CarPlay Apple CarPlay.. Why does it suck so bad?

[Spankey]

You can add me to the list of people you know (even tenuously!) and I'll say that I would not shed a tear if the UI of my Honda's infotainment system completely disappeared. It's a piece of ****.

There isn't even a PAUSE button in the music player. WTF.

I use CarPlay all the time, and only mess with the stock system to change a setting on the car itself (which is getting more and more rare as time goes on).

Yep, my Honda Infotainment and even Garmin maps is not worth the effort. Apple Maps have improved greatly and always gets me the best route.

My biggest complaint with CarPlay is 3rd Party Apps. Apps that don't launch from the cars touchscreen until the phone is opened should not be approved by Apple. iHeart Radio is the biggest offender. Otherwise, I love CarPlay.

 

[Church boy]

Just wanted to see if everyone had the same feelings, or if it's just me...


Example 1: audio from the GPS.. Sometimes its loud over the music, sometimes it won't lower the music so I can hear it

example 2: I have NO music playing.. But when the GPS kicks in to give me an audible message, the music starts playing from nothing

example 3: your messages are read to you. Period.. I GET the point of not being able to look down.. But, I CANT read my messages on the screen at all??? Or WORSE yet, why is it when I pick my phone up and open a message on my phone, the carplay starts playing the message

example 4: the car play MIRRORs everything I'm doing on my phone.. So, navigation goes away if I want to open a message.



I can go on a bit more.. But is it just me, or is there a fix or something here.

 

[mikejd1]

Yup. Car
yup. Car play just sucks. Period. In fact for me it’s more frustrating to use than anything and puts me at more risk for accidents than anything

 

[Church boy]

Just wanted to see if everyone had the same feelings, or if it's just me...


Example 1: audio from the GPS.. Sometimes its loud over the music, sometimes it won't lower the music so I can hear it

example 2: I have NO music playing.. But when the GPS kicks in to give me an audible message, the music starts playing from nothing

example 3: your messages are read to you. Period.. I GET the point of not being able to look down.. But, I CANT read my messages on the screen at all??? Or WORSE yet, why is it when I pick my phone up and open a message on my phone, the carplay starts playing the message

example 4: the car play MIRRORs everything I'm doing on my phone.. So, navigation goes away if I want to open a message.



I can go on a bit more.. But is it just me, or is there a fix or something here.

I have had all of these things and more happen. It is the worst, most distracting car device ever. I have a Honda Civic with a weird all touch-screen audio system and apple carplay. I’ve been looking for a replacement system if anyone has any ideas.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

I have had all of these things and more happen. It is the worst, most distracting car device ever. I have a Honda Civic with a weird all touch-screen audio system and apple carplay. I’ve been looking for a replacement system if anyone has any ideas.

i have a honda civic and i have no problems with Apple Carplay. Looks like you need the update to that infotainment! i will not buy a car which doesnt offer Apple Carplay!

 

[Ollé]

It's here nor there for me.

I've got a Golf GTI w/Nav and a pretty decent infotainment setup and CarPlay just duplicates a lot of the already in car functions - and it does so poorly.

The only useful thing that it does is read text messages out when you receive them. Other than that, meh.

 

[OldMike]

I have CarPlay in my 2018 GMC Sierra and also added a Pioneer CarPlay receiver in my car. On the GMC I find it frustrating to use because of all the nanny junk on it. For example, it prevents me from performing simple searches and being able to select any artists I want to play from a list (I can only choose from recents). The aftermarket system in the car does not know if I am in park or driving and is much easier to use.

Its funny, they put the limitations on the system when you are driving in order to make it safer, but it really does the opposite. Instead of just quickly doing something, I have to figure out a different way, which is distracting, and also makes me feel like it is more likely to cause an accident.

If the factory CarPlay system was the only one that I owned, I would have a much more negative opinion of it. The way the aftermarket system is installed, makes it much easier and safer to use.

 

[kingston73]

Despite CarPlay supposedly being a universal sounds like there’s a big difference between factory systems and aftermarket types. I love CarPlay on my Kenwood but it does have its bugs. There are times when I plug my phone in and the screen goes black, or I’ll plug my phone in and the sound will start playing from the phones speaker. Apple still has a lot of room to improve that’s for sure.

