Mazda Continues CarPlay Rollout With 2019 CX-9

[MacRumors]

Mazda this week introduced the 2019 CX-9, its second vehicle to be equipped with CarPlay in the United States, alongside the 2018 Mazda6.

CarPlay and Android Auto come factory installed in Touring, Touring Premium, Grand Touring, and Signature trims of the 2019 CX-9, as part of the MAZDA CONNECT infotainment system with an eight-inch display. The software platforms do not appear to be an option in the base Sport trim at this time.

Mazda says the 2019 CX-9 will begin to arrive at select dealerships in the United States this month, with nationwide availability in September. Pricing for CarPlay-equipped packages starts at $35,330.

As for the 2018 Mazda6, existing owners of the Touring trim and above will be able to have a Mazda dealership install CarPlay and Android Auto at no extra cost, starting in September. Then, starting in November, CarPlay and Android Auto will come factory installed in brand new 2018 Mazda6 vehicles.

Accordingly, while the 2019 CX-9 is Mazda's second CarPlay vehicle to be announced, it will be the first to roll off the lot brand new with factory-installed CarPlay and Android Auto in the United States.

CarPlay will enable iPhone users to access a range of apps from the MAZDA CONNECT infotainment system, such as Messages, Apple Maps, Apple Music, Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, SiriusXM Radio, Pandora, WhatsApp, Downcast, Slacker Radio, Stitcher, and, starting with iOS 12, Google Maps and Waze.

Earlier this year, on its Canadian website, Mazda said CarPlay and Android Auto will be available as a genuine retrofit for MAZDA CONNECT systems starting this fall, suggesting that Mazda vehicles released as early as 2014 could eventually support the platforms, but exact rollout plans often vary by country.

Mazda is one of the last major automakers in the United States to offer CarPlay, after Toyota and Lexus announced support earlier this year.

Article Link: Mazda Continues CarPlay Rollout With 2019 CX-9

 

[Vanilla35]

Bring it to my 2017 rf pls

 

[iwaffles]

They also made promises to bring this to the 2018 CX-5, but still no word and they’ve since taken it down from their website.


The dealers also guaranteed a retrofit to multiple people purchasing CX-5s

 

[pika2000]

I really hate how car companies are so behind in this. I mean seriously, when did Apple announce Carplay? 2013!
Worse, all these car OEMs think these features are only for the high end cars with the highest trim first, even though they don't even invest much in it (Apple does most of the job, and the app developers did the hard work on the apps). Yet they feel they need to make a ton of money out of it.

The worse of course are the Japanese companies. They still think they can do their own software, while it's been proven in the consumer electronics market that they suck at it.

 

[RangerOne]

I really hate how car companies are so behind in this. I mean seriously, when did Apple announce Carplay? 2013!
Worse, all these car OEMs think these features are only for the high end cars with the highest trim first, even though they don't even invest much in it (Apple does most of the job, and the app developers did the hard work on the apps). Yet they feel they need to make a ton of money out of it.

The worse of course are the Japanese companies. They still think they can do their own software, while it's been proven in the consumer electronics market that they suck at it.

I agree with you that this has been a long time coming, and that we've been more than patient with Mazda. The reason it took so long is because they were trying to polish their own Infotainment system, then they were working with Toyota on some "next generation" infotainment system. They wanted to keep control, but they also didn't want to cannibalize sales of high-margin car features like the built-in navigation system.

However, we need to give them some credit: I love that they're making this upgrade available to vehicles already on the road (well, this article didn't mention that about the CX-9). Also, they DO make it available on all trim levels except the base (Sport). It's better than only on the Signature!

 

[liquidiq]

Bring it to my 2017 rf pls

Also waiting for it on my 2016 MX-5 softtop

 

[Nicksd84]

Still waiting in the retrofit as well. 2017 mazda3. I think they have to swap out the USB ports to meet Apple’s standard. The ones in now don’t deliver enough power.

 

[liquidiq]

Still waiting in the retrofit as well. 2017 mazda3. I think they have to swap out the USB ports to meet Apple’s standard. The ones in now don’t deliver enough power.

Yep, new USB module which provide 2.1amps and the v70 CMU upgrade.

 

[dominiongamma]

I really hate how car companies are so behind in this. I mean seriously, when did Apple announce Carplay? 2013!
Worse, all these car OEMs think these features are only for the high end cars with the highest trim first, even though they don't even invest much in it (Apple does most of the job, and the app developers did the hard work on the apps). Yet they feel they need to make a ton of money out of it.

The worse of course are the Japanese companies. They still think they can do their own software, while it's been proven in the consumer electronics market that they suck at it.

I have a Honda Civic with CarPlay... only Japanese car maker dragging their feet were Toyota

 

[Vanilla35]

Yep, new USB module which provide 2.1amps and the v70 CMU upgrade.

