Still pissed off at the fact that Honda abandoned us with the 2015 CRV where they did a pilot program with CarPlay.
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.
New CarPlay Vehicles From Audi, Honda, GM, and More Debut at Detroit Auto Show
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
So, you enjoy using the manufacturer-made systems? You find them full-featured with good UI? CarPlay is better than anything else. Yes, it could use improvements, but it is still the BEST thing out there.
At least I shouldn't need to buy an entire new car to just get a software update!
I enjoy using CarPlay and while I'd like to see them continuing to enhance it at a faster pace, it is a good interface and lets me access my music and podcasts, and do my navigation. That was my main reason for wanting to use it. It is pretty tied down on what you can do, but given all the safety concerns I see why they are doing it.
As for self-installing, there are many head units you can choose from. I installed a Pioneer 4200NEX head unit in my 2005 F-150, and also gained a backup camera. Love it.
I have used it for months and not run into any of these bugs that people are complaining about in this thread. Not sure what you are doing differently.
Someone asked about Google Maps or Waze... not supported. I used to use them before I got CarPlay and have now come back to Apple Maps... much improved and serves me well most of the time. I like that I can look up my destination on my phone before I get in the car and then it just picks up. I turn off the voice prompts and my Apple Watch gives me a wrist tap when I approach a turn so I then look over at the navigation. Works great and other folks in the car don't need to hear the prompts.
Last edited:
I'm also an Audi guy and you're right -- CarPlay doesn't fare so well with Audi's non-touchscreen approach. For years, Audi's approach seemed like the right one because car controls should be tactile wherever possible and because car touchscreens didn't match what people had come to expect from devices like iPads. Also, Audi didn't like forcing people to hold their arms in the air -- the very same thinking that has kept Apple from embracing touchscreens in the Mac line.
Now, I wish Audi would rethink this. At this point, people expect to be able to touch a screen, especially one based on iDevices. And as you point out, touch is the best way of interacting with CarPlay.
That said, you bought one hell of a nice car -- the 2017 A4 is simply a stunning upgrade to an already great car.
FCA supports CarPlay with Uconnect v4.0 in MY2017 vehicles now. 300, Pacifica, Charger, and Challenger now, other vehicles as they get updated to include the new Uconnect system.
I am disappointed to see all of the negative reactions to CarPlay. I have a 2012 Toyota Camry, and it has Entune. Maybe Entune has gotten better since 2012, but if so, no one has told me that there are updates available for it. The voice recognition is terrible, Entune also only allows a couple of apps, and trying to use a music app is a complete joke. The map navigation is a DVD based system, and updating it cost around $400. The map was out of date the very first day I drove the car home. It missed multiple road changes on my drive home, some were 2-3 years old. As I said, Toyota may have improved the software greatly, but if so they are not letting owners of cars just a few years old know about it.
I was thinking about getting an after-market of CarPlay for the car.
I was thinking about getting an after-market of CarPlay for the car.
Microsoft Sync just works when I rent a car. Carplay doesnt work worth a crap in my Chevy Volt. Virtually everything about it is wrong. One example -- podcasts. It won't list the podcasts you can actually play, because they've actually been downloaded. Another example- it crashed the whole console when I tried to scroll through my playlist.
[doublepost=1484031652][/doublepost]
My next car purchase will be based on NOT having CarPlay, based on my experience with it in my 2016 Chevy Volt.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.
[doublepost=1484031801][/doublepost]
Sounds like someone who does use it. It's a god awful mess.
Is there a way to demo or preview CarPlay? I am thinking about getting an aftermarket unit to upgrade my current car's system, but I have never actually used or seen CarPlay in person, so I don't know if it is really worth it.
I think it really depends on the vehicle manufacturer's implementation. Some people swear by it, others swear at it.
Personally, I am swearing off apple -- after 35 years (my wife worked there) of commitment and who knows how many products, after my Chevy Volt experience, I won't buy anything from Apple again. (Though I do buy used equipment).
So test it, but REALLY test it. Because the usability flaws seem really bad to me.
Here's one that is not exclusively carplay, since it also happens when synced by bluetooth: You're listening to the radio and hear a tune that piques your interest. You open up Shazaam so you can find out what the title/artist is. But your phone turns the radio off and starts playing a podcast.
Or you are sitting in the car, listening to the radio and open facebook. It switches the audio to podcasts or tunes or something.
Or you start your car and a podcast starts playing. Not wanting to listen to it right now, you turn it off. Next time you start the car, the podcast starts playing. Repeat until you want to toss your iphone out the window.
Or you are just driving, with no audio on. When you get to your destination, all your podcasts are gone, because the phone has been playing them (even though the sound was off), and since it has played them all (even though you turned off the F---ing podcasts a hundred times), it has deleted them.
