd have a legal problem on their hands if they took away a feature that we paid for and didn't replace it with something comparable.

Strife1013

Audi only uses Googlemaps for an overlay. They navigation stuff is HERE.

KevinB656

Yes, but the thought is that they will eventually substitute the HERE overlay for GoogleEarth. They can't sell a car that has an image overlay and then take it away without substituting something similar.

mmorais

Sorry. Why can't they? Isn't google earth part of Connect Prime in the US and an optional payment?

KevinB656

Yes, but many of us bought the car we did because of the availability of that option. If they take away that option, we haven't received what we paid for. There was nothing in any of the materials, at least when I bought my car a year ago, saying that option might be taken away. I would feel pretty good about bringing that class action suit if it happened. Why would they not simply substitute the HERE imagery overlay since they own it?

JDA_yeg

Fine print does state that online services are subject to change. But I'm sure that removing google maps overlay doesn't mean they won't replace it with HERE.