I use it in my 2017 Mustang GT. It's really a tossup between using CarPlay and Sync 3. Sync 3 is *that* good. If I could have access to a handful of apps from the phone via Sync 3, I might never fire up CarPlay.
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New CarPlay Vehicles From Audi, Honda, GM, and More Debut at Detroit Auto Show
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I use it in my 2017 Mustang GT. It's really a tossup between using CarPlay and Sync 3. Sync 3 is *that* good. If I could have access to a handful of apps from the phone via Sync 3, I might never fire up CarPlay.
Exactly that what I fear from CarPlay versus the Mercedes built in system. I've got a 2017 GLC AMG and it is beautifully integrated with all systems, including my phone. But if CarPlay can't replace it with all functions that the car offers it becomes a user interface mess.
The complaints about CarPlay seem to be criticisms of it being precisely what it can't help but to be, which is a layer over the built-in infotainment and data delivery system installed by the manufacturer. Deeper integration could come only if Apple supplied a comprehensive system to the automakers. Apple would need to develop such a system and the automakers would have to agree to use it instead of their own. Very difficult lift, very tough sell.
No not at all, those systems already exist and have done for a long time in vehicles. Everything is addressable and is using standards. As I said previously, it is trying to solve a problem that isn't required to solve.
Sure for a lot of the older vehicles there may be something in it, but not for a modern vehicle I would argue.
All of what systems? Is CarPlay going to become the interface for a climate control system? Will it tune the radio? Will it report tire pressure? Will it report energy use on an EV? These are just a few of the many controls the auto manufacturers will never give up to Apple, even assuming Apple was interested in taking them on, which I doubt. It's taken years for Apple to get the limited access to dashboard space they have now, with the carmakers coming along mainly kicking and screaming, and many of them, not under any terms.
I know that Toyota sells a boatload of cars, but I can't help but feel that their insistence to support a different thing and reject Google and Apple solutions is a mistake that will cost them sales. I am car shopping and that definitely weighs in on my purchase for the simple reason that car systems rarely get upgrades and often never do get an upgrade once you drive it off the lot . I don't like that.
I'm old school. '96 4Runner, never even used bluetooth in a vehicle. But why would companies not add CarPlay and Android Auto as an option? If their interactive software is better, people will use it. But if it isn't, there are choices. I am specifically speaking to you Toyota.
Anyway, next car/truck will have the option for CarPlay. I am currently shopping. 20 years per vehicle is a good time for me to move forward. CarPlay (and related) is a deal breaker feature for me. The last thing I want is an internal navigation system that can't be updated or costs to update every couple of years. My phone, no matter my choice, is going to be the best maps and navigation system I can use. And when it comes to communications, no auto manufacturer is going to come even close to the Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc. world. Open it up. I'll buy the car, but the tech is best left to those who know tech.
Anyway, next car/truck will have the option for CarPlay. I am currently shopping. 20 years per vehicle is a good time for me to move forward. CarPlay (and related) is a deal breaker feature for me. The last thing I want is an internal navigation system that can't be updated or costs to update every couple of years. My phone, no matter my choice, is going to be the best maps and navigation system I can use. And when it comes to communications, no auto manufacturer is going to come even close to the Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc. world. Open it up. I'll buy the car, but the tech is best left to those who know tech.
Three days I go I received delivery of my new 2017 BMW 430xi. One of my motivations to purchase the car was because of BMW’s recent offering of Apple CarPlay, but after playing with BMW’s Bluetooth integration/software and CarPlay, I am very disappointed with CarPlay.
When I purchased the car, I had to decide at that time to purchase CarPlay because I was told the option could not be added after delivery. The option was only about $350 so I opted to purchase CarPlay because I love my iPhone and wanted to have what I assumed was the best possible iPhone integration. I owned a BMW 530xi prior to this BMW which did not have CarPlay and had only limited Bluetooth integration (e.g., only hands free calling and contact synchronization). Since I didn't have any other type of integration with my iPhone on my previous BMW, I was looking for a change.
