iOS 10.3 CarPlay Update Introduces Quicker and Safer Way to Launch Most Recent Apps

[Two]

My experiences with CarPlay have been excellent.

I have two CarPlay compatible units in two separate vehicles. I use my personal iPhone 6 Plus in both vehicles as well as a company iPhones 6S in both vehicles. I replaced the head unit in my Ford F250 work truck with an alpine ILX-007. If I remember correctly, it was about the only third-party CarPlay compatible head unit that I could find at the time. In my brand-new 2016 Toyota tundra TRD pro, I got rid of that crappy, stock, entune unit as soon as I could and put in a pioneer 4200. I did this with a brand-new truck because I bought the truck in Montana and drove it thirty hours home to Houston and had plenty of time to play with that Toyota Entune business.

Having had that alpine CarPlay compatible head unit in my work truck for several years before I bought my brand-new tundra, I knew right away I wanted CarPlay in my new truck.

I have had excellent luck with both of my CarPlay head units. The main things I use are maps, music and Siri for texting. Sometimes I use the phone app as well. In addition, I also use the iHeartRadio app which is CarPlay compatible. Also, I have the Sirius XM radio app installed on both of my phones and I am able to listen to Sirius XM radio through my CarPlay compatible units. However, I must use the phone to navigate the Sirius XM app.

I'm not sure why people are complaining about the Music app. I have multiple playlists created on my phone which I play through my CarPlay stereo without any issues. I use the CarPlay unit to navigate the Music app, usually straight to my playlists. Simple.

The pioneer 4200 head unit in my new tundra, automatically dims when I turn on my headlights. In addition, both head units, the one in my company truck as well as my personal truck, the map app changes to a nighttime mode automatically after sundown and before sun up.

On a few very rare occasions, I have had to reboot a head unit that was acting up. And this simply involved turning it off and turning it back on via the front panel buttons. I will say that the Alpine unit seems to be a great deal more robust in this regard.

Summing up my experiences with CarPlay, I have to say they are excellent and that I would recommend CarPlay to anyone. I believe that CarPlay is about the best vehicle system out there that I have been exposed to.

 

[EdT]

My experiences with CarPlay have been excellent.

I have two CarPlay compatible units in two separate vehicles. I use my personal iPhone 6 Plus in both vehicles as well as a company iPhones 6S in both vehicles. I replaced the head unit in my Ford F250 work truck with an alpine ILX-007. If I remember correctly, it was about the only third-party CarPlay compatible head unit that I could find at the time. In my brand-new 2016 Toyota tundra TRD pro, I got rid of that crappy, stock, entune unit as soon as I could and put in a pioneer 4200. I did this with a brand-new truck because I bought the truck in Montana and drove it thirty hours home to Houston and had plenty of time to play with that Toyota Entune business.

Having had that alpine CarPlay compatible head unit in my work truck for several years before I bought my brand-new tundra, I knew right away I wanted CarPlay in my new truck.

I have had excellent luck with both of my CarPlay head units. The main things I use are maps, music and Siri for texting. Sometimes I use the phone app as well. In addition, I also use the iHeartRadio app which is CarPlay compatible. Also, I have the Sirius XM radio app installed on both of my phones and I am able to listen to Sirius XM radio through my CarPlay compatible units. However, I must use the phone to navigate the Sirius XM app.

I'm not sure why people are complaining about the Music app. I have multiple playlists created on my phone which I play through my CarPlay stereo without any issues. I use the CarPlay unit to navigate the Music app, usually straight to my playlists. Simple.

The pioneer 4200 head unit in my new tundra, automatically dims when I turn on my headlights. In addition, both head units, the one in my company truck as well as my personal truck, the map app changes to a nighttime mode automatically after sundown and before sun up.

On a few very rare occasions, I have had to reboot a head unit that was acting up. And this simply involved turning it off and turning it back on via the front panel buttons. I will say that the Alpine unit seems to be a great deal more robust in this regard.

Summing up my experiences with CarPlay, I have to say they are excellent and that I would recommend CarPlay to anyone. I believe that CarPlay is about the best vehicle system out there that I have been exposed to.

I have a 4 1/2 year old Camry that I upgraded the stereo to Toyota's premium stereo to get a backup camera, a large screen, a NAV system and Entune. I have wondered what improvements Toyota had made, if any, to Entune because I was not impressed with mine, but I wondered if things have changed. Evidently not.

 

[Two]

I have a 4 1/2 year old Camry that I upgraded the stereo to Toyota's premium stereo to get a backup camera, a large screen, a NAV system and Entune. I have wondered what improvements Toyota had made, if any, to Entune because I was not impressed with mine, but I wondered if things have changed. Evidently not.

It was my first Entune unit so I can't comment if it's improved. I just know that for me, Entune doesn't touch carplay.

Go to a Best Buy or some such and plug your phone into a CarPlay compatible unit and play with it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[EdT]

It was my first Entune unit so I can't comment if it's improved. I just know that for me, Entune doesn't touch carplay.

Go to a Best Buy or some such and plug your phone into a CarPlay compatible unit and play with it. Just my 2 cents.

I spent $1500.00 on my cars current system, and have decided I will wait until I buy a different vehicle before buying any stereo/entertainment system. Bluntly, the car isn't worth spending another chunk of money on to me. It's now paid for, and I'm looking elsewhere.

 

[likegadgets]

I updated to 10.3 and coincidentally my BMW had a factory iDrive update as well. After both upgrades, the CarPlay KEYPAD numeric screen locks when the car is in movement. Before the upgrades, this worked even with movement.

If the phone function is used on the car without CarPlay (in iDrive) there is no lock of the screen - so I am assuming the new lock "feature" is courtesy of Apple and not BMW - any one knows? A workaround is the keypad works from the iPhone.

 

[Snidder]

As another user of CarPlay I'll add that this is pretty accurate. I've had it over a year now and can say that 10.3 beta has really made it more stable and work much safer. Siri is still Siri but at adding the 3 most recent type of apps to the status bar really makes it more efficient and, again, safer. Also they added the ability to see downloaded music. I think it's just about ready for widespread consumer use.

Agree. I travel almost weekly and use CP in rentals and LOVE it for the consistent interface regardless of car. It has been pretty reliable. That said, I still use Google maps or Waze if I'm traveling thru a tricky cit. Just bought a BMW and the salesman questioned my getting CP for the car, saying BMW nav is superior - frankly I haven't found that to be the case and so I use CP. on the other hand my son drives a VW and has had glitches with his iPhone 7, while I have had far fewer (but still some) with my 6S. Overall, I'm betting on Apple vs the car manufacturers.