Need FM Radio

[sodamo]

Engineering an FM radio into the design costs money.

Engineering the vehicle to be easily serviced (for example) also costs money.

I'd rather Slate Auto spend their limited development budget on the latter.

Agree, let Slate focus resources on truck stuff. These things others clamber about, radios, speakers, etc are readily available and probably cheaper off the shelf and you buy what you want.

 

[Luxrage]

Ford's early '10s era fleet radios feel like a good fit for the Slate. Nice and simple, if only the buttons were rectangular:

I've got a spare junkyard 6-disc changer version that I pulled for someone's now-sold fleet F150. One of the contenders for what will end up in my Slate.

 

[cadblu]

Bluetooth is great for speakers. It’s portable, relatively easy to use, can connect to multiple devices.

But it’s such a no-go in a car. Needs to be charged, connect every time, easily interfered with. Hardwired speakers are the only permanent solution in any car

100% agree. Needing to charge your speakers like every week is a chore I’m not looking forward to. Music should be a seamless experience with no periodic maintenance. Nothing is more annoying than your Bluetooth speakers putting out that awful tone warning you that the battery is low.

I don’t consider myself a true audiophile, but I am predicting that sound quality from optional Slate wired speakers (mounted in the small plastic cubbies in the dash) will be subpar. We know the flip up covers are acoustically transparent, but the small form factor suggests they can only handle mid range at best. Any serious bass response drivers will need to be installed in the door panels or perhaps under the seats In their own enclosures. Actually there really isn’t much real estate available for a decent sound system. I see a real opportunity for aftermarket sound systems customized for Slate. Hint hint.

 

[AZFox]

I'm all for hard-wiring speakers, so let me get that out of the way.

Bluetooth is merely a wireless replacement for the wire(s). No battery is required for that.

Bluetooth speakers could be powered by the vehicle when the ignition is turned on..

They can also connect automatically for no-fuss operation.

 

[sodamo]

Slate: Develop a basic single speaker radio we can plug into the center dashboard. Thank you

And there will be a tsunami of people finding fault.

just give us the connections

 

[Letas]

I'm all for hard-wiring speakers, so let me get that out of the way.

Bluetooth is merely a wireless replacement for the wire(s). No battery is required for that.

Bluetooth speakers could be powered by the vehicle when the ignition is turned on..

They can also connect automatically for no-fuss operation.

If the speakers are powered by the car, why not hardwire them for audio too? A plugged in Bluetooth connected speaker seems the worst of both worlds…

I’m a tech savvy guy, seemingly about 30+ years younger than the average user here, but Bluetooth will never be as no-fuss as hardwired speakers.

 

[AZFox]

If the speakers are powered by the car, why not hardwire them for audio too?

One reason would be because the audio source is Bluetooth.

 

[AZFox]

The Engineers and Designers know people want infotainment in general and audio systems in particular.

Per the Rich Rebuilds video they will offer a basic speaker that sits below the dash, where the BYO speaker holder goes, but in place of that speaker holder.

The 2.1 (stereo with woofer) speakers that go behind the acoustically translucent dash panels is a Premium Audio Option.

Somewhere in one of the videos Eric Kyper said they expect people to install -- I forgot how he put it, so I need to paraphrase -- insane sound systems.

 

[Letas]

One reason would be because the audio source is Bluetooth.

Are you saying direct phone to speakers? That would make sense I guess.

I’m used to (and maybe prefer?) phone to infotainment to speakers, but yeah your solution does work in that situation!

 

[KevinRS]

FM radio chips in phones, I never saw a phone where it was actually enabled.
I personally don't have a car radio that lets me play music through it from my phone, only calls, but everyone I know who does, has dropped listening to FM radio entirely. I'm sure there are statistics out there, and Slate has looked at them, and based the no radio decision on them.
I do wonder, I haven't used a bluetooth speaker that let me make and receive calls before though.
I think radio stations mostly only survive because they only have minimal local programming, played by part time employees, and mostly just play syndicated radio shows.

 

[AZFox]

FM radio chips in phones, I never saw a phone where it was actually enabled.

It's rare. I'm pretty sure a headphone cable becomes the antenna. Probably not a good solution.

Moto G Power (2025)

 

[cvollers]

If the speakers are powered by the car, why not hardwire them for audio too? A plugged in Bluetooth connected speaker seems the worst of both worlds…

I’m a tech savvy guy, seemingly about 30+ years younger than the average user here, but Bluetooth will never be as no-fuss as hardwired speakers.

I’m in for hardwired speakers…they have the best sound. Will locate in the door panels. I don’t think I’m doing a CarPlay head unit…just need an amp for the speakers that can connect to my phone over Bluetooth. It’s what I do now in my FJ (OEM JBL head unit) and it works just fine. Might add a sub under the passenger seat…we’ll see.

 

[motorolas]

From the Rich Rebuilds video, during the walkthrough with Jordan, looks interesting how their render of the Sony CarPlay stereo will look like. I like it.

 

[Dorbiman]

From the Rich Rebuilds video, during the walkthrough with Jordan, looks interesting how their render of the Sony CarPlay stereo will look like. I like it.

This will 100% be the route I take, but the head unit seems slightly too far away from the driver for my liking. I'd prefer if it was centered over the HVAC controls

 

[AZFox]

I’m in for hardwired speakers…they have the best sound. Will locate in the door panels. I don’t think I’m doing a CarPlay head unit…just need an amp for the speakers that can connect to my phone over Bluetooth.

If you connect via Bluetooth the "wired sounds better" feature is nullified because you've introduced the wireless degradation into the signal chain, just somewhere else.

The advantage of active speakers (speaker + bespoke built-in amplifier) is that the amp and speaker can be deliberately paired with one another to sound a certain way.

Slate Auto could, at least potentially, further tune the speakers to the cabin of the vehicle. Think of it as home-audio "room correction", but for the vehicle.

Having a bespoke amp and circuitry designed into an active speaker potentially provides an advantage to pairing a rando amp and rando speakers and hoping it sounds good.

The Audio Kits could have auxiliary-in for removing Bluetooth from the signal chain.