On first thoughts, the BMW software has a nice look and feel. The colors have a kind of rich design (no I don’t mean expensive but rich as in color tone and shading). I was impressed with the high level of integration between BMW’s software and my iPhone, this was before I activated CarPlay. On my BMW, you can integrate your iPhone using just BMW’s Bluetooth integration or you can activate CarPlay for a kind of dual/hybrid integration that is a mixture of BMW’s Bluetooth integration and CarPlay.
As I mentioned above the look and feel of the latest BMW software has nice color tones and a consistent look and feel throughout with excellent integration/coordination to the physical buttons on the center console (i.e., Menu, Navigation, Communication, Media, etc.) that surround their iDrive wheel. I would prefer a touchscreen to the mechanical iDrive wheel, but I admit it’s not that bad and I’m used to it from my previous BMW.
When I switch from one of the BMW screens to the CarPlay screen, the look and feel of CarPlay really jumps out as horrible in my opinion. The quality of the icons, the color scheme, the shading (or lack thereof) looks like something created by a 5-year-old. I realize Apple wants and probably needs to create a standard look & feel for CarPlay across all makes/models of cars, but when you jump into the CarPlay screen it’s a shock. This is probably more prevalent from car manufacturers that have spent many years and significant resources perfecting their Bluetooth device integration and have mature/refined software.
I will say that CarPlay’s integration with the iPhone seems good and what I would have expected from Apple, but over the past few days I’m starting to see that CarPlay’s integration is not much better than BMW’s integration. Like CarPlay, BMW’s integration includes contact integration, voice activated commands, comprehensive multi-media integration including playlist integration, and app integration like Pandora detected on my iPhone.
I will add that CarPlay does have messaging integration, BMW does not, and it appears CarPlay might have integration to other applications not provided by BMW. I have a feeling the Germans probably draw the line at messaging integration because they probably want us to concentrate on driving (a good thing) or maybe Apple refuses to allow third-party integration with their messaging application. I will add that CarPlay does not let you mess around with messaging while driving, so I don’t want to imply that Apple’s CarPlay promotes unsafe driving, it does not.
My number one complaint is with the CarPlay mapping application. Compared to BMW’s navigation system, the CarPlay maps are absolutely HORRIBLE, and this is coming from someone who did not want to purchase BMW's navigation system. When used on my iPhone, the overall quality of the Apple mapping system is fine, but as an in-vehicle driving system integrated via CarPlay and compared to BMW's navigation system they suck.
For example, the BMW mapping system automatically changes from a “day mode” to a “night mode” when appropriate. That means at night the BMW maps go into a very dark back ground with streets colored (illuminated) versus a light (or white) background and dark lines for streets during the day. The CarPlay maps remain in a kind of “day mode” (e.g., white background with dark lines for streets) even at night. So, you have this massive white light shining in your eyes and illuminating the whole cabin that screws with your night vision (yea yea yea I know, what about oncoming headlights, street lights, etc. effecting night vision). My other major complaint is that the CarPlay maps only use half of the large BMW display compared to the BMW maps that use the whole display. I could go on about the CarPlay mapping system but I’m not going to develop a side-by-side comparison, I will say that the actual map quality of the BMW maps is far more detailed than the CarPlay (iPhone) maps, and the Apple CarPlay mapping solution is not even in the same league as the BMW navigation system.
When I purchased my BMW, I was angry BMW forced me to spend $1,500 for the BMW navigation system just because I wanted to purchase CarPlay. It really irritated me because I kept saying, why do I need your navigation system when I’m going to purchase CarPlay, isn’t the reason for CarPlay so I don’t have to purchase your overpriced navigation system. The sales people at BMW could not give me a good explanation, but I really wanted CarPlay so I begrudgingly purchased the BMW navigation system … well I am sooooo glad I did because I would have been really upset seeing Apple’s pathetic mapping implementation through CarPlay.
In summary, I admit I’ve only used CarPlay and BMW’s Bluetooth integration for a few days. I might learn some cool things about CarPlay that I didn’t get with BMW’s Bluetooth integration (like messaging), but at this point, I’m leaning towards disabling Apple’s CarPlay and chalking it up to a $350 mistake.