That sucks, I was hoping to software hack this if they denied compatibility. So we need to swap the usb port? Any idea which parts are used?

 

[liquidiq]

That sucks, I was hoping to software hack this if they denied compatibility. So we need to swap the usb port? Any idea which parts are used?

Mazda3Revolution forum has the best info for this kinda stuff.

 

[Juicy Box]

Imo, CarPlay is pretty overrated. I was an early adopter of CP, and was really excited about it, but my excitement quickly turned into indifference. Bugs and glitches aside, it makes things so limited and kind of boring. I understand that it is made with safety in mind, but it goes a little overboard with it.

The bugs have gotten better, but ironically, at one point the bugs were so bad that it was becoming distracting.

They also made promises to bring this to the 2018 CX-5, but still no word and they’ve since taken it down from their website.


The dealers also guaranteed a retrofit to multiple people purchasing CX-5s

Hopefully people have it in writing that their vehicles would be retrofitted, but if it is not in writing, then it may never happen.

 

[baller1308]

Wow it's about time. Was getting tired of reading news that it was coming soon.

 

[sidewinder3000]

In the market for a new car and I would not even consider one that doesn’t have CarPlay .

 

[tfigs]

Imo, CarPlay is pretty overrated. I was an early adopter of CP, and was really excited about it, but my excitement quickly turned into indifference. Bugs and glitches aside, it makes things so limited and kind of boring. I understand that it is made with safety in mind, but it goes a little overboard with it.

The bugs have gotten better, but ironically, at one point the bugs were so bad that it was becoming distracting.

Bugs and glitches?? Can you specify? I've been using CarPlay in my Mazda CX-5 with Alpine Stereo and it runs great. I would not buy another car without it. Its safety first which is the idea behind it.

 

[Jmausmuc]

How is it front page news that some random car is now equipped with car play like 4 years after it came out.
[doublepost=1533664208][/doublepost]Apple should make a system that powers the entire car or at least work together clother with the automotive industry. The current CarPlay isn’t very good and I hardly ever use it, because it can’t interface with the head up display or the speedometer screen.

 

[ghostface147]

My 2018 Accord is the first car I bought that had CarPlay. It was cool at first, but not used much at all anymore. You know what would have made it better? Wireless. Sometimes I don't want to charge my phone because it's got good battery life left.

 

[Ghost31]

I have a Honda Civic with CarPlay... only Japanese car maker dragging their feet were Toyota

Same. I just got a civic a couple weeks ago and CarPlay is a feature I can’t imagine being without now. Don’t understand what the heck is taking everyone else so long to adopt it

 

[Juicy Box]

Bugs and glitches?? Can you specify?

Easy enough with a something search of "bugs and glitches on carplay"

But, I could elaborate. I have used CP with two aftermarket headunits, Pioneer's AppRadio 4, and Alpine's ilx-007. Most of my experience is with the Pioneer, as I returned the Alpine after a few weeks for sound quality issues, not CP issues. But, there were bugs on both.

The bugs have been present with multiple different iPhones, and different iOS versions.

In my experience, the 95% bugs were almost always fixed by doing one or more of the following:
Unplug and replug the iPhone
Close the app and reopen it
Restart the iPhone
Restart the head unit (which also meant turning the car off and on)


Under iOS 9, the bugs were the most frequent, it got better with iOS 10, and while I do not use iOS 11, my wife said that her CP experience has gotten worse since she updated to iOS 11.

As for the type of bugs, there has been all kinds. Connection/disconnection issues, iOS crashes, music issues, volume issues, lag, Siri lag, certain UI functions not working, and others.

The thing is, the experience is very inconsistent. One day, it would be great, the next day, I can't use CP without restarting my phone. Also, there seems to be an ever-increasing range of user experiences with CP and Apple devices in general. One one device, things work great, on another, the experience sucks. This seems to be the case over the past few years.

Its safety first which is the idea behind it.

I like safety too, but there is a point in which too much safety interferes with convenience and common sense. It might be safer for pedestrians in urban environments to walk around with helmets on incase they fall, get hit by car, or get hit by a falling object, but this would be an example of too much safety.

For example, in CP, why not have an album cover clearly visible? There is an album cover, but it is translucent, blurry, and hard to see. You might say so people don't look at it while driving, but when I am trying to see what album is playing, quickly glancing over to see it is much quicker than reading the text, and much, much quicker and safer than trying to make out the blurry image that is shown.

Also, if showing an album is really that distracting, why have a scrub bar? I think that a scrub bar would be much more distracting than an album cover.

I would not even consider one that doesn’t have CarPlay

I would not buy another car without it.

arPlay is a feature I can’t imagine being without now.

I have used CarPlay for three years now, and while I don't hate it and wouldn't mind it being included on my next vehicle purchase, I definitely wouldn't pay extra for it.

