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haunebu

macrumors regular
Jun 2, 2004
234
877
California
I pulled out the crappy Prius Entune/GPS system and installed a Pioneer AVIC 7100NEX. It's a great improvement. However, the general bugginess of CarPlay is getting on my nerves.

CarPlay on the BMW has been flawless for me so far. What issues are you having with the Pioneer aftermarket radio? If they provide firmware updates for their head unit, do they help?
 

kcamfork

Suspended
Oct 7, 2011
258
247
I'll second this. We are largely a Toyota family. Reliability comes first. The toys inside the car come second. For us anyway.

We just bought (well a year now) a RAV4. The stereo in it is not much better than what our 11 year old Prius has with the exception of aux in lol.

Get an aftermarket unit. I got a Pioneer for my Prius and love it. Everything works great. I didn't lose any functionality (aux port excluded). I just used the instructions from crutchfield and which came with the unit. Crutchfield will even tell you which adapters you need to retain full functionality.

The only thing they didn't include was what I needed to retain my backup camera which was pretty annoying. But if you chat with them via online or phone they'll steer you in hr right direction.

That said, the aux port works with the adapter, but I think the Prius head unit amplified he signal. Because now it just sounds really bad. Or maybe that's just the pioneer. I don't know. But I have an iPhone 7 plus so who cares.
[doublepost=1476412635][/doublepost]
CarPlay on the BMW has been flawless for me so far. What issues are you having with the Pioneer aftermarket radio? If they provide firmware updates for their head unit, do they help?

It may be that I have iOS 10.1 beta installed. But I'll open Spotify. Choose a downloaded album, push play. Nothing. TuneIn just released a version of their app that "supports" CarPlay in iOS 10. But using the word support there is laughable. It cuts out all the time. Even with a strong cell signal.

I assume it's CarPlay being buggy because generally speaking, the pioneer apps work well. I just like the clean, minimalist look that CarPlay gives my head unit.

I purposely bought last year's model of the 7100NEX because the 7200NEX is allegedly the exact same model with features removed! Plus it was only $660 on Amazon versus the MSRP of $1200 for the 7200. The last firmware update was last December. I doubt they'll update it again. But again, I'm not sold it's a Pioneer firmware problem, as I've heard of other people having the same issue (even in this forum) that I'm having and the context tells me it's a factory unit they're using.

All that said, I'll take these problems over the stock headunit/GPS. Entune is terrible and Toyota needs to kill it.
 

A418t81

macrumors newbie
Sep 13, 2011
27
46
Al
I have a 2017 F80 M3 on order that has iDrive 5.0 and wireless CarPlay. They demoed it for me on the showroom F80 and it worked flawlessly. It was like a $300 option to add the CarPlay compatibility.
 

blackjackmark

macrumors 6502
Apr 19, 2010
496
204
Wonder if Kia head units have the hardware already to support wireless CarPlay? It has both wifi and Bluetooth (of course). Wonder if the wifi meets the specs? Does anyone know what's required in the headunit to allow for wireless?
 

kildraik

macrumors 6502a
May 7, 2006
931
1,319
Isn't half the magic of a vehicle is to have a unique interface? You still get what you pay for regarding the sound systems and engineering behind them. My Range's UI is plenty awesome for me, thanks. Plus, BMW has a gorgeous UI, especially on its larger screens. CarPlay is just... Worthless, in my opinion. Especially since Maps is terrible (still), Siri is useless, and most (under $30k) vehicles aren't acoustically treated to even have clear communication. A friends' 2016 Civic's Bluetooth is the root of all of his stress.

But, Apple ahould take a hint; Open MacOS for cross platform use, since they're giving most what will likely already be in the Apple ****box! That 17" MSI with a GTX 1070 looks better and better every day.
 
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cuhulin

macrumors member
Jul 18, 2011
49
44
Meridian, ID
I don't understand most people's obsession with wireless everything. What is so wrong about a cable? Especially in a vehicle, where you're gonna want to charge your phone anyway.

For a short trip, like to the grocery store, it's a pain to have to take the phone from pocket, plug in, remember to take it from car and so on - when the whole trip may be 1 minute or so. Yet, the bluetooth features of the carplay won't work unless plugged in right now.