Or you want to listen to a podcast, but the carplay insists on displaying ones that are available, but which you haven't downloaded, instead of only displaying those that you can actually listen to..
I was so looking forward to CarPlay, because in the old days with apple, it just worked. Well that went the way of Steve Jobs.
So caveat emptor.
Personally, I am swearing off apple -- after 35 years (my wife worked there) of commitment and who knows how many products, after my Chevy Volt experience, I won't buy anything from Apple again. (Though I do buy used equipment).
So test it, but REALLY test it. Because the usability flaws seem really bad to me.
Here's one that is not exclusively carplay, since it also happens when synced by bluetooth: You're listening to the radio and hear a tune that piques your interest. You open up Shazaam so you can find out what the title/artist is. But your phone turns the radio off and starts playing a podcast.
Or you are sitting in the car, listening to the radio and open facebook. It switches the audio to podcasts or tunes or something.
Or you start your car and a podcast starts playing. Not wanting to listen to it right now, you turn it off. Next time you start the car, the podcast starts playing. Repeat until you want to toss your iphone out the window.
Or you are just driving, with no audio on. When you get to your destination, all your podcasts are gone, because the phone has been playing them (even though the sound was off), and since it has played them all (even though you turned off the F---ing podcasts a hundred times), it has deleted them.
Or you want to listen to a podcast, but the carplay insists on displaying ones that are available, but which you haven't downloaded, instead of only displaying those that you can actually listen to..
I was so looking forward to CarPlay, because in the old days with apple, it just worked. Well that went the way of Steve Jobs.
So caveat emptor.
Last edited:
Interesting to see that the Terrain denali, and not the other trim levels, are getting CarPlay.
While it's not uncommon for the manufacturers to charge a premium for enabling technology that they put in all trim levels (I.e. The wiring for heated seats and mirrors is usually just not plugged in, the NAV* systems requiring an activation code, etc) I always saw car play as an overall selling point of the vehicle and not something only available on the high end....
Being from Detroit id love nothing more than to see the big three beat out Silicon Valley, and I've been confident that they would make the right decisions to keep Tesla (and to a lesser extent google and apple) at bay....but greed fueled decisions like these make it tough to continue supporting these a***oles
[doublepost=1484036750][/doublepost]
I've always wondered how the stock hardware can obtain the album artwork from a Sirius xm satellite but not from the latest Bluetooth tech signals sent from a foot away. Surely if I can airdrop a 500 MB 4K video file to my Mac I can send a 500 kb low res album cover...?
[doublepost=1484036905][/doublepost]
While it's not uncommon for the manufacturers to charge a premium for enabling technology that they put in all trim levels (I.e. The wiring for heated seats and mirrors is usually just not plugged in, the NAV* systems requiring an activation code, etc) I always saw car play as an overall selling point of the vehicle and not something only available on the high end....
Being from Detroit id love nothing more than to see the big three beat out Silicon Valley, and I've been confident that they would make the right decisions to keep Tesla (and to a lesser extent google and apple) at bay....but greed fueled decisions like these make it tough to continue supporting these a***oles
[doublepost=1484036750][/doublepost]
I've always wondered how the stock hardware can obtain the album artwork from a Sirius xm satellite but not from the latest Bluetooth tech signals sent from a foot away. Surely if I can airdrop a 500 MB 4K video file to my Mac I can send a 500 kb low res album cover...?
[doublepost=1484036905][/doublepost]
Happens via USB and Bluetooth on GMs intellilink and Jeep's Uconnect too (both don't offer CarPlay)
Wife's Kia Sportage SX has CP and I'm not sure what others are complaining about.... it works flawless. Not sure what people are expecting. Maybe different car makers have different issue but the only other time I used it in a rental it too was flawless.
I'm using my Mercedes Command Online system; it updates the maps and data for the whole of Europe automatically, traffic information comes straight from the internet, it mixes all sources from the audio channels, has remote displays on the instrument cluster and also head up display.
I just plug my iPhone 7+ in, and have everything available.
What will CarPlay actually provide in addition? Can it display on the secondary display in the instrument cluster? Can it display navigation on the head up display? Can Siri change the car temperature, switch to USB or SD card input?
I'm struggling to see what problem it is solving, and it seems to me a compromise.
I just plug my iPhone 7+ in, and have everything available.
What will CarPlay actually provide in addition? Can it display on the secondary display in the instrument cluster? Can it display navigation on the head up display? Can Siri change the car temperature, switch to USB or SD card input?
I'm struggling to see what problem it is solving, and it seems to me a compromise.
