Get off that high horse please
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Chevrolet, Honda, Subaru, Hyundai, Kia, and VW Debut New CarPlay Vehicles at NY Auto Show
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Get off that high horse please
I recently bought a 2016 VW Passat that has Car Play. It's actually pretty cool, but I've noticed that after connected, and playing music for a while, he music starts to skip, and I have to end up switching to (non-wired) Bluetooth connection. So, basically I've stopped using Car Play.
Anybody else run into this issue, and/or know of a fix.
My wired USB connection is through a Scosche retractable cable (I've always used these). Is it possible that my problem is a cable issue? I suppose I should try the cable that came with my 6s+.
Anybody else run into this issue, and/or know of a fix.
My wired USB connection is through a Scosche retractable cable (I've always used these). Is it possible that my problem is a cable issue? I suppose I should try the cable that came with my 6s+.
As a Toyota driver... I have no way to test this. But can you hit the Call End/Hangup button on the steering wheel to end the "call" it makes to switch it to bluetooth? If I use Siri to dial, and she mis-hears me over the road noise, this is how I clear it to get back to my radio, so that's as close as I can get to helping out.
Sweet. I hope you eventually get and enjoy the hell out of it.
Toyota has one of the worst entertainment systems around too. I'll be purchasing a new vehicle in the fall and was really hoping we would hear some more announcements regarding Android Auto/Car Play availability for the 2017 model year. GM and VW have done an absolutely excellent job at a fast roll out of the two.
No brainer, simple logic. When carplay/android-auto phone connectivity is NOW available than why in a world anyone wants to buy new car/SUV/truck/etc without it ? Typically, people keep car 10 or more years and no one wants to live without these features; when others(friends,colleages,extended family,etc) who waited little more have and enjoying convenience everyday..If you are uninformed buyer than at-least ask for huge discount on car if not equipped with carplay/androidauto feature.This kind of pressure will get these car manufacturers get off their laurels.
[doublepost=1458768239][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1458768239][/doublepost]
In 2015 BT standards body/group said new IoT BT standards in 2016 will provide data transfer rate faster and BT signal reaches further. This certainly can help in phone to in-car infotainment system data transfer link faster/smoother. Even car's will provide USB 3.1/USB-C thunderbolt ports for faster transfer..
Last edited:
It's going to be like that for a while. Knowing BMW, if and when they decide to implement CarPlay, it'll likely be when they introduce a new generation of a model where current users aren't able to just upgrade to even though it's all software.
Not everyone likes iDrive especially if you're stuck with the older versions but if you have the newer versions (end of the E chassis BMW's, F chassis BMW's), it's a lot better where if BMW were able to fully include all of CarPlay's functions, you wouldn't even care if and when BMW allows CarPlay.
It is coming: https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/carplay/#wireless_carplay . Software support is already in iOS9. VW has an implementation but Apple isn't quite ready for them to show it off yet.
So... "Real Soon Now (TM)"
I'm even more surprised that Apple would want to be associated with WalMart, 7-11, Target and Starbucks.
Toyotas still conspicuously absent from Apple's list. CarPlay would be real nice on that upcoming Prius Prime.
The version of iDrive we have in our 2012 BMW is so fiddly, it's almost impossible to even tune the radio, let alone plan a route with the GPS. You don't dare do either in motion, so the entire system basically defeats the point of it being in the car. I can see why BMW would be reluctant to ceed that dashboard real estate to anyone, but at some point they have to understand that they are good at a lot of things but consumer electronics just isn't one of them, and their customers expect a choice. If the upscale buyers they court don't get one, they will go elsewhere. In terms of functionality, at a minimum I expect to be able to plan a route on my phone and have it appear on the car's onboard screen without any futzing around. Can iDrive do that?
Not sure what flavor of iDrive Mini is offering in their newest models, only that they call it Mini Connected. I am tempted to look at them and find out, but I don't want to discover I like everything else about the car but the onboard tech.