For longer trips, you are right about the charging.
 

littleasian36

macrumors newbie
Nov 23, 2014
19
6
carplay maps on ios10 is much improved. overall i agree, while carplay is nice, some of the manufacturer's UI are just as good. case in point is the MMI system on my 2017 a4, its stellar
 

lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,720
Boston, MA
Get an aftermarket unit. I got a Pioneer for my Prius and love it. Everything works great. I didn't lose any functionality (aux port excluded). I just used the instructions from crutchfield and which came with the unit. Crutchfield will even tell you which adapters you need to retain full functionality.

The only thing they didn't include was what I needed to retain my backup camera which was pretty annoying. But if you chat with them via online or phone they'll steer you in hr right direction.

That said, the aux port works with the adapter, but I think the Prius head unit amplified he signal. Because now it just sounds really bad. Or maybe that's just the pioneer. I don't know. But I have an iPhone 7 plus so who cares.
[doublepost=1476412635][/doublepost]

It may be that I have iOS 10.1 beta installed. But I'll open Spotify. Choose a downloaded album, push play. Nothing. TuneIn just released a version of their app that "supports" CarPlay in iOS 10. But using the word support there is laughable. It cuts out all the time. Even with a strong cell signal.

I assume it's CarPlay being buggy because generally speaking, the pioneer apps work well. I just like the clean, minimalist look that CarPlay gives my head unit.

I purposely bought last year's model of the 7100NEX because the 7200NEX is allegedly the exact same model with features removed! Plus it was only $660 on Amazon versus the MSRP of $1200 for the 7200. The last firmware update was last December. I doubt they'll update it again. But again, I'm not sold it's a Pioneer firmware problem, as I've heard of other people having the same issue (even in this forum) that I'm having and the context tells me it's a factory unit they're using.

All that said, I'll take these problems over the stock headunit/GPS. Entune is terrible and Toyota needs to kill it.
Not really an option on the rav unless I also want to sacrifice fuel consumption meters and a few other things (but those are basically just crappies versions of what iOS gives). The bigger factor is it's not worth $500 to me lol.
 

kgtenacious

macrumors regular
Jun 15, 2010
109
76
What is with automakers taking so long to implement CarPlay? And then some automakers are making it an additional purchase or only available on higher trim levels of a vehicle. I feel like the automakers are hindering the platform greatly. So far I like VWs approach the best. Just about every car in every trim level 2016 and up has CarPlay support standard.

I don't know what the whole problem is, but I know for my Ford with Sync 3 the Apple CarPlay upgrade will require a Sync3 software update and a hardware purchase of some sort. The Android Auto upgrade is only going to require a software update. It may just come down to cost of implementation is higher for CarPlay than Android Auto.
 

StoneyG

macrumors regular
I don't understand what's difficult to understand.

I understand why people use Bluetooth, I just don't understand why it's so difficult to take the 0.25 seconds required to plug in a cable. Four seconds if you're really groggy. Plus, Bluetooth can be finicky.

Wireless is much more convenient. Simple as that.

I understand that we live in the Age of Convenience. Yay for us. Look at us go. I'm simply trying to suggest that most don't ever even question why they feel they "need" to utilize all of this wireless technology. For a start, it can't possibly be healthy, having all of this crap transmitting a inch away from your brain or reproductive organs for so many hours per day or week. Meanwhile, many find it difficult to carry out a conversation with someone, or simply be even remotely present.

Totally agree. Bluetooth will sound bad through the cars upgraded speaker system PLUS it's great to have the phone charging. Seriously why why why bluetooth? Are humans of today so lazy that they can't even plug in a damn cord??? Plus surely, that would be more software bugs??? I can't even get out of my messages on my iPhone SE after the ios10 update!

This guy gets it!

Convenience. Getting in and not needing to take your phone out of your pocket or bag.

You are right. This, and profits. Ha.

