Toyota Currently Has No Plans to Support CarPlay or Android Auto in U.S.

[dreamtenstudios]

I was holding off buying an is350 in anticipation of CarPlay. Going to have to find an alternative now...

 

[WolfSnap]

I was holding off buying an is350 in anticipation of CarPlay. Going to have to find an alternative now...

is350 isn't particularly luxurious, and it's not particularly fast... The ES is nicer, and the GS is way nicer.. Of course, they're both more expensive (the GS is much more expensive), but, it's only money... They print more of that stuff every day!

 

[AlecZ]

LOL -- Enjoy your Korean car..

I wouldn't buy a Hyundai if I got one for free...

Funny, they're like Samsung. They make fake Mercedes sedans.

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While the entune system in current Toyota is dismal, AirPlay is no panacea either. Ever since updating the firmware for my Pioneer NEX5000 to run AirPlay (installed in my Nissan), it has just been 'OK'. It's been far from the plug and play experience I was hoping for. Honestly, I often find myself reverting back to the factory software on my aftermarket head unit since it has been the most reliable.

Ultimately When I'm ready for a new vehicle, the presence/absence of Airplay will be very low on my list of priorities.

I think the way to do it is to get an AirPort Express and attach it into the auxiliary input. Seriously, that's my first project when I visit home. The main challenge will be making it accept DC power.

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But why do you want car play in a car? Plug your iPhone and that is it. there you have your music on line, gps and that is it.

I'd want the iPhone GPS on the car's screen. My current technique of clamping my iPhone into the ashtray is not only kludgy and unreliable but not safe to glance at while driving.

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Good for Toyota. One less "Apple Tax"! I'll be sticking with Toyota/Lexus.

I'm sure anything even Apple makes will be cheaper than the ridiculously expensive car entertainment options available now.

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I'll choose my next car based on if it can save my family from a crash and not if it works with my phone together or not.

In which case, a Toyota is still not the right car. Worst handling I've ever seen.

 

[samcraig]

You could hit play on a playlist before taking the car out of drive. You could have random play selected on your music collection. You could be taking a short trip.

I have a playlist called Driving Music. It has about 250 songs. I just hit random play. Never touch my phone until I get out of the car.

So while it's true the act of listening to music means you're not completely distraction free, in no way does it require you to interact with your device.

I had thought this was obvious when I responded. I'm glad to see you understood...

 

[69650]

Maybe the CarPlay deals are not as solid as Apple have suggested. It would partly explain Apple's apparent desire to make their own car.

 

[Eldiablojoe]

Disappointing

This is disappointing news.

I am a big fan of Toyota cars and trucks, having owned them and now settled on them after having also owned Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Acura cars.

My last Toyota new car was an 06 Avalon. At that time, the flagship of their fleet and I got the highest end trim line with every feature available. I was disappointed to learn after purchase that it did not have an AUX port for iPod or MP3 support, even though their lower end cars (Corolla) did. The reason made a little sense, i guess, that the target Avalon demographic is much older than those expected to be into iPods and other technology current/forward devices.

Flash forward to today. Now approaching a time when I'm ready to replace two (2) 2006 Toyota's, I find they are still the Luddite's of the car industry, refusing to cater to the demand of tech-aware consumers.

I have been extremely under-whelmed at their "proprietary" systems. The Avalon's NAV is a $2000 option that serves more as an auxiliary interior light than it does anything else.

I guess I will be seriously considering dropping Toyota and looking back instead at the Honda/Acura family of products.

WTG Toyota!

 

[rdlink]

You could hit play on a playlist before taking the car out of drive. You could have random play selected on your music collection. You could be taking a short trip.

I have a playlist called Driving Music. It has about 250 songs. I just hit random play. Never touch my phone until I get out of the car.

So while it's true the act of listening to music means you're not completely distraction free, in no way does it require you to interact with your device.

Technically true. But if that's the way you do it you're one in a million. Congrats to you.

 

[s1m]

If you think that more than 1% of the car buyers today are going to turn down a brand because of lack of car play. Your nutz. For Most car buyers the entertainment system is a minor concern.

I know for me pesonally the entertainment system is now a big deal. Not so much that I want DVDs playing whilst I am driving but good and safe integration between the system and the phon to make safe phone calls hands free that doesn't have lag time between calls hanging up and the media coming back on.