When I purchased the car, I had to decide at that time to purchase CarPlay because I was told the option could not be added after delivery. The option was only about $350 so I opted to purchase CarPlay because I love my iPhone and wanted to have what I assumed was the best possible iPhone integration. I owned a BMW 530xi prior to this BMW which did not have CarPlay and had only limited Bluetooth integration (e.g., only hands free calling and contact synchronization). Since I didn't have any other type of integration with my iPhone on my previous BMW, I was looking for a change.
On first thoughts, the BMW software has a nice look and feel. The colors have a kind of rich design (no I don’t mean expensive but rich as in color tone and shading). I was impressed with the high level of integration between BMW’s software and my iPhone, this was before I activated CarPlay. On my BMW, you can integrate your iPhone using just BMW’s Bluetooth integration or you can activate CarPlay for a kind of dual/hybrid integration that is a mixture of BMW’s Bluetooth integration and CarPlay.
As I mentioned above the look and feel of the latest BMW software has nice color tones and a consistent look and feel throughout with excellent integration/coordination to the physical buttons on the center console (i.e., Menu, Navigation, Communication, Media, etc.) that surround their iDrive wheel. I would prefer a touchscreen to the mechanical iDrive wheel, but I admit it’s not that bad and I’m used to it from my previous BMW.
When I switch from one of the BMW screens to the CarPlay screen, the look and feel of CarPlay really jumps out as horrible in my opinion. The quality of the icons, the color scheme, the shading (or lack thereof) looks like something created by a 5-year-old. I realize Apple wants and probably needs to create a standard look & feel for CarPlay across all makes/models of cars, but when you jump into the CarPlay screen it’s a shock. This is probably more prevalent from car manufacturers that have spent many years and significant resources perfecting their Bluetooth device integration and have mature/refined software.
I will say that CarPlay’s integration with the iPhone seems good and what I would have expected from Apple, but over the past few days I’m starting to see that CarPlay’s integration is not much better than BMW’s integration. Like CarPlay, BMW’s integration includes contact integration, voice activated commands, comprehensive multi-media integration including playlist integration, and app integration like Pandora detected on my iPhone.
I will add that CarPlay does have messaging integration, BMW does not, and it appears CarPlay might have integration to other applications not provided by BMW. I have a feeling the Germans probably draw the line at messaging integration because they probably want us to concentrate on driving (a good thing) or maybe Apple refuses to allow third-party integration with their messaging application. I will add that CarPlay does not let you mess around with messaging while driving, so I don’t want to imply that Apple’s CarPlay promotes unsafe driving, it does not.
My number one complaint is with the CarPlay mapping application. Compared to BMW’s navigation system, the CarPlay maps are absolutely HORRIBLE, and this is coming from someone who did not want to purchase BMW's navigation system. When used on my iPhone, the overall quality of the Apple mapping system is fine, but as an in-vehicle driving system integrated via CarPlay and compared to BMW's navigation system they suck.
For example, the BMW mapping system automatically changes from a “day mode” to a “night mode” when appropriate. That means at night the BMW maps go into a very dark back ground with streets colored (illuminated) versus a light (or white) background and dark lines for streets during the day. The CarPlay maps remain in a kind of “day mode” (e.g., white background with dark lines for streets) even at night. So, you have this massive white light shining in your eyes and illuminating the whole cabin that screws with your night vision (yea yea yea I know, what about oncoming headlights, street lights, etc. effecting night vision). My other major complaint is that the CarPlay maps only use half of the large BMW display compared to the BMW maps that use the whole display. I could go on about the CarPlay mapping system but I’m not going to develop a side-by-side comparison, I will say that the actual map quality of the BMW maps is far more detailed than the CarPlay (iPhone) maps, and the Apple CarPlay mapping solution is not even in the same league as the BMW navigation system.
When I purchased my BMW, I was angry BMW forced me to spend $1,500 for the BMW navigation system just because I wanted to purchase CarPlay. It really irritated me because I kept saying, why do I need your navigation system when I’m going to purchase CarPlay, isn’t the reason for CarPlay so I don’t have to purchase your overpriced navigation system. The sales people at BMW could not give me a good explanation, but I really wanted CarPlay so I begrudgingly purchased the BMW navigation system … well I am sooooo glad I did because I would have been really upset seeing Apple’s pathetic mapping implementation through CarPlay.
