Trying out CarPlay (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

Yeah, the Mustang branding is the odd part.

 

[John Dirk]

I'd seriously consider buying a Tesla except they don't have Apple CarPlay.

I'd bet this is simply a choice Tesla made at the time. Why they did so is anyone's guess but we are in a world where car manufactures and tech giants sometimes converge. There's no conceivable reason a car this advanced couldn't support these features. My MB doesn't support SiriusXM Nav/Traffic, something I've used for years on previous vehicles. I learned this only after talking to Sirius and trying to add it. Later, as I poured through the MB's manuals, I also learned they had their own [competing] service and weren't about to allow me to acquire this functionality without paying them for it.

Meanwhile here's another reason I would personally avoid the Tesla models unless, maybe, you're leasing which is something I also avoid.

Who's going to repair these vehicles? On the other hand, no gas, no oil changes, etc is also a convincing argument.

 

[DaveF]

I only have guesses about Telsla:

• Design difficulties about how to carve off a portion of a 17” screen for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto
• Licensing of those requires full screen
• Tesla doesn’t want to cede control of any of their UX to Apple or Google
• Arrogance

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Quite possible. I am stuck with the iPhone for now but I prefer Android.

My sister was riding with me yesterday when I was receiving alerts, and she mentioned she wasn't getting the speed trap and abandoned vehicle notifications with Google Maps on her IPhone, either. So, that functionality must only be on the Android version of the app right now.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys, thought I’d post and ask how you guys are doing with CarPlay after the latest iOS update?

Up until the iOS update, my iPhone X and the Dynavin aftermarket head unit was working great in my BMW. The last couple of weeks I’ve experienced a few times when after I connected the iPhone to the USB cable and it connects with the head unit, it disconnects a minute or two or more later. Unplugging and replugging the USB cable back fixes it, but it’s hard while driving at 65 mph. One time the iPhone slid off the console onto the seat and that caused the iPhone to disconnect, probably the shifting caused the screen to wake and that upset CarPlay. Today while driving I asked Siri a question and in mid reply it stopped and disconnected.

I received a call too last week and upon answering it via the head unit, the volume of the caller was super high, higher then it was set at. After I hung up, the audio quality of the music from iTunes was terrible and I thought maybe my 19 year old speakers were blown. There was a crackle from the tweeters. I shut the head unit off from the switch on the head unit. Which is really putting it on standby, not really off. When I woke it back up, it was OK again. But a little while later it sounded bad again. So I did a hard reset on the head unit and that solved it.

Maybe the next iOS update will resolve the head unit dropping the iPhone issue. No, I have not checked on the Dynavin side yet. There may be a firmware update. So that’s a possibility too. So I’ll check that as well. But since the iOS update, I saw these issues, so I thought I’d start there. Thanks.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I have a Sony head unit and have experienced no issues.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I have a Sony head unit and have experienced no issues.

I have a very strong feeling that this is head unit related and not Carplay.

I have a Ford/Lincoln vehicle and Carplay works flawlessly, though some apps still in beta from individual companies.

 

[dpippel]

CarPlay works well with my iPhone Xs Max and 2020 Toyota Tacoma, although I've found some glitches. For example, I put together a roughly 3000 song playlist on Tidal and download it to the phone for road music, so I don't have to stream. It is impossible to start playing this playlist from the Tidal app on the head unit. I get a spinner that goes round and round for 30 seconds or so before giving me an error - "This content cannot be loaded." However, if I start the same playlist on the PHONE, it beings playing immediately. Same thing for Apple Music or Amazon Music HD. Definitely a flaw.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

CarPlay works well with my iPhone Xs Max and 2020 Toyota Tacoma, although I've found some glitches. For example, I put together a roughly 3000 song playlist on Tidal and download it to the phone for road music, so I don't have to stream. It is impossible to start playing this playlist from the Tidal app on the head unit. I get a spinner that goes round and round for 30 seconds or so before giving me an error - "This content cannot be loaded." However, if I start the same playlist on the PHONE, it beings playing immediately. Same thing for Apple Music or Amazon Music HD. Definitely a flaw.

