I have an Android S10e (is it still recent?) and with my 2019 Bolt, I have a similar experience except my App never showed a picture of a Bolt..?
I'd say tapping the app icon takes an unusually long time to show anything but more like 1-2 seconds, not 5.
In general the experience is painful. IF it works, it will be slow. I'd say the success rate of anything going through is about 60%

 

Wow, good thing I don’t have any use for a car app.

 

I'm a little amazed that someone would never, not once want to do at least one of these things with an app:

Check if car is locked
Open trunk/frunk
Vent/close windows
Remote start
Flash lights
Honk horn
Turn climate control on and adjust temperature
Defrost car
Check vehicle location
Change schedule for departure charging/precondition
Turn security cameras on/off
Set valet mode
Set speed limit
Manage other driver access
Check charge statistics
Check charging cost and savings over gas
Request service
Watch video guides
Read owners manual
Request roadside assistance
Check mileage or VIN
Check and control charge rate

I really don't understand why Chevy has not greatly stepped up their app game. There is a shining example of functionality and performance in the Tesla app. Why couldn't they just do the same thing with maybe a few improvements?

 

Must be your phone -- and/or perhaps the older Bolts have a slower CPU. With my '23 EUV the apps are quite responsive, launching almost as quickly as they do on the iPhone SE that I am using with CarPlay in the Bolt.

I use Apple Music, Apple Maps, PlugShare, and Electrify America regularly, and Waze on occasion. They generally launch in about a second or two after being tapped. The myChevy app also launches quickly, but I only use it to log the percentage battery charge when I arrive at a DCFC because I can't really figure out anything else to do with it ...

It does take maybe 10-15 seconds from the time that I start the car until the CarPlay home screen appears on the entertainment center's console. I'm assuming that it probably takes about that amount of time for the Chevy entertainment system to fully boot up and wirelessly connect to CarPlay?

I use the same iPhone SE in my '18 Ford Escape and CarPlay is ready to roll after just a couple of seconds once I start the engine, but the Ford is USB wired, not wireless like the Chevy. I suspect that the wireless connection protocol must take a bit longer to establish.

 

I'd like my GM app to be able to set HVAC settings and run them.
If there is a way I haven't found it to tell if doors are locked.

 

I think the answer here is that Tesla is more like a software company that makes cars while GM is a car company that makes software. I think it's a big ask to expect GM to meet or exceed what a Tesla does software/app-wise (I doubt anyone is going to catch them now) but they'd get by on their other strengths if they could at least do some of it.

BTW the above list leaves out my favorite feature: the ability to monitor external and even cabin cameras via the app to see what is going on/in/around your car. I use that for peace of mind when I've parked in an area I'm not familiar with.

Mike

 

I think it's a big ask to expect GM to meet or exceed what a Tesla does software/app-wise

I really don't see it as a big ask. GM has an example of what's possible and have had many years to work on it. This should be an Apple/Android situation where one adds a good feature and then the other comes out with the same or better until they're both great. But instead of being like Apple/Android, GM is being like Symbian.

 

Just my standard this is not Tesla vs everyone else, Ford has a similar app experience as Tesla, I would think the equinox and blazer would be the same. Modern EVs are cool and have cool features, this is not Tesla unique. (I haven't carried keys in over a year on my Ford)

 

Can't compare since I deleted the Chevy app months ago. After the 5 years of Onstar services expired it was useless.

 

I have a late model Android and when using the Chevy app for my '17 Bolt it is slow and weird.
Is this just my phone?
I'll press the app icon, nothing happens for ~5s, did I press it or not??
The app finally opens and spits and sputters, then the stupid image of my car appears, disappears, not much happens for another ~10-15s then it finally settles down and I wait another ~10-15s for 'updating' before it shows any data for my car. I understand, cell phone connection...I guess....

Then when it finally shows current data for the car, the most important data, to me, is range, which is the tiniest font on the whole screen. I need my readers to see it.
Chevy, I know what a white Bolt looks like. Why is that image of a Bolt taking up a good third of the screen space? How about readable fonts?
If I ask for something, like a Precondition, it takes quite a while for that to happen.
Is this what others experience?