In summary, I admit I’ve only used CarPlay and BMW’s Bluetooth integration for a few days. I might learn some cool things about CarPlay that I didn’t get with BMW’s Bluetooth integration (like messaging), but at this point, I’m leaning towards disabling Apple’s CarPlay and chalking it up to a $350 mistake.
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You just answered your own question about why companies would not support CarPlay and Android Auto: that dashboard real estate is valuable.
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Apple Maps in CarPlay on my 2017 Chevy has a night mode and also uses the entire, quite large display screen. It's standard on the Chevy, btw. So you might want to talk to BMW about their sucky and massively overpriced implementation of CarPlay. Their lack of enthusiasm for offering it is showing.
My only complaint is the audible turn-by-turn nav is not loud enough to hear, even when it's set to maximum on the iPhone.
I believe Apple is responsible for approving the apps that can run in CarPlay. It isn't very many, and limited, presumably, for safety reasons.
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2. --> not everyone sitting in the car should see who (what) is sending me sms or calling me, on the iphone allone they cannot ... but the Car s display is visible for everyone ...
It may vary from car to car, but in my audi if you are using navigation/maps within CarPlay you cannot use the map/navigation built into the car at the same time. When using non-map apps on CarPlay (audible, etc.) then the navigation/map features within the car work as normal.
You can block phone numbers on the iphone of course and those will carry over to while using CarPlay, but you can't block specifically for when using CarPlay.
For offline ios navigation apps, it looks like Apple does not currently allow any non-Apple navigation apps to work in CarPlay (Waze, Google, etc.).
I see. I haven't received any texts in the car yet but I think that you don't see them unless you tap on the Messages icon.
Yeah... I'm still bummed that it won't be an update for we current Uconnect users.
Disagree with the guy with the 7 series. I just got an X5 with wireless CarPlay and it works terrific. I never even go into the BMW idrive interface because there's just no need. CarPlay does everything for me.
^THIS
Ford Sync3's map application w/Sirius POI and traffic information kicks Apple Maps all over the, er, map. It has the added bonus of *working*, whereas that nitwit Siri fails a frustrating percentage of the time, and will not work at all if I'm out of cell range.
Sync3 also supports Android Auto, which makes for the intriguing possibility of using custom-crafted routes from Google Drive (e.g., an indirect, twisty-roads scenic route versus a computed fastest/shortest route).
Fully agreed about Ford's Sync3 vs. iOS CarPlay (even in 10.3b3). Night and day difference. I still use CarPlay on occasion mostly for the (presumably) better audio connection through the Lightning/USB vs. Bluetooth, and the deep integration with contacts and calendar. But from the user experience and definitely from a maps and navigation perspective, Ford's got Apple beat by a country mile (if you pardon the map pun).
I've now used BMW's Bluetooth smartphone integration for over a month on my 2017 430xi with CarPlay running side-by-side for the same amount of time, and I defiantly stand by my original article. Compared to what you get with BMW's Bluetooth integration (deep music integration, phone, deep contact integration, BMW mapping, etc.), CarPlay is absolutely HORRIBLE!
I can understand if you are an auto manufacture and don't want to spend countless years and tens of millions of dollars developing smartphone integration software, you can simply turn to a company like Apple and use their CarPlay. But compared to BMW, and from the other posted comments regarding other auto manufacturer's software, Apple doesn't know squat about the kind of look, feel, and functionality you need in proper automobile smartphone integration. And the quality of Apple maps (graphics, the overall design, etc.) compared to BMW's maps is a total joke. I really wish I could return CarPlay and get my money back for this joke of a software application, but I'm stuck with it, fortunately I have the BMW software and maps.
Apple is totally out of their league trying to build CarPlay compared to the efforts from companies like BMW, Mercedes, etc. who have been developing their smartphone integration for over a decade. Apple doesn't even understand basic issues like screen brightness when driving at night and what color pallet you want to use in an automobile.
When I was speaking with BMW staff at a recent car show, I asked what is the reaction to CarPlay for the new BMW 2017 models? They said a few people have asked for it but when the consumer takes time to review BMW's Bluetooth smartphone integration (with BMW's maps), CarPlay looses out every single time.
Bottom line ... CarPlay it is absolute trash.
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