CarPlay Scores 85% Customer Satisfaction Rate in Limited Study

[EdT]

There are better cars than Toyota...

One of the reasons I can't take CarPlay/Android Play complaints seriously is because I have a 2012 Toyota with Entune. According to my Toyota dealer I have the latest firmware possible for my car and model year, so any improvements that Toyota has made (if any) since then I can't use anyway.

Voice and map accuracy, ease of use, accessibility and available apps are all extremely bad. The map data is on a DVD, and it costs $400 plus to buy and install a new disc, whose data is already several months out of date.

There are aftermarket versions that would fit in my car, but I am thinking of selling or trading it in. I'm not going to seriously investigate options until I decide if I'm keeping the vehicle and if not, what is available for whatever I replace it with.

 

[avanpelt]

This shows two of the many flaws with Siri.

Only Siri could hear "Mountview" and interpret it as "Market". Also, out of all the roads named Market St. in North America, she picks one in southeast Tennessee, hundreds of miles away from where the vehicle is currently located -- seemingly for no reason.

Siri must be an acronym for "She is really idiotic".

 

[LordVic]

One of the reasons I can't take CarPlay/Android Play complaints seriously is because I have a 2012 Toyota with Entune. According to my Toyota dealer I have the latest firmware possible for my car and model year, so any improvements that Toyota has made (if any) since then I can't use anyway.

Voice and map accuracy, ease of use, accessibility and available apps are all extremely bad. The map data is on a DVD, and it costs $400 plus to buy and install a new disc, whose data is already several months out of date.

There are aftermarket versions that would fit in my car, but I am thinking of selling or trading it in. I'm not going to seriously investigate options until I decide if I'm keeping the vehicle and if not, what is available for whatever I replace it with.

same. 2012 Camry. in dash nav system iss a bloody travesty.

 

[EdT]

same. 2012 Camry. in dash nav system iss a bloody travesty.

Small world...also a 2012 Camry.

 

[timber]

I have it in my BMW, and it took some time getting used to using CarPlay. The key point is that CarPlay and BMW's own Bluetooth are completely separate and parallel systems. This was confusing at first, and I gave Siri an English accent to help differentiate which system I was interacting with. My car came with NAV, so I have been using it instead of Apple Maps; it helps that there is a BMW app that can also input the address into the NAV before I even get in the car. The NAV system works extremely well- it finds destinations with minimal input. Once I got over the learning curve, I have become pretty satisfied with how CarPlay functions. If anything, it has taught me to interact with Siri more efficiently.

Which app do you use to give an address to iDrive before boarding the car? BMW Connected? I think I have missed that option.

 

[polbit]

the time it took me to set up and connect CP i've already entered my target-adress in my vw system - extremely presice, with google maps and live traffic.
there is simply no need and no advantage for CP in modern Cars, and it seems apple finnaly realised - though lettin CP die a slowly death...

I think you have it backwards - there is absolutely no need for all the convoluted/inefficient/crappy mfr infotainment systems out there that can't come close to usability of a phone, while still costing stupid money. While we are still on 1st gen product from Apple and Google, I'm for one excited with ability to just plug my phone and use the interface I'm familiar with in not just in my car, but in rentals, etc.

Unless something changes and auto makers suddenly become good at UI, this is the future, especially in the mass-market cars. That's not to say either CP or AA are great - they still have ways to go, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[thedommer2000]

Stopped using CarPlay a long time ago. Bluetooth is more annoying BUT it has waze. I wish I could use CarePlay without having it mess with my phone screen. Then I could have Waze and CarePlay running. Either way, apple maps is simply not even close to good enough for up to date traffic. Thats one of they main reasons to have your phone hooked up on the daily commute. Everything else about CarPlay is mostly ok, but Waze trumps all of it.

 

[Gorms]

Carplay has defo gotten better since we went to 10.3 and before that, it was a huge improvement from my previous experience using my phone in the car.

However, I'm using a third party Pioneer stereo and the Microphone SUCKS. I've fiddled with the placement, settings etc. No improvement. It's annoying because it seems that that is the weak link in the Carplay chain, especially as so much of the interface is geared towards voice. I'm sure new models where the microphone isn't retrofitted to the driver's visor don't suffer this problem, but that's my fault for buying a stereo as opposed to a new car I guess?

 

[carrrrrlos]

That video is spot on! I loathe CarPlay integration. Every road trip: Google Maps app on the iPhone 7+ placed squarely over the integrated car monitor.

 

[Json81]

Stopped using CarPlay a long time ago. Bluetooth is more annoying BUT it has waze. I wish I could use CarePlay without having it mess with my phone screen. Then I could have Waze and CarePlay running. Either way, apple maps is simply not even close to good enough for up to date traffic. Thats one of they main reasons to have your phone hooked up on the daily commute. Everything else about CarPlay is mostly ok, but Waze trumps all of it.