 

[OldMike]

Despite CarPlay supposedly being a universal sounds like there’s a big difference between factory systems and aftermarket types. I love CarPlay on my Kenwood but it does have its bugs. There are times when I plug my phone in and the screen goes black, or I’ll plug my phone in and the sound will start playing from the phones speaker. Apple still has a lot of room to improve that’s for sure.

Same thing happens on my Pioneer aftermarket CarPlay receiver. I would say I have to replug in every 1 out of 50 times. Firmware updates and other attempted workarounds have not been able to eliminate the issue.

Despite these glitches, I still enjoy using the aftermarket system more than my factory installed system.

Edit: After reading your post more carefully, I wanted to say that my receiver has the same issue of the phone not being recognized after plugging in (maybe 1 out of 50 times). Sometimes it just doesn’t recognize it, and other times it will say Format Error. I don’t ever have an issue with audio coming from the phone instead of the receiver.

 

[Black Magic]

Not sure what all the fuss is about but I love CarPlay. My girl has it in her 2018 Civic and it just works. Would love for it to be wireless but I'm sure it is coming since iOS already supports it. Maps works nicely and the fact that it goes into night mode when the headlights come on is awesome. IMessage is nice being that it is hands free. Music just works although I wish it showed the Album Art front and center when a track is playing.

My next car absolutely will have CarPlay. It's a deal breaker otherwise.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

Apart from Apple maps which in the UK totally sucks, I really like Apple CarPla in my merc. I wish it would show the cover art and show text messages in the screen as well as read and reply. Apart from that it’s not bad and Apple Music works really well in the car. Just press the button on the steering wheel and play whatever tunes I want.

 

[DaveOP]

Apart from Apple maps which in the UK totally sucks, I really like Apple CarPla in my merc. I wish it would show the cover art and show text messages in the screen as well as read and reply. Apart from that it’s not bad and Apple Music works really well in the car. Just press the button on the steering wheel and play whatever tunes I want.

For the sake of everyone driving around you (and others), I am so thankful that it does not show the text on the screen.

I do agree with you though, Carplay has been great for me, was pleasantly surprised that it has an Overcast and Google Play Music app, which are my most used. When Waze is added later this year, it'll be basically perfect.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

For the sake of everyone driving around you (and others), I am so thankful that it does not show the text on the screen.

I do agree with you though, Carplay has been great for me, was pleasantly surprised that it has an Overcast and Google Play Music app, which are my most used. When Waze is added later this year, it'll be basically perfect.

Point taken but if text should not be available for the safety of other drivers then why have a screen in the first place? Surely taking your eyes of the road to select radio stations, scroll through music, view the map etc is just as dangerous.
I would rather have text in the screen as an option because the number of drivers I see looking down at their phones in their hands scares the hell out of me.

My previous car displayed text through Idrive and had a head up display in the windscreen and that was very effective.

Yes I really like Waze and I am looking forward to Google Maps

 

[Lancetx]

It really does depend on the type of vehicle and system that it is running on. Both my brother and my girlfriend have 2016 Hondas with CarPlay on their factory system and it's very glitchy. My brother even had to have the entire infotainment system in his Accord replaced under warranty and that has made things only somewhat better. Meanwhile, in my Grand Cherokee (Uconnect 4C system), I've had next to no problems at all. The only issue I've encountered in the 9 months that I've had it was when I was using a cheap third party Lightning cable. Once I switched to a better quality cable, I've not had any problems ever since with it in my car.

 

[DaveOP]

Point taken but if text should not be available for the safety of other drivers then why have a screen in the first place? Surely taking your eyes of the road to select radio stations, scroll through music, view the map etc is just as dangerous.
I would rather have text in the screen as an option because the number of drivers I see looking down at their phones in their hands scares the hell out of me.

My previous car displayed text through Idrive and had a head up display in the windscreen and that was very effective.

Yes I really like Waze and I am looking forward to Google Maps

The text in Carplay is awfully minimal, and I would think most people starting a station or podcast probably do it as they're getting ready to leave, rather than on the highway (obviously, there are exceptions). Text messaging, however, is something people break concentration to read and respond to, and probably the single biggest reason you see people on their phones. When we can get to a day where this is not the case, everyone will be much better off. I think Carplay forcing the reading out loud of texts, and mic to respond is a good first step.