I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee and the system in that is poor. I am likely to keep this car for another four years so later this year will be putting an aftermarket system in. When I get a new car if it doesn't have car play I certainly wont be paying to upgrade the manufcaturer's system

 

[normanfox]

You don't know me, but it is make or break for me. I am not replacing my current car until the various models I am considering include CarPlay (and a solid system overall).



No offense but those Pioneer receivers are a **** show. The touch screens stink and the entire system is laggy, like they used an underpowered CPU. And yes I have first hand experience with the NEX5000. Translation: I wouldn't judge CarPlay from your experience on the current generation of after market receivers.

Did you try the new AppRadio 4? or Nex5100? their UI was redesigned and fast, little to no lag. I was surprised when I got my appRadio 4.

 

[WolfSnap]

Now approaching a time when I'm ready to replace two (2) 2006 Toyota's, I find they are still the Luddite's of the car industry, refusing to cater to the demand of tech-aware consumers.

If you can afford it, look at Lexus. They're anything but Luddite-mobiles..

But, they're definitely more expensive. Pretty much a "you get what you pay for" thing..

 

[normanfox]

is350 isn't particularly luxurious, and it's not particularly fast... The ES is nicer, and the GS is way nicer.. Of course, they're both more expensive (the GS is much more expensive), but, it's only money... They print more of that stuff every day!

I am also considering an IS 250 but that is on hold now. I took Audi A4 off my list because everywhere I read, people tell horror reliability story. Lexus is on the top of my list due to its reputation of reliability. Now I am not sure of this Toyota decision.

my friend has an ES. His center console monitor is useless. He uses it mainly for radio. he put stuff animal and iphone car mount in front of the console monitor. His car cost over $40k.

 

[DotCom2]

This is disappointing news.

I am a big fan of Toyota cars and trucks, having owned them and now settled on them after having also owned Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Acura cars.

My last Toyota new car was an 06 Avalon. At that time, the flagship of their fleet and I got the highest end trim line with every feature available. I was disappointed to learn after purchase that it did not have an AUX port for iPod or MP3 support, even though their lower end cars (Corolla) did. The reason made a little sense, i guess, that the target Avalon demographic is much older than those expected to be into iPods and other technology current/forward devices.

Flash forward to today. Now approaching a time when I'm ready to replace two (2) 2006 Toyota's, I find they are still the Luddite's of the car industry, refusing to cater to the demand of tech-aware consumers.

I have been extremely under-whelmed at their "proprietary" systems. The Avalon's NAV is a $2000 option that serves more as an auxiliary interior light than it does anything else.

I guess I will be seriously considering dropping Toyota and looking back instead at the Honda/Acura family of products.

WTG Toyota!

I agree with everything you posted.
I have been waiting for the 2016 models to come out so I could buy a new Lexus with CarPlay. Now I get this news!
Between spouse and I, we've owned 4 Lexus' and we were going on our 5th. Looks like we are going to have to look elsewhere.
Silly to have to scratch them off our list just because of CarPlay but that is just they way it's gonna be.

 

[WolfSnap]

I am also considering an IS 250 but that is on hold now. I took Audi A4 off my list because everywhere I read, people tell horror reliability story. Lexus is on the top of my list due to its reputation of reliability. Now I am not sure of this Toyota decision.

my friend has an ES. His center console monitor is useless. He uses it mainly for radio. he put stuff animal and iphone car mount in front of the console monitor. His car cost over $40k.

My GS350 is brilliant. Mind you, it's about $65k by the time I was done buying all the extra junk.. Fantastic nav/tech..

 

[christian_k]

Imagine a 2018 car with Car Play. How well will Apple support that car in 2028 or 2032? How well does Apple support a 2005 PowerMac in 2015?

Even if Apple does its best: Are you sure iOS and Android will still be relevant platforms in 2032? Maybe you will have to stick with a very outdated phone, because it is the last model that is compatible with your car and the phone is important to use the car?

Christian

When will car companies realize that they can't make this kind of stuff... The interfaces for these systems are all terrible. It doesn't matter what brand it is either: Honda, Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, etc. None of them make good "infotainment" systems. Clunky and difficult to use is an understatement. They make cars. They need to give up and let Apple and Google do the software...

 

[ds2000]

When buying a car, this kind of crap is really bottom of my list. If I can dock my phone and it plays my itunes and the car has a SatNav then carplay is bottom of my list!