I am using Qobuz which is exactly like Tidal. Subscribed to their annual plan

I am having similar issues as you are. However, Qobuz has admitted to me that their Carplay integration is still in beta and they are hoping for a full rollout in a few months.

I can play on my iPhone.

But you bring up a very interesting thing I never took into account...

Using services like Tidal or Qobuz uses up a lot of data when you are playing the Hi-Rez formats.

I have a very generous Verizon plan (75GB), but that doesn't mean I have to take it to the limits each month.

So, I can actually download the playlists to my iPhone in Hi-Rez while on WiFi and then play it back with no usage of data?

I am new to this kind of stuff so I really had no idea.

 

[dpippel]

I am using Qobuz which is exactly like Tidal. Subscribed to their annual plan

I am having similar issues as you are. However, Qobuz has admitted to me that their Carplay integration is still in beta and they are hoping for a full rollout in a few months.

I can play on my iPhone.

But you bring up a very interesting thing I never took into account...

Using services like Tidal or Qobuz uses up a lot of data when you are playing the Hi-Rez formats.

I have a very generous Verizon plan (75GB), but that doesn't mean I have to take it to the limits each month.

So, I can actually download the playlists to my iPhone in Hi-Rez while on WiFi and then play it back with no usage of data?

I am new to this kind of stuff so I really had no idea.

Well Ron, I"m sorry to hear you're having these issues too, but I'm glad it's not just me! And yes, as far as Tidal (and Amazon Music HD) is concerned, you can absolutely download hi-res content to your phone and then play it back directly so you're not burning through your data plan every month. It works great! Here's a how-to:

https://smartphones.gadgethacks.com...lbums-playlists-for-offline-playback-0180357/

It's also important to switch the Tidal app to Offline Mode when when playing back downloaded content. This prevents it from doing any streaming at all.

 

[Nelson Au]

I see my headunit had a firmware update on January 2, 2020. So I’ll try that and see if my glitches get resolved.

 

[John Dirk]

Carplay is [IMO] the best thing Apple has done since introducing the iPhone itself, and I'm not even a general fan of their products. That said, I do sometimes have to disconnect and then reconnect the USB cable in my Mercedes S450 before Carplay will start. It's rare and I've only owned this car a few months, so I would hesitate at this point to blame it on Apple. Once it does start it runs without issue every time.

 

[Nelson Au]

I would agree John. Before the latest iOS update, I had no problems. I suspect the firmware update might resolve the headunit issues. If that’s the case.

 

[Clinton McClure]

The ability to use hands free “Hey Siri” to send a text, make a phone call, play music, and plot a course in Maps has become invaluable to me. I spend almost an hour driving to work each morning and between an hour and a half and three hours (traffic-depending) driving back home and running errands every evening. After living with CarPlay for the past year, it has become a quality-of-life driving necessity and the lack of it in any vehicle will be a deal-breaker for when I buy a new car again in a few years.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys-

I thought I’d ask about any experiences with the iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro and CarPlay?

I just ordered an iPhone 12 Pro. As I asked before, all cars with CarPlay capability and after market head units like the one I have from Dynavin have a conduit that acts as a pass through for an iPhone to display CarPlay on the head unit screen in the car. So I’m guessing the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro will work just fine. And using the lightning cable will still do the connection. Thought I’d ask though if anyone has been using the new iPhones with CarPlay on older cars. Thanks!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Uhm....

Been using Carplay since iPhone X (?)

Do you already have an iPhone that works with Carplay? If so, there is no difference. No modifications have been made since.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hi Ron, yes, I’ve been using CarPlay with an iPhone X. So I figured going to the iPhone 12 would be no different. Thought I’d ask.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Clinton McClure]

The iPhone 12 works fine with CarPlay.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey Clinton, thanks for chiming in! And glad to see you’re enjoying your new iPhone 12!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Resurrecting this fine thread.

Been wondering what advances Apple is going to make to the CarPlay interface

Yes, I am fully aware that we saw some future entire-vehicle integration for select manufacturers as early as 2025. That was very impressive.

What I am wondering is if we will see some nice changes for the current interface -- something that wasn't talked about last year.

This is a look at what Android Auto is doing. It's nothing major over Apple, but nonetheless a few nice enhancements...