New CarPlay Vehicles From Audi, Honda, GM, and More Debut at Detroit Auto Show

[newdeal]

I bought my GM vehicle because it had carplay. It has been a huge let down. I am not sure if the bugs are on Apples and or GMs but every time there is an iOS update some bugs get fixed and new ones get introduced. The worst bugs tend to be with Apple maps voice guidance which makes me think its an Apple problem. I really wish I could use Google Maps for carplay
[doublepost=1483993033][/doublepost]

Is carplay any good? Anyone here using it?

I'd like to see more options for self-installing a retrofit for any vehicle. (If that's not already possible?)

Its not that great in my GM vehicle due to the bugs. You can retrofit it but it can be tough because modern vehicles tend to have more functionality than just the radio built into the stock head unit. If you have an old car it would be a piece of cake if it has a spot for a double DIN sized radio. If you car only will hold a single DIN it would need some hacking to fit in the dash

 

[Joe1602]

Is carplay any good? Anyone here using it?

I'd like to see more options for self-installing a retrofit for any vehicle. (If that's not already possible?)

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/NEX/AVIC-8100NEX

I have this one and absolutely love it! Found it on amazon for $900. Expensive, I know, but it has allowed me to avoid buying a new car for several more years.
There are cheaper options from Pioneer, Alpine and others.

 

[Iconoclysm]

Sorry to say but CarPlay is Apple's worst product ever [period]. ...and I've been a fan of Apple since January 24, 1984.

Sounds like someone that hasn't really used it. I use it twice daily and love it...especially when I'm travelling and am in a rental yet keep the same familiar interface.

 

[jclardy]

Bought a new Mazda 3 last year, super annoyed that they still don't offer carplay, but I will say their built in system isn't that bad, especially having both the touchscreen and controller dial in the center console. My main complaint is just that bluetooth audio doesn't provide album artwork (And mazda decided that they will just display a blank outline knowing that they don't have it in the first place.)

 

[D.T.]

Is carplay any good? Anyone here using it?

I'd like to see more options for self-installing a retrofit for any vehicle. (If that's not already possible?)

I'm a huge fan, I've had it for a few weeks**, it's better than the already _decent_ Sync 3 system, better layout and UI (including the fonts), more consistent with our other iOS devices, it's mostly the same general functionality, it's just the implementation is better. A few things for me are vastly superior - ex: Sync 3 native just puts Podcasts into the music function, as a media type, vs. CP where it's the Apple Podcast app (note a couple of other podcast apps are also CP compatible.

There are a number of aftermarket head units available ( I suspect the only issue is where the existing HU has car related controls, without secondary controls).

What really needs to happen is for Apple to loosen things up, let more apps be CP compatible, extend the interface to allow for things like [simple] widgets, etc.

I think there's a TON of potential!


** I have a '16 with Sync 3 that was supposed to get Carplay the middle of last year, then the end, now "sometime in '17", so through some channels the software update was released, the required USB hub was identified, and there's a number of us running it ahead of the official Ford release

 

[BeefCake 15]

My main complaint is just that bluetooth audio doesn't provide album artwork (And mazda decided that they will just display a blank outline knowing that they don't have it in the first place.)

It shows it for me, 2016 CX-5. I just wish they can activate Siri through the steering wheel...

 

[D.T.]

Another nice thing: if you have more than one vehicle, where the AV/Nav system is different, Carplay provides a consistent experience.

 

[jib2]

As was mentioned above, although Honda is supporting CarPlay, Acura is not yet (except for the $180,000 NSX). Although my last 3 vehicles were Acuras, I've told Acura Customer Support that my next car will have CarPlay, -- could be a Honda or many other brands. Unfortunately, I suspect that Acuras will not pick up CarPlay until the various models are redesigned -- mostly scheduled for 2019 or so.

 

[gweedo]

Once again, I am currently driving in a 2017 BMW M240i with wireless Carplay. Further, CarPlay currently sucks. That is all.

Driving a 2017 Audi A4 with wired CarPlay. Similar meh experience. However it is hard to know how much is due to the car manufacturer or Apple. For example, Audi doesn't support touch at all but the CarPlay UI is clearly designed for it...

 

[Juicy Box]

Sad to say, but my next car lease/purchase will be based on availability of Carplay. I have an Acura now so it puzzles me that Honda cars have it, yet Acura does not. I'm now seriously looking at the Ford Explorer, possibly Honda Pilot if it will suit my needs.

