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CES 2015: Volkswagen Adding CarPlay Support in Late 2015

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Apr 12, 2001
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Car manufacturer Volkswagen today revealed that it would add support for CarPlay and Android Auto to its vehicles at the end of the year, bringing Apple's in-car experience to the popular car brand. It'll debut alongside VW's new in-car infotainment system, referred to as MIB II.

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Later this year, VW will introduce the second generation "modular infotainment platform" (MIB II) in the United States. Along with the new infotainment system, MirrorLink(TM) will also be made available for the first time, integrating the apps and operating layout of numerous smartphones (including Samsung, HTC, LG and Sony) into cars. When MirrorLink(TM) is introduced, two other interfaces will also be launched under the App-Connect label: CarPlay(TM) (Apple®) and Android Auto(TM) (Google®). Simultaneously, VW will also launch CarPlay(TM) and Android Auto(TM) in the European market.
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When CarPlay was first announced, Volkswagen was one of the few major car brands not involved. The company isn't listed on Apple's CarPlay partners page on its website either. However, the CarPlay integration debuting alongside VW's new infotainment system indicates the German manufacturer may have been waiting until it sorted out the future of its in-car technology before committing to Apple's.

While VW cars in both Europe and North America will get CarPlay support in late 2015, it's unknown how much VW's new infotainment system will cost.

Article Link: CES 2015: Volkswagen Adding CarPlay Support in Late 2015
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/05/vw-carplay-2015/
Aaaand still waiting for Honda even though Honda's dash is the one featured on Apple's CarPlay site. #
 
Interesting. I still can’t get iPod album art to display at all in my 2014 MY Golf GTD.
 
I wonder if some of the newer radios will magically fit older models. I can't exactly sell my r20..
 
Hopefully others will follow VW and embrace all interfaces rather than locking into one. These aren't the days of having a Mercedes specific Startac phone as a $600 option. There is no reason Android auto, CarPlay, and the other competing interfaces can't corxist in one head unit considering the interfaces are platform agnostic.
I'll be getting my 2015 Touareg before this integration but I'm not really interested in in car apps and like the RNS system in the top VW so it's no loss, but my wife might get a VW after her Mazda lease is up and this should be available by then.
 
Great news!

Except we just picked up a 2014 VW Golf Wagon, so will have to wait a few years before we can get it.

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oscarmacca said:
Interesting. I still can’t get iPod album art to display at all in my 2014 MY Golf GTD.
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Didn't realise this was even supported?
 
cliff.wakefield said:
Great news!

Except we just picked up a 2014 VW Golf Wagon, so will have to wait a few years before we can get it.

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Didn't realise this was even supported?
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We got a 2014 Touareg in March. Would love to have this but waiting wasn't an option.

As for album art, that is typically supported via the proprietary to lightning or 30 pin cable connection in most German cars, VW included but is not supported when streaming over Bluetooth.
 
ikramerica said:
Hopefully others will follow VW and embrace all interfaces rather than locking into one. These aren't the days of having a Mercedes specific Startac phone as a $600 option. There is no reason Android auto, CarPlay, and the other competing interfaces can't corxist in one head unit considering the interfaces are platform agnostic.
I'll be getting my 2015 Touareg before this integration but I'm not really interested in in car apps and like the RNS system in the top VW so it's no loss, but my wife might get a VW after her Mazda lease is up and this should be available by then.
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Upvoted! Yes! I'm actually happy about Apple's move to support SMS on iMessaging. Truth be told, I love apple to death, but lately have been using PC and Android and liking it to. I'd hate to spend a ton of money only to find out it doesn't work with a phone that I buy whether it be apple, android.
 
For those of us VW owners thinking about retrofitting this, it should be possible. However, previous high end head units (like the RNS510) were well over a thousand dollars, so you may want to seriously think about how much this functionality is worth to you.
 
cliff.wakefield said:
Great news!

Except we just picked up a 2014 VW Golf Wagon, so will have to wait a few years before we can get it.
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You'd have to install it yourself but your 2014 is probably MKVIII which is the same as 2015 as far as parts go. Just minor model changes.
 
WAM2 said:
Does Audi already support CarPlay?

Also, yay for Volkswagen.
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Audi is part of Volkswagen group. Which is one of the biggest groups in the world. Audi also said before that they will support it if customers request it, but thier system is different and much better than VW system.
 
Now if only they could make a reliable vehicle. What is a reliable vehicle to me? 10 years or 180,000 miles with no major work (internal engine work, tranny rebuild, etc.).

I know it will come in 2016 for the MK7, but was a USB jack that hard to include?
 
Am I the only one that thinks Android Auto looks way nicer than Car Play?

I just came back to the iphone after the last couple of years with an Android device and have to say anything running pure android is a pretty good experience so far going back to the iphone has been hit and miss. iMessage is better than hangouts but annoying because its not on multiplatform. Siri is a better assistant (does more functions) but slower than google now most of the time. Hate not having the the back arrow on the bottom of the screen now, hate not being able to change notifications sounds for each app although some android apps have the same issue but most you can change, miss not having the ability to put icons where I want preferably the bottom two or three rows so I don't have to waste time with reachability when using with one hand. Some springboard widgets would be nice and useful as well.

Let's see who will win the battle of best car app.
 
ghostface147 said:
Now if only they could make a reliable vehicle. What is a reliable vehicle to me? 10 years or 180,000 miles with no major work (internal engine work, tranny rebuild, etc.).
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My Passat has passed your reliability test...

Volkswagens are hardly known for their unreliability.
 
Zaqfalcon said:
My Passat has passed your reliability test...

Volkswagens are hardly known for their unreliability.
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It's cliche, but take care of your car and it'll take care of you. My 2007 Passat is still going strong. I've gotten all scheduled maintenance and no problems thus far. Only 45K miles on this sucker though!
 
Hopfully VW doesn't price this system out of contention for most people. CarPlay/AndroidAuto will be a bullet feature that is par for the course in a short 2-3 years. I hope VW understands this and doesn't position this feature in premium packages only. This feature should be included in every trim within a year.
 
ghostface147 said:
Now if only they could make a reliable vehicle. What is a reliable vehicle to me? 10 years or 180,000 miles with no major work (internal engine work, tranny rebuild, etc.).

I know it will come in 2016 for the MK7, but was a USB jack that hard to include?
Click to expand...

My 2003 VW Jetta TDI has 217,000 miles on it and all I've done is regular maintenance and wear and tear (breaks, suspension, timing belt, ect...)
 
Album art:
I've asked THE Dutch VW importer about this recently and they told me the Discover Media/Pro units don't really has requirements regarding album art but the MP3 standard does:
* JPG or GIF
* Perfect square
* At least 1600 x 1600 pixels in size
And if you're streaming through Bluetooth your device should support A2DP in combination with AVRCP.

I haven't tested this yet.
I hope this helps.
 
SonicSoundVW said:
My 2003 VW Jetta TDI has 217,000 miles on it and all I've done is regular maintenance and wear and tear (breaks, suspension, timing belt, ect...)
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Yeah that's not an MK7. Granted the unhappy are going to complain a lot more than the happy customers, but there are issues with carbon deposit build-ups, water pump issues, intake manifolds, blown turbos....a list of things.
 
oscarmacca said:
Interesting. I still can’t get iPod album art to display at all in my 2014 MY Golf GTD.
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i believe there are two types of ipod cables for the golf. a cheaper and a better one. a bit of googling should solve your problem
 
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