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Toyota Chooses SmartDeviceLink Over CarPlay and Android Auto
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I don't know that I would base my decision on the radio. But certainly between a Camry and an Accord, the exclusion of CarPlay/ Android Auto in the Camry certainly would make me want to take a look at the Accord. As a 20k+ purchasing decision, either way, CarPlay/Android Auto could be an edge to choose an Accord over a Camry.
If you were buying a car today, you would probably feel a little different about that.
That's an incredibly bad analogy, Nintendo is one of the least proprietary companies out there. The Wii U launched with external HDD support, the 3DS with SD card support (and Nintendo is one of the companies behind the SD format to boot), they were the first to launch the retro and indie game movement on their console with the Wii, they were the first of the companies to dive in with a PC based GPU with the GameCube...they get a bad rap from people who don't pay as much attention as they think they do. And yes, they make some horrible decisions but none of them were ever anything like this.
Let the tail wag the dog.
I for one chose my car based on a balance of performance, fuel economy, reliability and price. Toyota has good reliability and fuel economy, reasonable price but not so good performance.
An in-dash distraction is pretty low on my list of must have options. Hail, I would like it if they had an no stereo system option.
Cut a grand off the price and 50lbs off the curb weight. That would improve both performance and fuel economy (less dead weight).
This is exactly how I feel! I hate that even my 2006 Altima has me purchasing an adapter to keep using the steering wheel controls with my aftermarket stereo..
"Urm I need assistance, my car is too wide to get through the check outs and I cannot scan the QR code on the dash as it doesn't face the reader...."
Not idiots, they are just differentiating themselves as the most profitable car company for four years in a row.
Toyota has always been conservative to the point of almost being against innovation. Great cars though, I have had many and I can say they are the best quality hands down, by also hands down the ugliest.
9 yrs old ugly betty has had fewer problems than my new BMW. Their hybrids are build to last!
Toyota should reconsider, they should jump on the winning ships instead of joining in 5 years. It's called risk, they should learn to take some. I have high hopes for Android auto and Carplay, car interface sucks, and ford/toyota have been quite horrible at it.
9 yrs old ugly betty has had fewer problems than my new BMW. Their hybrids are build to last!
Toyota should reconsider, they should jump on the winning ships instead of joining in 5 years. It's called risk, they should learn to take some. I have high hopes for Android auto and Carplay, car interface sucks, and ford/toyota have been quite horrible at it.
I honestly don't think Toyota is the most profitable car company because of their interface, nor because of their design. It's like saying Apple rose to glory because of their one button mouse!
Toyota has many amazing qualities, design and interface aren't one of them. When I bought my Toyota, I wanted quality and they delivered 10 folds. Doesn't mean they don't have room for improvement....
Yup. These are probably the same people who say they'll drive several miles past CVS just so they can use Apple Pay at Walgreens.
How sad, I was really looking forward to buying a Toyota with CarPlay in 2016. Now I either buy a competing brand's car or spend more money to install an aftermarket solution that isn't as seamless as a standard option... :/
Are you kidding me Toyota/Lexus? Keep using your useless proprietary junk and you will see consumers take their business elsewhere. Vehicles should support both Apple Car Play, Google Car and if you want to throw your proprietary junk in there too go ahead but at the least support both.
-Mike
-Mike
Yeah it really sucks for those of us who want this sort of integration, those of us who spend a lot of time in the car.
-Mike
Lots of people here saying that it is silly to base a car purchasing decision based on this. I disagree.
The car interior is probably the most important factor in a car, because 99% of the time I am using my car I am inside of it. Being a major part of being inside, the infotainment system is important because 90% of the time I am listening to either music or podcasts while using my car, and about 75% of the time I have some form of navigation on the screen. Other than the drivetrain in general, I can't think of a single feature I use as much in a car.
Even so, saying it is better to base a car buying decision on the power, performance, or fuel economy is fine, but today these things are all relatively similar. Different models in the same class and size tend to have pretty comparable stats.
At the end of the day, the single most important feature in a car for me is comfort, and the infotainment system is a huge factor in comfort. My next car must have CarPlay.
The car interior is probably the most important factor in a car, because 99% of the time I am using my car I am inside of it. Being a major part of being inside, the infotainment system is important because 90% of the time I am listening to either music or podcasts while using my car, and about 75% of the time I have some form of navigation on the screen. Other than the drivetrain in general, I can't think of a single feature I use as much in a car.
Even so, saying it is better to base a car buying decision on the power, performance, or fuel economy is fine, but today these things are all relatively similar. Different models in the same class and size tend to have pretty comparable stats.
At the end of the day, the single most important feature in a car for me is comfort, and the infotainment system is a huge factor in comfort. My next car must have CarPlay.
I find it odd that on a $20k+ purchase you wouldn't want or expect it to have the type of interface that works best with the other devices that you use and own. I am currently on my third Lexus; my next vehicle purchase, which will likely be in about 16 months, will have to have a number of features; and for the money I spend, seamless integration with my iPhone (which I use a lot on a daily basis) will be high on that checklist. Considering the number of vehicles that will be offering that feature at that time, car manufactures that leave it out may do so at their own peril.
Guys. This is a system developed and still currently used by Ford, which has announced that they will support CarPlay with their next model year of cars. That means that this isn't a competitor to CarPlay, it's an alternative. For people who don't have an iPhone or an Android phone recent enough to use the competing solution. Maybe they're hoping it'll be good enough that people will use it instead of CarPlay, too, but that doesn't stop them from including CarPlay on the side. On the contrary, it seems that Ford has already done the hard work getting CarPlay to work with it, so this could make it easier to include CarPlay.
So, just because they haven't announced that they're supporting CarPlay along with this system doesn't mean they won't. Maybe they'll show it off as a surprise during the demo.
So, just because they haven't announced that they're supporting CarPlay along with this system doesn't mean they won't. Maybe they'll show it off as a surprise during the demo.
So you would buy for example lesser quality car such as a Ford with carplay over a better quality car such as a BMW without carplay?
Gonna have to completely disagree....at this point most cars manufactured and sold brand new in the 20-30 range are going to be comfortable, have most features you want, and will perform well for 100,000 miles. So when it comes down to picking between a Toyota and a Honda (or better yet a Subaru that is owned by Toyota mostly) a stereo that functions well with your most frequently used piece of technology is one of the biggest deciding factors. Being a sheep is buying one kind of car for your whole life because that's all you know, or because they are the largest manufacturer of cars. Making the decision to choose someone who makes what you want when you are spending any amount of money is the correct call.
I'd settle for being able to use my phone's turn-by-turn through car speakers in my Toyota. Even that has become a cluster-you-know-what since ios9. :/
I would also like to add....my 2014 corolla S just had the ENTIRE stereo replaced because the navagiation quit working and they were unable to update due to the poor programming of the entune system. They of course paid for this, not me.....why are we bashing people who don't want to buy from a manufacturer who insists on sticking with a system so poor that a software issue necessitates a full hardware replacement?
they probably horrifically overpaid some incompetent firm to design them the software and are determined to get their money's worth from the investment.
in canada we don't even get entune, its some generic and terrible interface that was some awful executive's idea of a trim-level upsell. it can't even be updated.
Easy to fix if it is anything like my Mercedes. Press on the little Speaker icon while navigating, and turn on "Allow HFP Audio" and switch it to Hands Free for the car, and now navigation instructions will trick the car into playing navigation instructions even over non iPhone sources like the radio, sat radio, etc! it is awesome, and I discovered this hidden gem in iOS 9