If you really want CarPlay, don't buy a Honda unless it is installed from day one.
There is is a community of 2015 & 16 Honda owners who were led to believe that Honda would release backward firmware updates for folks who bought Display Audio equipped cars. This was a blatant bait and switch and rather shows that Honda would rather leverage CarPlay to sell new cars (and to sell 1000$ navigation units or a ****** nav app go 60$) than surprise and delight current owners.
There is is a community of 2015 & 16 Honda owners who were led to believe that Honda would release backward firmware updates for folks who bought Display Audio equipped cars. This was a blatant bait and switch and rather shows that Honda would rather leverage CarPlay to sell new cars (and to sell 1000$ navigation units or a ****** nav app go 60$) than surprise and delight current owners.
Planning routes is available via BMW ConnectedDrive but for some reason it's only available to Europeans. So I mean the functionality of what you want to do is there, it's just not available to North America which suggests that it would eventually come to North America.
You're right in that car manufacturers are very good at making cars, but electronics like the infotainment system, they're not that good at. But this is where our opinions differ. BMW could easily say screw it, let's just offload all infotainment to a third party but the downside of that is they would be dependent on that third party and their update cycle. Any issues, BMW is now at the mercy the third party. If you're going to sell a vehicle at a premium, you have to be able to address any issues as soon as you can - this can only be done if you have control, something BMW currently has with iDrive.
I also agree with you that if a customer expecting CarPlay doesn't find it a car whether it be BMW, Audi or Mercedes, some will move on. Some. Of course a few customers are going to look away from premium vehicles if there is no CarPlay, but I'm willing to assume that having CarPlay isn't as critical to the premium brands than it is say Toyota, Ford, Honda, etc.
I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm right, if you don't like it, move on. I'm just voicing an opinion on why premium vehicles, specifically BMW, are so delayed in allowing CarPlay. They would rather develop their system in-house without having to rely on others and I think they're doing a great job. Sure iDrive still lacks some functionality but so do other infotainment systems. iDrive has come a long way and its no wonder that it's arguably top 5 if not top 3 in infotainment systems.
With regards to the MINI, the infotainment system should be the most current and would be equivalent to iDrive in today's BMW. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that you'll run into that disappointment where you're content with everything about the car but MINI Connected (iDrive). Again, it's a good system but just doesn't do what you want it to in its current state.
The manufacturers aren't really faced with an either/or proposition. Their onboard tech can coexist alongside CarPlay.
It's a control thing I believe, and driven as much as by any factor by the consumer lock-in to aftermarket services the car markers are accustomed to expecting from everything they sell. If the system is upgraded they want a service visit, not an on-air download. They make no money from customers helping themselves, let alone with a third-party acting as an intermediary.
I suspect this is the source of the muteness from Mini on whether they will offer CarPlay later as a software update. They'd rather spring it on unsuspecting buyers later. This from a company that at least says they are going to offer it. Basically that means nothing to current car buyers though they may well find out the hard way that full connectivity with their portable electronics will never be "included" but instead will mean a large additional aftermarket cost, or buying a new car way sooner than they'd planned. Caveat emptor, and then some.
All I know about Mini Connected is that it is Mini's version of iDrive. Mini provides virtually no information on what it does online. You have to visit the dealership and get the hard sell on its many wonders by some oily salesperson. They won't know anything about CarPlay and would not tell you if they did. And why should they, since they can't sell it now?
All this comes from a household that has been buying nothing but BMWs and Minis for 15 years. We like the cars obviously but we hate the way they do business. If customers like us are actually thinking about a Chevy then they have failed somehow. It isn't our expectations that are out of line, it's their response to them that is lacking.
CarPlay made me learn how to use the Apple Map in the 2016 Camaro, and this was the first time I actually used a phone based navigation system. How do we get the maps to update to the latest map?
