Rivian announces Google Cast and YouTube for R1T and R1S EVs

Electric Vehicle (EV) company Rivian has announced a partnership with Google to bring Google Cast and YouTube for R1T and R1S vehicles.

These two capabilities will help you pass the time while charging or relaxing in your R1 model. Google Cast will enable high-quality sound from cast-enabled apps on your iPhone Android phone or tablet directly on the large screen.

To use, you need to park your vehicle and ensure your phone or tablet is connected to the Rivian Wi-Fi hotspot. Then tap the Google Cast icon on your phone or tablet screen.

After selecting, the car will show a casting option. Tap  “Rivian” on the screen to start the casting process and the video from your phone will start showing on the car screen with sound without losing quality.

Importantly, you will have access to controls right into your car screen to play/pause, next and previous the playback, or just skip the video. You can continue the casting while texting or calling from your phone without worrying about the disturbance in the casting experience or draining the device’s battery.

However, the video playback will only work in park mode and will pause automatically when you switch to Drive mode for safety.

YouTube App

Aside from Google Cast, Rivian also announced a native YouTube app for Rivian vehicles, which will rollout in the next few months.

YouTube for Rivian R1T and R1S vehicles (Image Source – Rivian)

You can access the YouTube tab from the video app in your center display to browse, search, and play content. You can explore the entire video library that YouTube has to offer including music.

It is sort of a web application and it will let you control the video with play, pause, and skip capabilities.

Rivian says Google Cast and YouTube will be available to new and existing Rivian R1T and R1s models with a new over-the-air software update rolling out soon for customers.

(Source)