I never understood this argument. Bluetooth sounds just fine in every audio application I've used it for. I use Bluetooth audio in my car and I hear no noticeable sound quality difference vs plugged in. And yes, I do have an upgraded "premium" audio system in my car. My preferred setup is bluetooth for the data connection (I don't have CarPlay) and plugging into a standalone 12v plug car charger for power. The USB ports in most cars don't supply enough amperage to quickly charge a phone anyways.

Cue the audiophiles saying they can of course hear the difference because their hearing is so acute.

That's fantastic that it works for you. Claiming that nobody else can hear a difference is a stance I'm familiar with. By the way, I've heard the same argument with regards to MP3 versus uncompressed redbook (CD) audio, and it's often from younger people who have only ever pirated or streamed (typically lossy) music (and listen to music primarily on terrible TV speakers, etc.). Unless you have something to compare with it.... Anyway, I carry a portion of my 280+ days' worth of lossless music on a portable digital audio player that has a superior DAC (and power supply, analogue output stage, and some clever engineering) over the basic delta-sigmas found in an iPhone or car's stereo, and that gets fed into the line-in of my deck. Of course, those sources mentioned are very much sufficient for most people's "needs" (ie., whatever they've been marketed as being the next cool, light and micron thick thing), especially when playing lossy files, and when said files are being fed into run of the mill iBudz and such. With the help of a couple of friends, I completely gutted my car's stereo and installed a nice Focal system. I realize though that I am not "most people". Holy crap does it sound good. The stock stereo it replaced clipped like hell, even at relatively modest volumes, and that distortion can be very damaging to a person's hearing. I could go on and on about the all of the instruments I've played, and the hundreds of live shows I've taken in; suffice it say, just know that Bluetooth is lossy. But if you're already listening to lossy audio, and prize convenience over quality, then it's absolutely gonna do the trick for you. Also, your ears will adjust accordingly, and over time it will totally sound "good enough". By the way, my head unit charges my audio player and iPhone 5c as quickly as a 12 watt iPad charger does at home. More than you cared to know, but there you go.

I have CarPlay in my VW GLI and using the cable is a pain. Beyond having to connect and disconnect it, which seems to cause it to lock-up occasionally and require rebooting the radio, I the cable gets wrapped around the shifter, caught on a jacket button that sends the phone flying out of the car when you get out, etc. Wireless, assuming that the audio quality would be suitable, would be very beneficial. I only wonder if my GLI will support wireless CarPlay with a firmware upgrade or if it will be a whole new entertainment system.

Yeah, I totally get it. It definitely can be a nice feature to have.

It's not like it just steams whatever music you're listening to.

You are correct.

Agreed. I get into my car and plug my phone in.

Right?
 

timber

macrumors 65816
Aug 30, 2006
1,147
2,110
Lisbon
Is there also a feature to introduce BMW drivers to the turn signal?
BMWs only have turn signals so we can turn all of them on when you park wherever we want (we are entitled to that)

Well probably not the most popular place to state that but I find iDrive very well thought out and well adapted to car use. It is also fast and reliable. I never bother connecting the phone beyond bluetooth for calls and audio.
 

cracksoup

macrumors 6502
Mar 26, 2014
287
258
So I'll just buy the 2017 5 series and I won't need a headphone jack! And there goes my other kidney...
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
I actually think a lot of existing vehicles will get a wireless update. I have a VW and it always gives me the option to do a wireless connection, but carplay does not support it. I wonder if an update to IOS/carplay will just make it work.
 

0958400

Suspended
Jul 20, 2011
401
716
Oh Apple, just release a button which I can fix on my steering wheel so I can use my iPhone without having to buy a new car. OTOH, Siri doesn't get me anyway and I don't need sassy comments while I'm driving, so better leave it be.
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,391
5,254
I understand why people use Bluetooth, I just don't understand why it's so difficult to take the 0.25 seconds required to plug in a cable. Four seconds if you're really groggy. Plus, Bluetooth can be finicky.



I understand that we live in the Age of Convenience. Yay for us. Look at us go. I'm simply trying to suggest that most don't ever even question why they feel they "need" to utilize all of this wireless technology. For a start, it can't possibly be healthy, having all of this crap transmitting a inch away from your brain or reproductive organs for so many hours per day or week. Meanwhile, many find it difficult to carry out a conversation with someone, or simply be even remotely present.