Mixed feelings about CarPlay. I was super excited to get my '17 Ford Fusion with Sync3 and CarPlay support, but after a few months of daily use I prefer the more thoughtful, fully featured Sync3 experience. I also agree CP has potential and it just needs some love and attention.
To me, Sync3's navigation UI is more informative (naming the street I'm on, speed limit, what song is playing, etc.) whereas CP's maps UI is too sparse and limited (I'm on iOS 10.2.1b3). Yet I still use CarPlay for audio and phone calls (more reliable via USB than Bluetooth).
Much like HomeKit, CarPlay feels like a platform for truly great things, but has yet to be truly developed to the level of parity that others have been offering already (SmartThings, Sync3, etc.). I wish CP didn't feel like a pet project done on a few Apple developers' spare time.
To me, Sync3's navigation UI is more informative (naming the street I'm on, speed limit, what song is playing, etc.) whereas CP's maps UI is too sparse and limited (I'm on iOS 10.2.1b3). Yet I still use CarPlay for audio and phone calls (more reliable via USB than Bluetooth).
Much like HomeKit, CarPlay feels like a platform for truly great things, but has yet to be truly developed to the level of parity that others have been offering already (SmartThings, Sync3, etc.). I wish CP didn't feel like a pet project done on a few Apple developers' spare time.
I agree.
I guess people have different priorities when it comes to what car suits them, but I personally will not choose a car or not just because of CP. Maybe if there were two choices that fully met what I wanted, and one had CP, that might help my decision. But, I would never deliberately pay more for it.
With my experience with CP, I might even pick the vehicle that did not have it.
I am not family with the MB that you are referring to, but I would bet that Siri will not be able to do most of the things you mentioned. CP is very limited, and doesn't do many basic things that you would expect it to.
Sounds like the implementation of the app in your car was bad, period. Nothing like that happens in my Volvo.
[doublepost=1484055640][/doublepost]
Yes, it can display on the secondary display in the next version. Potentially the HUD too. CarPlay will likely never touch temperature or USB/SD card considering neither have anything to do with CarPlay.
The problem it is solving is horrid infotainment implementations, inconsistencies from vehicle to vehicle and manufacturer to manufacturer, inability to truly upgrade capabilities, and eliminates the need to pay for ridiculous subscriptions for traffic, weather, and maps from a manufacturer.
Some questions to experienced CarPlay users :
Is it possible to use the car's offline navigation along with CarPlay ?
Can a block some Phone numbers not appearing in CarPlay (whether in phone.app nor in messenger.app) ?
Which of the iOS offline navigation apps is usable ?
Is it possible to use the car's offline navigation along with CarPlay ?
Can a block some Phone numbers not appearing in CarPlay (whether in phone.app nor in messenger.app) ?
Which of the iOS offline navigation apps is usable ?
1. Can't answer that one, my car has no offline nav.
2. Not sure what you are hoping to accomplish but I don't think so. The concept is to mirror what you see on the connected phone.
3. Pretty certain the answer is none. The apps available in CarPlay are a small subset of the larger app universe: phone, music, messages, maps (Apple), podcasts, and audio books. Third-party apps allowed to run in CarPlay seem to be limited to radio and music streaming.
I'm actively looking for a new car now and very few of the car makers are highlighting their CarPlay support. Most of the sales reps in the dealership don't seem to know what CarPlay is.
This is a classic example of Apple's mantra that building the software and hardware together is the best way forward. Apple needs to go out and buy Tesla and build their own Apple cars.
This is a classic example of Apple's mantra that building the software and hardware together is the best way forward. Apple needs to go out and buy Tesla and build their own Apple cars.
Tesla isn't for sale, and even if they were, it would be a terrible fit and a total black hole for Apple.
BTW Tesla does not and likely never will support CarPlay. They have an even larger "not invented here" problem than Apple, and that's saying a lot.
it can display to a secondary display in the next version? Seriously? And integrate with HUD as well? So drive three different displays with different purpose and user interfaces. Wow that would be impressive.
Hmm, if it doesn't integrate with the rest of the car controls then surely it is a retrospective step. Mercedes doesn't charge for my traffic, weather (never used it, I look out of the window) no map upgrades. But not integrating with the rest of the car doesn't feel right to me. Infotainment is only a small part, there are so many more controls within a car.
In my experience, most of the sales reps in the dealership don't seem to know much about cars, even the ones they sell.
I have a 2017 7 series with wireless CarPlay. Mediocre Interfase - the BMW interfase (iDrive V 5.0) is far superior. Switching back and forth is poorly implemented as is Integration among systems. For example, and address in the iPhone contacts cannot be used as a destination on the NAV of iDrive.