 

[Coffee50]

Does CarPlay always show the sender of text messages or are there any privacy settings?

 

[cyclingplatypus]

Does CarPlay always show the sender of text messages or are there any privacy settings?

It shows the notification/sender at the top of the screen - I do not believe there are privacy settings other than mirroring the settings of the phone.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

The text in Carplay is awfully minimal, and I would think most people starting a station or podcast probably do it as they're getting ready to leave, rather than on the highway (obviously, there are exceptions). Text messaging, however, is something people break concentration to read and respond to, and probably the single biggest reason you see people on their phones. When we can get to a day where this is not the case, everyone will be much better off. I think Carplay forcing the reading out loud of texts, and mic to respond is a good first step.

The narration does work really well. It’s better than the command system in my merc.

 

[Philpug]

Occasionally, when I plug in my phone, there is no volume, so I have to go to the radio then back to CarPly, then sound again. Shouldn't happen. CarPlay is not great but it is better than not having it. Not a glowing endorsement at all.

 

[Black Magic]

Occasionally, when I plug in my phone, there is no volume, so I have to go to the radio then back to CarPly, then sound again. Shouldn't happen. CarPlay is not great but it is better than not having it. Not a glowing endorsement at all.

I think that speaks to your phone or car unit versus problems with CarPlay. Your problem is not a common one for all users of CarPlay.

 

[Ollé]

Occasionally, when I plug in my phone, there is no volume, so I have to go to the radio then back to CarPly, then sound again. Shouldn't happen. CarPlay is not great but it is better than not having it. Not a glowing endorsement at all.

It’s funny that you say this, since my initial post in this thread I’ve had this happen a number of times. It’s quite annoying and something that I thought Apple would have had figured out.

I suppose that it’s a good thing that I really only use the CarPlay interface to charge my phone - everything else is done through my car’s infotainment system unless I really want to listen to something specific on iTunes/Spotify.

 

[Daniel L]

I wish Carplay would have some sort of interface that shows what music/podcast is playing while Nav is open and working. The car's built in system does that without a problem

 

[Julien]

I wish Carplay would have some sort of interface that shows what music/podcast is playing while Nav is open and working. The car's built in system does that without a problem

Luckily mine feeds this to the center binnacle display with album art work. Although I do agree that some type of overlay (my OEM navigation has an overlay) would be nice.

 

[boltjames]

I have both a 2018 BMW navigation system and its CarPlay integration and I don’t use either.

Once you use Google Maps and get those little rectangular pop ups telling you which roads are longer/shorter on the fly on the route without needing to click anything you can’t settle for a nav without it. Especially in a big city with so many route options on a single trip and only seconds to make a decision. From NJ to Long Island I must have 36 different road combinations alone and if one is just a few minutes longer I may take it out of convenience or familiarity. On Google Maps it’s glanceable, no clicking or swiping necessary.

So I have a damn vent mount and an iPhone stuck there because I can’t live without this feature. Praying that ios12 provides enough Google Maps integration that I can get these pop ups on my car’s screen through CarPlay. Otherwise I’m sticking with the dumb vent mount.

 

[iLog.Genius]

I have both a 2018 BMW navigation system and its CarPlay integration and I don’t use either.

Once you use Google Maps and get those little rectangular pop ups telling you which roads are longer/shorter on the fly on the route without needing to click anything you can’t settle for a nav without it. Especially in a big city with so many route options on a single trip and only seconds to make a decision. From NJ to Long Island I must have 36 different road combinations alone and if one is just a few minutes longer I may take it out of convenience or familiarity. On Google Maps it’s glanceable, no clicking or swiping necessary.

So I have a damn vent mount and an iPhone stuck there because I can’t live without this feature. Praying that ios12 provides enough Google Maps integration that I can get these pop ups on my car’s screen through CarPlay. Otherwise I’m sticking with the dumb vent mount.

You don't use RTTI on iDrive for alternate routes? I mean I guess if you are already used to Google Maps, it's going to be difficult to leave it just out of habit and familiarity.