 

[prowlmedia]

What I meant about support is if there's software issues with iOS or Android. Car dealerships are inevitably going to have to support those things, which will bring a level of annoyance and resource drain.

If you've met humans, a lot of the time you can't just say "hey, that's Apple's problem, or Google's problem, call them". Especially when someone spent $30K+ on a product from you. That could be part of what Toyota wants to avoid.

They are only trying to avoid NOT selling their own Sat Navs and Audio solutions. Why on earth would you buy a Nav system that only get updates every 2 years and cost $500 when you have a live one on your phone and shows Traffic etc.

I do see what you mean... but really... a Car dealer doesn't actually do very much for his money he can show someone how to hook in their phone.

 

[iisdan]

The start of a bankruptcy

Well looks like I wont be buying a Toyota next, I wasn't planing on it anyway but this makes me feel better about it.

Their in house proprietary **** is garbage. I plug my phone into aux and be done with it, if i would remove all the pointless buttons I would.

 

[oneMadRssn]

I think the way to do it is to get an AirPort Express and attach it into the auxiliary input. Seriously, that's my first project when I visit home. The main challenge will be making it accept DC power.

I like your thinking. Shouldn't be too hard to make it accept DC power - like most electronics is runs on DC power naturally. If you look at the teardown, there is a small ac-dc converter in there, outputting an odd 3.3V and 2.09A. http://weblog.rogueamoeba.com/2012/06/19/airport-express-disassembly/ The tricky part will be finding a 5V-3.3V stepper, if you don't want to build one yourself.

 

[crashoverride77]

BMW probably won't be supporting CarPlay or Android Auto any time soon either.
They're dug in way too deep with their own iDrive interface and ConnectedDrive technology.
And there will a revamped iDrive interface starting with the next-gen 7 Series.

But whatever. Siri works fine with iDrive + ConnectedDrive for phone / text / nav.
The last thing I want to do is reach over to a touchscreen and try to tap little icons while I'm driving.

The icons are not tiny.
It's also properly safer to touch big icons than to use the BMW navigation wheel trying to go through lists of settings and options. Their multimedia stuff is cool but still hopelessly complicated, structured and presented.

 

[Spankey]

Toyota head units are easy to remove. Pull it out and throw in a Pioneer and you have Carplay and better audio than you would have received from the stock radio. Had Carplay in my Toyota since the Fall. It's been great.

 

[Luis Ortega]

When buying a car, this kind of crap is really bottom of my list. If I can dock my phone and it plays my itunes and the car has a SatNav then carplay is bottom of my list!

This is the only intelligent reply in this whole thread.

 

[diamond.g]

I'd want the iPhone GPS on the car's screen. My current technique of clamping my iPhone into the ashtray is not only kludgy and unreliable but not safe to glance at while driving.

What I am curious about for Carplay Integration, it isn't safe to look at the infotainment screen while driving for directions, which is why, in my VW they helpfully put the next turn in the MFD (next to the speedometer). Does Apples solution allow directions, next turn, to be sent to such a display?

 

[truettray]

Love Honda. But, they don't have CarPlay either, AFAIK.

Well I dunno about full rollout... but Apple's website features CarPlay running in a 2014 Civic... so I figure they're still serious about CarPlay.

 

[CE3]

.

 

[nofear1az]

There's nothing special or great about Toyota (or Honda) vehicles. Bland and overrated.

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LOL. Any car for sale in the US meets certain safety criteria. So they will all do an adequate job of protecting you. As someone who grew up before wearing sealtbelts was the norm, before cars had a gazillion air bags, warned you about a million things, etc., the best way to avoid getting into an accident is be a better driver and pay attention. Do that and that vast majority of accidents vanish.

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If you used all those criteria you'd not buy a Toyota. Mediocre cars but overrated.

Question: What brand in the USA has the #1 owner loyalty (i.e.: most return buyers)? Hint: It's not Toyota. Hint #2: It's not Honda.

I have no idea why you are pulling in Honda as a boring bland car?! Are you serious? Oh I get it you must think those Mustangs are fun or maybe you're a F150 turbo diesel kind of guy.

I can tell you my 2007 Honda Accord coupe V6 is a hell of a lot more fun to drive than any Mustang. It has great handling, great steering response, and faster than the majority of the cars on the road and brings joy to every one that ever drives it. I think you need to update your stereotype.