This guy gets it!



You are right. This, and profits. Ha.



That's fantastic that it works for you. Claiming that nobody else can hear a difference is a stance I'm familiar with. By the way, I've heard the same argument with regards to MP3 versus uncompressed redbook (CD) audio, and it's often from younger people who have only ever pirated or streamed (typically lossy) music (and listen to music primarily on terrible TV speakers, etc.). Unless you have something to compare with it.... Anyway, I carry a portion of my 280+ days' worth of lossless music on a portable digital audio player that has a superior DAC (and power supply, analogue output stage, and some clever engineering) over the basic delta-sigmas found in an iPhone or car's stereo, and that gets fed into the line-in of my deck. Of course, those sources mentioned are very much sufficient for most people's "needs" (ie., whatever they've been marketed as being the next cool, light and micron thick thing), especially when playing lossy files, and when said files are being fed into run of the mill iBudz and such. With the help of a couple of friends, I completely gutted my car's stereo and installed a nice Focal system. I realize though that I am not "most people". Holy crap does it sound good. The stock stereo it replaced clipped like hell, even at relatively modest volumes, and that distortion can be very damaging to a person's hearing. I could go on and on about the all of the instruments I've played, and the hundreds of live shows I've taken in; suffice it say, just know that Bluetooth is lossy. But if you're already listening to lossy audio, and prize convenience over quality, then it's absolutely gonna do the trick for you. Also, your ears will adjust accordingly, and over time it will totally sound "good enough". By the way, my head unit charges my audio player and iPhone 5c as quickly as a 12 watt iPad charger does at home. More than you cared to know, but there you go.



Yeah, I totally get it. It definitely can be a nice feature to have.



You are correct.



Right?
For me it's pulling the phone out of my pocket, placing it in the car holder, plugging it in, turning it on, then when I reach my destination doing those things in reverse. Now if I have a lot of errands I have to do those things multiple times. It's a very nice convenience to simply leave the phone in my pocket and never have to take it out at all. This is just streamlining, and we all do it in every facet of our lives. I'm sure I could pick out several things you do every day which I could label as "useless" in terms of you trying to streamline your day. It may be only a few seconds here and there, but it still makes my day easier and increases my comfort. Plus it lets me get rid of that ugly phone holder and cable in my car.

As for sound, makes little difference to me. My ears can't discern the difference, although if you are genetically gifted and can tell the difference then I'm certainly jealous. It's like when they have the wine tasting and all the critics pick the best wine, which secretly was just some crappy off the shelf no vintage wine. But all that is irrelevant and I'm confused why you couldn't just connect it via wire anyway? I'm all about choice, I can choose wireless or wired.
[doublepost=1476456285][/doublepost]
Totally agree. Bluetooth will sound bad through the cars upgraded speaker system PLUS it's great to have the phone charging. Seriously why why why bluetooth? Are humans of today so lazy that they can't even plug in a damn cord??? Plus surely, that would be more software bugs??? I can't even get out of my messages on my iPhone SE after the ios10 update!

Why not? If you have the option to continue to connect via a wire why would you not understand why others may want to leave their phone in their pocket? You guys keep throwing words around like "lazy", I don't get it. Let me observe your typical day and see where YOU are "lazy" because you take advantage of technology.
 

mwinterr

macrumors newbie
Oct 14, 2016
13
17
Incorrect information regarding first car to support this option.

BMW cars with iDrive 5.0 already support Wireless Apple Car Play. All 2 series, 3 series, 4 series, M3, M4 cars built since July 2016 have 'Wireless Apple Car Play'.

My M4 (built Aug 2016) has it... and it does not require any cable, all works via Bluetooth.

Here is another article from Mac Rumors stating the same.
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/08/01/bmw-2-series-carplay/

I can confirm my 2017 M240i delivered on 10/7 has true wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity via Bluetooth.