I can use waze (audio) with carplay.

 

[page3]

CarPlay couldn't even navigate me to Housesteads Roman Fort earlier today. It's only been there 1,900 years. No, wanted to take me to a steak house, in Denmark, at 10am. Surreal.

 

[OllyW]

CarPlay couldn't even navigate me to Housesteads Roman Fort earlier today. It's only been there 1,900 years. No, wanted to take me to a steak house, in Denmark, at 10am. Surreal.

Apple Maps finds it easy enough so it must have been another Siri error with CarPlay.

 

[Weaselboy]

Which app do you use to give an address to iDrive before boarding the car? BMW Connected? I think I have missed that option.

Yes... just tap Destinations at the bottom middle and you get a search interface for Google Maps. You can also go to Google Maps from a desktop browser and use the send to car feature.

Or you can access an address from Contacts or Calendar and in the share sheet select the BMW Connected app to send it to your car.

 

[LordVic]

Small world...also a 2012 Camry.

Had a fun time with it yesterday too. probably why Im still so irate. had to go pick up dinner for the hockey game last night. Got myself turned around somewhere looking for the place ( I was about 5km away! really shouldn't trust my memory of locations i've only been to once)

so I tried using my Nav unit again. Lo and behold, it magically reset itself to miles (instead of KMs which I keep having to do, despite it being a Canadian Car). It also magically thought I was coming from Halifax (i'm in the GTA).
when I tried using voice to set my address, because, i was driving, it was wrong. all the time, Because for SOME INEXPLICABLE REASON, the software needs you to set your country, province, and postal code, before it'll elt you pick an address. so in it's stupidity thinking I was in Halifax, it clearly couldn't even find an address in Toronto. so not only did it not try giving me directions from Halifax to the address in Toronto, because I was in a different province, it outright told me the address didn't exist

i found a parking lot, pulled out my phone and just used google maps. if anyone was on the road last night and saw someone screaming profanities at his car, that was me . sure enough, Ended up 30 minutes late picking up dinner and it wasn't as fresh as I wanted because of it.

 

[page3]

Apple Maps finds it easy enough so it must have been another Siri error with CarPlay.

Probably, Siri seems particularly poor in Seat/VW/Audi. Third time it's tried to take me somewhere in Denmark. Why Denmark?! Using the phone directly, I got it to find it although it actually had Housesteads marked down where Birdoswald is, so took me to the wrong location anyway.

Btw, at least (unlike Google) Apple Maps shows our roads in the correct colours so we can differentiate motorways from A and B roads. Rather important and yet Google still don't manage it.

 

[zone23]

I have a Galaxy S7 Edge please tell me how to make Google Now work with the screen off.. All I can get is S-Voice.

 

[LordVic]

I have a Galaxy S7 Edge please tell me how to make Google Now work with the screen off.. All I can get is S-Voice.

open google now. go to settings, in there you should see "voice". in that settings option is "ok google" detection. you can use this submenu to set "from any screen" and "trusted voice". this will let you interact with google now from any screen, even off.

 

[V.K.]

Apple can add as many new features to Siri as they want but if it doesn't understand what you're saying it's still useless.

exactly. Apple execs should be forced to watch that Yuri and Jakub video every day Clockwork Orange style. I don't have Carplay but my experience with Siri vs google on iphone and ipad has been the same as for the guys in this video.

 

[IJ Reilly]

85%?!

Then those 85% haven't used it all that much or they are so Apple-blind that nothing Apple does could ever be bad.

I use it twice a day: to and from work. One hour drive each way.

For example, after 6 months of continuous use, I have learned to not bother with trying to respond to texts. It always ends up with me super frustrated and the person (if it even responds to the right one) calling me because they have no idea what I'm trying to tell them.

Don't even get me started with Maps.

It's a half-baked feature and Apple doesn't care. It will eventually go the way of the Mac.

I've used it since the end December. Count me among the 85% who like it a lot. Nav has worked great and the only time it didn't was when I decided to ignore Siri's rerouting suggestions and ended up stuck in traffic needlessly. The Podcast app also works well, and I also like the NPROne app. I haven't used the Messages app much but mainly because I find the entire concept of texting in the car, even hands free, to be too distracting from my task of driving.

 

[Defthand]

The video says it all. Apple CarPlay, indeed, has the best GUI. It trumps any the OEM infotainment system GUIs I’ve seen while shopping for a vehicle in recent months. The only exception is BMW’s GUI—very polished.
However, SIRI is CarPlay’s Achilles heel. The video is a typical experience when interacting with the dumb b**ch.