That said, if the 2018 model (when my lease is up) doesn't have Apple CarPlay, I'm switching to the Honda CR-V...

Having used CarPlay for a while now, I would never give up a car I liked because of the lack of CarPlay. Too many bugs, and way too limited.

I find myself enjoying my non-CarPlay head units more than the CarPlay one.

Still hoping against hope that Mazda will adopt CarPlay, particularly for the CX-5. (And then employ a firmware update so that current owners, like myself, can enjoy the benefits.)

My wife had a 2014 CX-5 and then traded it for a 2015 Mazda5. The 2014 CX-5 infotainment system was absolutely garbage. Super slow, and really buggy. Any complaint to the dealership resulted wth a quick and well rehearsed response saying that it was software related and there is nothing they could do about it.

I read that the 2015 and up CX-5 had a redesigned infotainment system that was mostly well liked, do you not like it?

 

[Kabeyun]

Once again, I am currently driving in a 2017 BMW M240i with wireless Carplay. Further, CarPlay currently sucks. That is all.

That is not all. You'll have to do better than that for me to believe you. Having trialed CarPlay in a VW Golf R, I was pretty impressed in spite of one odd behavior with GPS vs music volume which could've been the car, not the interface.

What I do believe is the UI in my 2016 BMW 228i, including flippin' iDrive, is arguably the worst cockpit tech I've ever interacted with. It's so bad I'm getting rid of the car, which I'd reconsider if I had CarPlay like this year's model does. If your issue is connection stability, in my experience, having used it in Audis, Chevys, Fords, and Toyotas, BMW's BT handling is also a total disaster.

 

[Juicy Box]

Is carplay any good? Anyone here using it?

I'd like to see more options for self-installing a retrofit for any vehicle. (If that's not already possible?)

There are a few aftermarket CP options right now, I have used two of them. I have used Pioneer AppRadio 4, and Alpine's iLX 700.

AppRadio 4 - I got it less than $300, it isn't bad, but it should have a physical Siri button. Also, it doesn't support external Siri control, as in from a steering wheel, so you have to press the screen to activate Siri.

iLX 700 - I thought it was the better looking out of the two, but I could not get the sound right, and it had very limited customization for the audio. I returned it not long after getting it.

I was excited to use CarPlay at the beginning, but that quickly turned to indifference toward it. I think it is very overrated, and extremely limited. The bugs are annoying.

I was looking forward to wireless CP, but I am curious how to "disconnect" it while driving. The bugs with the wired CP are easily fixed by un-plugging, and then replugging the phone back in. I am not sure how this will work with wireless though. Will you have to turn off the headunit? If so, this means that people have to turn off their car to fix bugs.

Maybe you could turn off WiFi on the phone....

Sorry to say but CarPlay is Apple's worst product ever [period]. ...and I've been a fan of Apple since January 24, 1984.

I wouldn't say worst, but probably one of the most overrated.

Another nice thing: if you have more than one vehicle, where the AV/Nav system is different, Carplay provides a consistent experience.

This is true, but I look forward to using my cars without CP, so if they had them too, it would just be a shared disappointment in all my cars. If the CP headunits didn't cost as much as they do, then it wouldn't be that bad.

 

[Fattytail]

I don't know what you're comparing it to, but the CarPlay in my 2017 Escape is (while not perfect) better than any interface I've ever used in a car. There's lots of room for improvement, sure, but I'll take it over any proprietary system any day of the week.

Me too. I think it's great. All the better that the experience is consistent across all CarPlay devices. Current proprietary infotainment systems are a mess.

 

[nofear1az]

Yes! they finally included Mazd....oh..nevermind.

Mazda already has a very good system in place that is built off of Linux. I love it actually so not missing CarPlay at all.

 

[Joe Rossignol]

The post appears to have been edited since it was published. I might be wrong - I may have misread it - but the post appears to have changed since I read it.

The post isn't exactly great in its present form, though. 'A few other BMWs have it' is misleading at best; the 'few others' include the entire 3 series (you know, the best selling series by far), the 2 series, the 4 series, the 6 series, the 7 series, the x3/x4/x5/x6. Very few models are missing, outside of the i3 and i8 I can't think of any that lack CarPlay.