Honda apparently had some 2015 owners to try a developing software loaded to their vehicle with Carplay enabled. And all those owners had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. And it works flawlessly in those 2015 vehicles. Yet, Honda decided to make it a new selling feature for 2016. What the heck...
You know what the worse part is?
Honda apparently had some 2015 owners to try a developing software loaded to their vehicle with Carplay enabled. And all those owners had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. And it works flawlessly in those 2015 vehicles. Yet, Honda decided to make it a new selling feature for 2016. What the heck...
Also BMW Audi Mercedes just was part of a group that bought Nokia Here Maps, which is far better than Apple Maps and requires no data.
BMW knows what they are doing.
Well they know what they're doing except for how to make a reliable car lol.
So they know what they are doing, except when they don't know what they are doing?
BMW partnered with Chrysler to build the Tritec engine in Brazil, which was used in the first generation Mini Cooper. When Chrysler was taken over by Daimler, BMW found itself in a joint venture with one of their closest domestic competitors. They sold out of Tritec and had to find another partner for a new engine for the Mini, which was with another competitor, Peugeot. Now, finally, 15 years later, BMW is building its own front-wheel drive engine for the Mini.
Not really pretty, when you think about it. Maybe they don't always know what they are doing. Maybe they are making some of it up as they go along.
Bluetooth does not have the bandwidth to support uncompressed audio let alone full on video streaming like CarPlay requires. It will be wireless, but likely direct wifi/Airplay.
[doublepost=1458825999][/doublepost]
CarPlay is just an app...there is no such thing as a "CarPlay System". Which tells me you know virtually nothing of what you're talking about.
CarPlay is not "just an app". It is an app coupled with a compatible head-unit (aka: the 'CarPlay system' you just claimed doesn't exist).
Here are just a few examples of those head units: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...o=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_9tgabpo89p_b_p10
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
It's interesting that you brought that up because it sort of ties back to what I originally stated. There was a reason why BMW had to collaborate for the Tritec engine. For the most part, the collaboration worked if you look past the fact that BMW was pretty much working with Daimler unintentionally (through M&A). By working with outside parties, you run the risk of things happening that you can't control like being in business with your closest competitor.
So going back to CarPlay, BMW could easily allow CarPlay today but they'll still be working on improving iDrive anyway so why allow Apple to come in and have a hand in your business? Look, I understand as a consumer you always want choices and I'm totally with you on that but from the business side, I always followed the idea that you should never rely on anyone if you can do something yourself and this is exactly what BMW is doing.
[doublepost=1458845769][/doublepost]
You know that headunit you linked to has CarPlay as just an overlay right? It's running on top of whatever system Pioneer or whoever uses for their head units so what @Iconoclysm posted is correct. Whether you consider CarPlay as an app or overlay, it's just that and not it's own operating system. iOS and OS X are systems, As far as I know CarPlay is not.
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
My point in this narrative was really in response to the argument that BMW doesn't need Apple because they already have the maps thing totally wired due to their joint aquisition of Nokia Here Maps. Seems to me they are already not doing it themselves, but at least partially within one of those fragile and unpredictable partnerships with competitors.
I agree it's a control thing, but in today's world not playing well with the technology of others isn't generally a winner. BMW isn't big enough to sustain that approach and risks becoming a technology island. This is why their heal-dragging on CarPlay support seems like a defensive measure that won't benefit them in the long run and probably isn't sustainable anyway. It isn't like they are Toyota, uncommitted to support of CarPlay and big enough to have some chance of making a go-it-alone strategy work. BMW will have to cave eventually and in the meantime the messaging to consumers is pretty bad.
No, it is an app, and I've been using it for months. It's optional in my car which has its own "system" called Sensus. You launch CarPlay...or you don't...you can kill it, or leave it running...it even runs in its own little section of the overall 8.9" screen as a "blade" style app...IT IS AN APP. Extra points for being extra wrong.
CarPlay is essentially a second "display" for your iPhone through a remote desktop style interface. A lightweight app that runs on many different OS's.
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.