I will be looking for a new car in the next year, and if I have to buy a higher tier trim just to get CP, then I will just stick with the base model and no CarPlay.

 

[advancewarsbest]

Although Carplay may not be required, if there is no CarPlay a phone mount is absolutely necessary.

 

[macduke]

I'm still waiting for an aftermarket CarPlay wireless system that doesn't break the bank and has a decent capacitive touch display. For now it's just my iPhone X in an iOttie Qi mount using BT and honestly that's not too bad. Until then I'll probably just wait until I buy my next car, which will probably be a Subaru Ascent.

 

[sidewinder3000]

Easy enough with a something search of "bugs and glitches on carplay"

But, I could elaborate. I have used CP with two aftermarket headunits, Pioneer's AppRadio 4, and Alpine's ilx-007. Most of my experience is with the Pioneer, as I returned the Alpine after a few weeks for sound quality issues, not CP issues. But, there were bugs on both.

The bugs have been present with multiple different iPhones, and different iOS versions.

In my experience, the 95% bugs were almost always fixed by doing one or more of the following:
Unplug and replug the iPhone
Close the app and reopen it
Restart the iPhone
Restart the head unit (which also meant turning the car off and on)


Under iOS 9, the bugs were the most frequent, it got better with iOS 10, and while I do not use iOS 11, my wife said that her CP experience has gotten worse since she updated to iOS 11.

As for the type of bugs, there has been all kinds. Connection/disconnection issues, iOS crashes, music issues, volume issues, lag, Siri lag, certain UI functions not working, and others.

The thing is, the experience is very inconsistent. One day, it would be great, the next day, I can't use CP without restarting my phone. Also, there seems to be an ever-increasing range of user experiences with CP and Apple devices in general. One one device, things work great, on another, the experience sucks. This seems to be the case over the past few years.


I like safety too, but there is a point in which too much safety interferes with convenience and common sense. It might be safer for pedestrians in urban environments to walk around with helmets on incase they fall, get hit by car, or get hit by a falling object, but this would be an example of too much safety.

For example, in CP, why not have an album cover clearly visible? There is an album cover, but it is translucent, blurry, and hard to see. You might say so people don't look at it while driving, but when I am trying to see what album is playing, quickly glancing over to see it is much quicker than reading the text, and much, much quicker and safer than trying to make out the blurry image that is shown.

Also, if showing an album is really that distracting, why have a scrub bar? I think that a scrub bar would be much more distracting than an album cover.







I have used CarPlay for three years now, and while I don't hate it and wouldn't mind it being included on my next vehicle purchase, I definitely wouldn't pay extra for it.

I will be looking for a new car in the next year, and if I have to buy a higher tier trim just to get CP, then I will just stick with the base model and no CarPlay.

Wow. For me, it’s a must have. Any car without it would feel “old”. Plus, it just feels safer and less distracting to me.

 

[Black Magic]

I really hate how car companies are so behind in this. I mean seriously, when did Apple announce Carplay? 2013!
Worse, all these car OEMs think these features are only for the high end cars with the highest trim first, even though they don't even invest much in it (Apple does most of the job, and the app developers did the hard work on the apps). Yet they feel they need to make a ton of money out of it.

The worse of course are the Japanese companies. They still think they can do their own software, while it's been proven in the consumer electronics market that they suck at it.

So true. Sadly they are going to implement the wired version of CarPlay instead of going with Wireless! It's ridiculous and they could use that as a differentiator but apparently they didn't get the memo.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Bugs and glitches?? Can you specify? I've been using CarPlay in my Mazda CX-5 with Alpine Stereo and it runs great. I would not buy another car without it. Its safety first which is the idea behind it.

Because a graphically richer interface isn't "safe"? We're not talking watching music videos or movies here, we're talking about screens that have something other than just giant text on them. Album art would be nice. The practically transparent, barely visible image that is supposedly on the screen of the "now playing" is useless. It might as well not be there.

 

[anonymous13579]

I asked Mazda, they confirmed that CarPlay will be coming to all models with Mazda Connect with a retrofit part that your dealership can order in starting September 1st!
[doublepost=1533752105][/doublepost]

Imo, CarPlay is pretty overrated. I was an early adopter of CP, and was really excited about it, but my excitement quickly turned into indifference. Bugs and glitches aside, it makes things so limited and kind of boring. I understand that it is made with safety in mind, but it goes a little overboard with it.

The bugs have gotten better, but ironically, at one point the bugs were so bad that it was becoming distracting.



Hopefully people have it in writing that their vehicles would be retrofitted, but if it is not in writing, then it may never happen.

I just asked Mazda Canada, they said retrofit parts are coming September 1st... that’s in Canada tho idk if it’s the same everywhere else