 

[IJ Reilly]

The simplest way to put in a location is to type it into Maps on your phone before you even get in the car. That is what I usually do. Then it is already ready to go when you plug the phone in to the CarPlay receiver. Otherwise, if you need to change to a new destination in route, you'll need to use Siri I believe. You can also always pick up the phone and type it in there. For returning home, it always has that available for you on the screen and asked when you get in the car. I find that it works 95% of the time really well and use it all the time.

My overall satisfaction with CarPlay is high. I use it mostly for Maps and Music/Podcasts. For Messages, I'm kind of lazy and will usually look at the phone when i get to a stoplight or something to see what I received rather than using CarPlay for it, but it does work when I've used it. But CarPlay is alerting me that I've received the message, which for me is very useful.

Even better, if the destination is attached to a calendar appointment, CarPlay anticipates where you are going.

 

[MacAddict1978]

Carplay smells of an Apple project that was pushed to release & then forgotten about (something that happens at Apple alot). Not sure about the numbers, but it is a high visibility item, Apple needs to be dedicating more attention to fixing and enhancing it than they have been. The video is tough despite the criticism of the slight difference in pronunciations.

CarPlay is truly a half baked implementation that forgot a few ingredients along the way.

I just got a new car and have gotten to play with both AA and ACP. I agree with the AA guy in the video. The only pro ACP has is that it's GUI is very clean looking, but it's not even a great replica of IOS.

AA does far more than ACP in function as well, something the video did not delve into. You have access to the full Google Assistant, there is better third party app integration due to the lack of a walled garden that shuts out competing products, and it's speech recognition is top notch.

AA doesn't have a lot of icons because it does not need them. Incoming messages, song playing, route, whatever you are doing appears on one screen as cards. In a car, this is a far safer implementation that poking around through various "apps" (which aren't really even apps) in the ACP implementation. Sure, you can tell Siri these things, but because Siri sucks at life, you will have to tap that app button and steer her stupidity into the right area more than you should.

I was actually surprised at how good AA was (it does better than my phone with recognition and accuracy... which is a head scratcher), but not at all surprised at how bad ACP was considering how bad Siri generally is.

Apple really needs to fix Siri. ACP would be stellar if it actually got what you were saying right more of the time. I would say 8 out of 10 text messages were wrong when using it, and AA got about 7 out of 10 right. Navigation by voice command was about the same. I just wish Google Maps looked as nice as Apple Maps. Apple wins on looks, but fails everywhere else across the board. Especially music. Don't get me started.

I was debating going back to an iPhone this year, but this has given me great pause.
[doublepost=1492703204][/doublepost]

Personally I see virtually no real world difference between;
Siri understands me but gives me no useful results and Siri doesn't understand me.

Agreed. It would be more forgivable if Siri just did not understand what it was said, but when it does and gives you back some stupid add unrelated thing, that is far worse. Google isn't perfect either. I get a lot of "Sorry, I don't know how to help with that yet" and need to rephrase how I asked something, but the second go is a go, and it gives me what I actually needed....

 

[mytdave]

I recently had to rent a car for a business trip, and they gave me a Chevy Malibu. Ok car. To my surprise, when I plugged my iPhone into the USB jack to charge it, CarPlay popped right up. No mess, no fuss. It was awesome!! This was my first time ever using CarPlay.

Color me impressed. All the touch controls on the car's built-in display worked perfectly and as one would expect. The only thing that could be better here is multi-touch capability on the car's display. I would imagine more expensive cars having more capable displays...

Anyway, Siri worked properly 98% of the time, which was also impressive, and quite frankly, unexpected, since I have to argue with her frequently when using her on the handset. I'm guessing Chevy placed the cabin microphones just right to make the experience very good. Now if Siri could just get directions right - whenever I asked her to "plot a route to highway 1" she would respond with "here are the directions to highway 58". What the hell? How is 1 anywhere close to being the same as 58?

 

[HiRez]

I like CarPlay in general but it's speech recognition is still pretty sketchy for me. Mostly it works but it fails just enough of the time to be frustrating.

In maps, I wish for a few I mprovements:

1. Show speed limit at current location

2. Show photos of all upcoming highway exits/merges

3. Show current lane layout of road and what lane(s) you need to be in for the next turn if needed.

4. Adjust time Siri tells you the next instruction before you get to it. She almost always tells me too late if I'm not in the proper lane and prepared to turn already. Would like to adjust 2-5 seconds earlier, maybe tied to current speed as well.

5 Show next cross-street (whether it's relevant to your route or not).

The built in Garmin nav on my car does all of this and I miss it when I use CarPlay Maps.

 

[BvizioN]

Siri understands me fine too. But never returns reasonable result

"What's the weather forecast"

"I'm sorry, I could t understand that, here are searches for WHETHER FORECAST"

Strange! Did try really hard to make it fail but I couldn't