The Tesla app is wonderful and quick!
Where to begin? I'll walk away from the car and lock it using the app. Almost immediate response! I'll ask for the window to 'Vent'. Immediate response.
I'm far enough away that I don't think it's a Bluetooth connection with the car
Opening the app when I am very far away from the car it is still quick with current data and 'precondition-like' commands. And it has so many features!

Where did the Chevy app developers go wrong?

Do Bolt and Tesla owners see this striking difference?

I don't know where to begin with the actual M3 and its features!! Pretty amazing! Some silly.

The next Tesla model may be a hatchback and $25k, Elon says...... Tempting...

After having owned a model y... The app is one of the very few advantages the Tesla has over the other EVs I've owned. The App, and supercharging ...that's it. Other than that, it was by far the most disappointing ev I've owned.

 

I'm curious, what made it so disappointing?

 

Hope Chevy would look into upgrading the software to be that responsive even for the not so recent phone.

 

I’ll say again what I said before, in a more emphatic way: few car buyers give a hoot about apps for cars. If the GM apps are as bad as you guys claim, and if apps are so essential to the car experience, then why are Bolts selling like hotcakes?

I say, nobody really cares about apps except fans of apps.

 

....I say, nobody really cares about apps except fans of apps.

OK, that is a valid opinion.
I guess you live where there is never snow and ice on cars and it never has heat and sunshine which can make the interior +130* F.
Very good.
I guess you only use your phone as a phone also.
Very good.
'nobody really cares about' smart phones.
We understand.

'I’ll say again what I said before, in a more emphatic way:' , What if your family is driving your Bolt late at night and a deer punts them into a deep ditch, airbags deploy, there are injuries and the car can't be seen from the road?

There's a service for that, and it has an app.
You can have that service and not use the app if you don't have a smart phone.

 

When I got my 2015 Volt, there was a phone app. I tried it. I could pre-condition the car. Ok, that is a minimally useful feature, but nice for ppl who can’t tolerate a few minutes of discomfort and are willing to waste energy in their pursuits if it’s opposite.

I could lock and unlock the doors. Whatever.

I could do a bunch of things to the car from a distance that was kind of, well, cool, for ppl who like to fool around with cell phones and tiny software packages.

I not opposed to good software. Good software is rare. Good cars OTOH are everywhere and the onboard, behind the scenes software is generally excellent, foolproof. I see no need to make it goofy to appeal to we who stare at our phones all day. And I believe more ppl think like this than not, which is exactly why GM doesn’t spend the resources it would take to make the app as good as the ECM.

 

...I could pre-condition the car. Ok, that is a minimally useful feature, but nice for ppl who can’t tolerate a few minutes of discomfort and are willing to waste energy in their pursuits if it’s opposite.

I could do a bunch of things to the car from a distance that was kind of, well, cool, ....

Yes, it's kind of 'Cool' not standing out in the freezing wind at the airport parking lot, late at night, scraping the ice off the windows. (Or hoping into a 140° car interior.)
I can start the first of two preconditions the minute my phone is back online after touchdown.
Locally we can get ice storms. The interior of the car needs to be warm to get this coating of ice off the glass. Maybe you have never experienced this condition where you live....

"Willing to waste energy" ??? By that logic you shouldn't be using any heat or AC when you drive your car, correct? Such a 'waste'....

Krusty, I do understand your luddite attitude towards current 'phone' usage.
I wonder where the current generation will be when a large percentage of their life is spent with their heads cocked down scrolling thru,,, whatever it is that has their nonstop attention.

For me, it's fantastic that I can precondition my car's interior from a distance. BTW, AC usage does not use that much 'energy', heating uses way more, but either way, pal, we're talking pennies.
I started out with a Volt. Do you drive a Bolt now? Do you really plop down in a freezing car or stinking hot car just to save a nickel?

I started this thread mainly to point out how long it takes using the Chevy app (and its limited features) vs the Tesla app (and all its features)!

But the M3 itself? OMG!!! Don't get me started!
Maybe someday I'll pay the price of admission. But as always, I need a hatchback with FWD,,, (the weather, you understand...)
The few times I used a high power supercharger,,, I saw the future! I mostly charged for free at the hotel. Try that with a typical rental...
My rental was a 'midrange', which I think is a RWD and it's range was similar to my Bolt.
The one time I charged to 100% before a long trip I was surprised by the lack of regen, which upset my groove of driving 1 Pedal. I had to use the Brake Pedal suddenly!