Does CarPlay work with Spotify?
Does anyone actually use CarPlay?
Edit: The answers are yes and yes.
I have a Pioneer SPH-DA120 that I had fitted last week into my new-to-me car (also bought the same week) and so far it's been excellent.
The screen is responsive, Siri is pretty good and the call quality on both ends for the phone/facetime is excellent (the mic is mounted discreetly on my steering column). Navigation works really well, and the Pioneer I have came with an included GPS antenna that takes over from the iPhone's one to give rock solid position data. I love the way that the maps app pulls in data from your phone to come up with lists of suggestions for places (e.g., from your calendar if you have places marked in your upcoming events, or from your contact list).
The UI for the music app is awesome and is pretty much almost worth it for me alone - the layout is great, it's easy to read at a glance and the buttons and controls on the screen are perfect.
I wouldn't call Carplay "half baked" based on my experience with it so far - it's clearly been well thought out but it does still have some things I think need fixing:
* You can't read or type texts or look at any iMessage photos you have received, even when the car is parked. It's purely voice control *only* at the moment, which is fine on the road (don't text and drive), but it would be nice to be able to switch to a text mode when the car's handbrake is on - the head unit already has the ability to sense when the handbrake is on, so this shouldn't be hard to add.
* Podcasts doesn't seem to have a "feed" view - it only lists what you currently have on your phone, so if you forgot to check for new episodes you have to do that from your phone's podcast app. It's a minor issue that won't come up if you subscribe to a podcast you listen to frequently.
* while it is very easy to scroll through lists of things like music etc (it's just like doing it on the phone), a "scroll down rapidly" button would be nice for long playlists so you don't have to swipe many times to page through them. If you know what you want it in the middle of the list, a quick tap to jump to the middle would be nice, followed by normal scrolling to dial in to the exact place.
* I'd prefer not to have to unlock the phone when I connect it, and instead just connect the cable and drop it in the little cubby I have for it, but I hear this has already been addressed in iOS 8.3 with the ability to remember head units.
* On that note, I know that all the legalese is necessary, but I would also prefer if you could turn off the "drive carefully, look at the road" legal disclaimer that comes up (and must be dismissed by clicking ok) every time you start Carplay. I wish there was a button that said "I've read this, don't show me again" or "remind me of this next month" or something.
Otherwise, I really like it so far.
TV in 2007 or 2008..that is kind of how I feel about CarPlay.