However, due to the handicapped nature of CarPlay as of right now, the entire experience pretty much sucks. It's buggy, the iOS apps you would want to use are not supported (e.g. Waze, anything not branded Apple or Apple approved), you can't use a CarPlay app (e.g. Spotify), and a non-Carplay app on your iPhone (e.g. Waze) at the same time without the CarPlay app hijacking the iPhone interface, etc.

Until these issues get sorted out and Apple allows more apps onto the CarPlay platform, ConnectedDrive and iDrive 5.0 on BMW is a perfectly suitable alternative. There's dedicated Spotify and Audible apps, there's built-in Siri integration, and I can simultaneously use Waze on my iPhone for directions and hazard/police notifications that send audible alerts over the car speakers via Bluetooth...
 
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DynaFXD

macrumors 6502a
Jun 15, 2010
799
368
East Coast
...But this is awesome, hopefully it gets to other cars as well. I just hope Waze gets off their duff and updates their app for carplay.
I am keen to know, why do you think that Waze is the one dragging their feet and it isn't Apple locking them out of, or just making their life so mi$erable as to not be worth it to develop for CarPlay at this point? I am here to tell you that until Waze gets on the CarPlay platform and Apple opens it up to more than the paltry offerings that they currently have, CarPlay is just about DOA in my book. I can't imagine that anyone would base a car buying decision on whether or not it supports CarPlay. YYMV.
 

CaryMacGuy

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2006
582
159
Morrisville, NC
What is the hardware in the car that is required to support this feature? Simply Bluetooth? If so, from a technical standpoint, could vehicles built today with CarPlay get wireless support with a simple software update? Since auto makers don't have that "silicon valley mindset," it seems unlikely to me that even if it COULD be done, it WILL be done.
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,391
5,254
I am keen to know, why do you think that Waze is the one dragging their feet and it isn't Apple locking them out of, or just making their life so mi$erable as to not be worth it to develop for CarPlay at this point? I am here to tell you that until Waze gets on the CarPlay platform and Apple opens it up to more than the paltry offerings that they currently have, CarPlay is just about DOA in my book. I can't imagine that anyone would base a car buying decision on whether or not it supports CarPlay. YYMV.

Well my reasoning is based on their lack of support for Android Auto. Google owns them, AA support should have been there a long time ago. If it was Apple roadblocking them I would think at least the AA compatibility would be there. If anything Google should use it as a selling point, but Google is more than willing to farm out its apps to any platform and makes money doing so. But I don't disagree with the possibility that it's Apple's fault, I'm just armchair quarterbacking.

I completely agree that until Waze gets on Carplay it isn't really worth using.
 

freezah

macrumors member
Aug 28, 2012
53
129
The Mercedes C class still doesn't have CarPlay (or Android Auto).

Because Mercedes Benz doesn't give a flying f... about their customers. First they made impression that C-Class will be first car supporting CarPlay, but when I bought it, it turned out it won't and MB sincerely offered me buying a new - facelift C-Class within next 3 years. F..k U MB.
 
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subjonas

macrumors 603
Feb 10, 2014
5,539
5,866
I never understood this argument. Bluetooth sounds just fine in every audio application I've used it for. I use Bluetooth audio in my car and I hear no noticeable sound quality difference vs plugged in. And yes, I do have an upgraded "premium" audio system in my car. My preferred setup is bluetooth for the data connection (I don't have CarPlay) and plugging into a standalone 12v plug car charger for power. The USB ports in most cars don't supply enough amperage to quickly charge a phone anyways.

Cue the audiophiles saying they can of course hear the difference because their hearing is so acute.

Oh brother... another one of these "I don't so it doesn't make sense that others do" posts. When will these ever end?

It's not super acute hearing. It's paying attention and knowing what to listen for and/or being accustomed to hearing it. For some it's automatic, for some it takes more time to learn, and for others no amount of time will help because they just don't have the ear for it or they don't care enough. Everyone is different.

Ignorance is bliss though so in a way those who don't hear the difference have an advantage. They save time and money.
 
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DrumApple

macrumors 6502a
Jan 30, 2009
546
1,417
BMW's infotainment display and system is FUGLY. I had an X1 for a few weeks but got out of my lease because of several reasons and one of the top one's was that the controls & overall display/infotainment system was atrocious.
 
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