I will not buy a new car without CarPlay. Period.
Every daily driver I have owned (quite a few at this point) has been a Chevy. I will not upgrade if I am stuck with a shitty infotainment system. This isn’t 2006 where I have to use a cassette tape with aux cable to use my iPod. I absolutely need AA or CarPlay
Like OEM’s can assemble a multi billion dollar system of personalized music delivery of quality superior to CD’s for less than their entire market capitalizations.
The shrewd hand it off to the Masters Of The Game and rake in the respect.
Actual conversation:
Me - “So what are you thinking? Like a van? Or an SUV?”
Wife - “Oh, whatever you like. I don’t really care.”
Me - “Well, it’s your car. Do you want something big like a 4-runner or something smaller like a Forester?”
Wife - “Whatever you can get a deal on. I can drive anything.”
Me - “What about color? Any preferences?”
Wife - “Just not yellow. I hate yellow cars.”
Me - “Any must-haves like heated seats or a sunroof?”
Wife - “As long as it has A/C and CarPlay I’ll be happy.
“Whatever you can get a deal on. I can drive anything.”
BMW XM Label
Redit is.Damn. Mine will decide on every option, wheel base, color, hp etc
I’ve never understood the appeal of Android auto or Apple Carplay. I just set my phone to play what I want to listen to. Can someone tell me what those apps do differently/better? (Genuine question)
They play it over the car’s stereo. It puts it on a big screen that is right there so you don’t have to pick up your phone to look at the map to see how far up a turn is coming. It integrates with the car’s dashboard, shows upcoming turns and caller ID in the gauge cluster. The music and phone controls tie in to my steering wheel controls. It makes it legal to use those things on your phone since you’re not having to hold it.
It’s one of those things where most people don’t realize how much more convenient it is until they’ve used it for a while.
It’s still a distraction to use while driving, but people are using it regardless, so might as well do it in a way that makes it less distracting.
Why would I want to interact with my phone while driving? It’s distracting, not to mention illegal. Much easier to hit the big, properly sized buttons on my much larger truck screen which I barely have to look at. It works natively with my steering wheel controls.
Google Assistant works without me touching a single button. It autoplays the last music or podcast I had on. The navigation is significantly better on a proper display. It autopopulates my navigation based on my upcoming calendar events and habits.
I don’t have to plug anything in or bother mounting my phone in some obnoxious location, I just drop it on the wireless pad if my drive is going to be a long one or leave it in my pocket if not.
It’s better in every conceivable way.
Like, are you asking why Waze is better than some car makers maps? Um, okay:
- Maps are always up to date, for free. We moved into a new house in new block, and Waze (nor car maps) had our house or street - opened Waze map editor, entered my house, neighbours houses, three days later food delivery guys had no trouble delivering food to us and our neighbours - Google Maps and Waze got updated. That easy.
- Live traffic information. Hidden police where everyone is doing 10 over speed limit? Marked. Accident and your usual street is in a standstill? Marked, new route provided. Street is closed for maintenance? Marked, up to date route is calculated. You used to turn left in this intersection for 5 years and suddenly there’s new sign saying you can’t? Waze knows that and shows route correctly, your Toyota will tell you to turn left.
I seriously had no idea why manufacturers even bother adding navigation to their cars, but it seems there’s still people like you who… use it? :D
My 2004 honda doesn’t have nav or even a touch screen. I use my phone and connect it to my radio. I’ve only rented one car with AA, and I’ve never used Apple, which is why I asked what all the buzz was about. There’s no reason for you to comment like I’m an idiot. I didn’t know, that’s why I asked, hence me marking it as a genuine question.
the one thing I love about AA: having Google Maps on the main car screen. It’s SO much nicer than either peeking down at my phone to see a weird intersection, taking my eyes off the road for longer, or having my GPS voice interrupt a podcast. This way if I’m getting directions, I can do a quick glance like I do my mirrors. This also pairs with Google Maps/Waze just being better than normal in-car GPSs. Also, being able to change stuff by your car screen instead of your phone while stopped or driving I think is also nicer.
I’ve been using Apple CarPlay for around 4 years now, it’s so intuitive and easy to use I genuinely will be hard pressed to buy a car that doesn’t have it as a standard feature.
At this point i would rather have an ancient double din system that i can upgrade to have apple carplay than something new and built in that i can’t just replace for apple carplay.
I don’t even use Hondas interface except to change setting, android auto is simplicity perfected
I can’t imagine buying a car without it.
Thinking while using an iPhone “how difficult can replicating this OS be?”
Something like hundreds of developers, millions of work hours and like a billion dollars.
GM can do it easy peasy.
This would honestly affect my decision. I live on Android Auto.
Android auto has become a necessity for me from now on. Any car that doesn’t have it, or can’t be added, total deal breaker. I know I’m not alone in this.
I thought new Volvos were Android only? Can someone explain the situation?
VOLVO MENTIONED AND BASED
I have Apple Car Play in my current and previous car. Went to visit my partner and driving their car was mildly annoying without CarPlay.
No maps, had to physically use my phone for music rather than steering wheel controls, and no phone connectivity.
It’s absolutely a necessity now.