Tesla's Dashcam now provides more informative badges
Not a Tesla App
With Tesla's holiday update, version 2023.44.30 and above, Tesla has made several performance improvements to video-heavy features such as the Dashcam Viewer and Tesla Theater apps.
It's not clear whether the improvements are only for Intel Atom entertainment units or if the changes are merely more noticeable on the slower processor, but video-related apps are now faster and more responsive.
Dashcam / Sentry Mode Viewer
There have been performance improvements to Tesla's video apps such as the Dashcam Viewer
Not a Tesla App
When viewing Dashcam footage through the vehicle's built-in viewer, you'll immediately notice that video appears to load faster and play smoother.
When using the progress bar to scrub through footage, you'll also notice a big improvement in responsiveness and less "jumpy" video.
These changes may be in part due to a new open-source Shaka player Tesla implemented in the update leading up to the holiday release. The new Javascript-based player supports a wide array of audio and video codecs that Tesla may be leveraging to improve performance.
Dashcam Icons
Along with improvements to the Dashcam Viewer, Tesla also added more informative icons to the Dashcam. If you commonly use the Dashcam app in your launcher, you'll appreciate these additional badges that provide more information on the state of the Dashcam.
The dashcam icon will now display these states:
Saving / Loading: This icon features a gray badge with arrows letting you know the Dashcam is saving or retrieving footage to the USB drive.
Saved Successfully: After successfully saving footage to the USB drive, a green checkmark badge will now briefly appear on the dashcam icon.
Error / Not Recording: If there is an error with your dashcam, USB drive or recording is turned off, there will be a gray badge with an 'X' that signifies that the dashcam is not actively recording.
Paused: A red pause badge shows up on the dashcam's icon if the dashcam is temporarily not recording, like if the Dashcam Viewer is actively being used.
Tesla Theater
Similar to the improvements to the Dashcam Viewer, Tesla Theater is also seeing significant performance improvements while browsing and watching content.
The improvements are especially noticeable when scrolling through content, watching YouTube, or minimizing Tesla Theater. In general, the interface is smoother and fewer frames are dropped.
These improvements are significant for Intel Atom entertainment units (MCU 2), as these apps could sometimes be frustrating to use due to them being unresponsive or jumping around.
We're not sure if the Shaka media player offers performance improvements over the previous player, whether Tesla switched to a less CPU-intensive video codec for MCU 2 owners, or if there are other underlying changes, but the difference to video apps is very much noticeable and appreciated.
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Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.
Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.
It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.
Advisor-led Demo
This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.
The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.
Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.
Vision-based Improvements
ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.
Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.
I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.
Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.
Actually Smart Summon
ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.
We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.
Park Seek and Banish Autopark
When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.
A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.
While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.
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