Hi - thanks for the feedback and insight. The article has been updated twice over to clarify wider BMW availability.

 

[mdelvecchio]

Sorry to say but CarPlay is Apple's worst product ever [period]. ...and I've been a fan of Apple since January 24, 1984.

Sure you are. (you realize that's a classic trope, right? the "I've been a fan since WW2 but this thing sucks" etc)

CP isn't even a product, it's a feature of iOS. I don't see how it could be considered the worst. Most the of screen performance is dependent on the auto maker's head unit.

 

[mikecorp]

bmw has it, but the **** doesn;t work and I payed 800 euros to have that option. Only what I get is apologies. Pathetic, Scrape this gimmick !!

 

[miamialley]

Is carplay any good? Anyone here using it?

I'd like to see more options for self-installing a retrofit for any vehicle. (If that's not already possible?)

I've been using it for a year in my Volt. Love it. It has it's limitations, just like iOS, but I really like it. Vastly better than ANY auto manufacturer crap.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I bought my GM vehicle because it had carplay. It has been a huge let down. I am not sure if the bugs are on Apples and or GMs but every time there is an iOS update some bugs get fixed and new ones get introduced. The worst bugs tend to be with Apple maps voice guidance which makes me think its an Apple problem. I really wish I could use Google Maps for carplay

I just bought my first GM product partially due to CarPlay support. I haven't found it to be buggy (in under two weeks of use) but I have found some other quirks. First, I can't seem to do turn-by-turn instructions. I don't know if the car doesn't support it, or if this has something do with CarPlay. It's difficult to even know who to ask, GM (Chevrolet) or Apple? The other issue I've encountered is when streaming a podcast it sometimes reports a network error and quits back to the menu screen. This is probably a signal strength issue that isn't handled gracefully, but I don't know. So again, who do you ask?

 

[MplsP]

I bought my GM vehicle because it had carplay. It has been a huge let down. I am not sure if the bugs are on Apples and or GMs but every time there is an iOS update some bugs get fixed and new ones get introduced. The worst bugs tend to be with Apple maps voice guidance which makes me think its an Apple problem. I really wish I could use Google Maps for carplay
[doublepost=1483993033][/doublepost]

Its not that great in my GM vehicle due to the bugs. You can retrofit it but it can be tough because modern vehicles tend to have more functionality than just the radio built into the stock head unit. If you have an old car it would be a piece of cake if it has a spot for a double DIN sized radio. If you car only will hold a single DIN it would need some hacking to fit in the dash

Don't know if this applies to you, but enabling/muting voice guidance for CarPlay is now done within CarPlay rather than in the maps settings. There's a speaker icon at the top of the screen now that you use.

 

[bommai]

People should just buy the car they love and install their own after market CarPlay unit. Best of both worlds!

 

[riverfreak]

Once again, I am currently driving in a 2017 BMW M240i with wireless Carplay. Further, CarPlay currently sucks. That is all.

Exactly.

I have a 2017 Audi Allroad. It has (wired) CarPlay and uses the Audi's MMI interface. Oddly, that pairing works fairly well. Still, everything about CarPlay pretty much sucks. It's slow. It takes too much clicking around to get things done. It's missing really key and obvious features. It no longer seems to be under any sort of development. Oh, and it relies pretty heavily on Siri. 'Nuf said.

 

[IGI2]

Sounds like someone that hasn't really used it. I use it twice daily and love it...especially when I'm travelling and am in a rental yet keep the same familiar interface.

Or maybe you don't understand them because you sound like you haven't tried Android Auto.

 

[riverfreak]

Driving a 2017 Audi A4 with wired CarPlay. Similar meh experience. However it is hard to know how much is due to the car manufacturer or Apple. For example, Audi doesn't support touch at all but the CarPlay UI is clearly designed for it...

I think CarPlay works fairly well with the MMI system. I just hate all of the arcane things, like when you navigate to your messages and Siri insists on asking "Do you want to see your messages"? And the delay after completing commands is aggravatingly long before returning to whatever it was you were listening to.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Don't know if this applies to you, but enabling/muting voice guidance for CarPlay is now done within CarPlay rather than in the maps settings. There's a speaker icon at the top of the screen now that you use.

No speaker icon. I can toggle turn-by-turn on or off by tapping the box at the left side of the screen. Fine but the voice is nearly inaudible and the volume can't be adjusted.