"JCAlan" (jcalan)
04/03/2016 at 20:31 • Filed to: None
1
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"JCAlan" (jcalan)
04/03/2016 at 20:31 • Filed to: None | 1
| 32 |
I !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! my 2015 Sierra SLT to a 2016 All Terrain, a move that I am most pleased with. Among other things, I was excited that the new model offered Apple Carplay. I’m not a total Apple fanboy, but I use their products and was interested to use the new interface with my truck.
First let me explain what this truck (as well as my old one) already does with my phone. It automatically syncs wirelessly via Bluetooth. So as soon as I start up my truck, it’s communicating with my phone in my pocket. It will display my contacts, recent calls, voicemails, and I can make a call using the touch display or by voice command. It will display my music content on the screen, and I can scroll through by artist, album, whatever and find what I want. It has a Pandora app that runs off my phone. It will notify me when I get a text, and read it to me or display it (actually that display function is a bit clunky and I’ve never really gotten it to work). And best of all, I can use the button on my steering wheel to do all of this directly with Siri, which is what I usually do. “Read my messages,” “Play Nirvana,” or “Is it going to rain today?” all works through Siri just swimmingly.
Now enter Carplay. First I must take my phone out of my pocket, and plug it in. No more handy Bluetooth. It will display my contacts, recent calls, voicemails, and I can make a call using the touch display or by voice command. It will display my music content on the screen, and I can scroll through by artist, album, whatever and find what I want. It will notify me when I get a text, and read it to me but not display it. I can push the Siri button on the radio to access that feature. If all that sounds familiar, that’s because those are all things that I already had access to, without the cord.
Now, Carplay does allow me to directly access other music apps like podcasts, iHeartradio, and audiobooks that would not directly display with Bluetooth only. They will certainly work with Bluetooth, but I would have to access them by fumbling with the phone itself. It also displays and allows access to Apple Maps, but my truck already has nav, so that’s not useful to me. I can already program a destination by voice command while driving, or using the screen while stopped, or even find it on my Onstar app on my phone before I leave and send the route to my truck so that it will be ready when I get in.
So to sum up, in practice Carplay adds no functionality to my Sierra. In fact, it’s much worse and a giant step back because I have to plug my phone in to use it, a practice that I’ve long since eliminated from my routine. I can only see this useful as a complete system for an entry level vehicle that doesn’t already have all these features built in like the GM Intellilink system does. For instance, if a low end car simply offered a Carplay interface as its only function, that might make sense. But I still don’t see why that can’t be done wirelessly.
It’s stupid and I’m not using it. Ever.
pjhusa
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 20:33 |
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The usefulness of it depends on the type of car and options you have. At least the design is nice.
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JCAlan
> pjhusa
04/03/2016 at 20:34 |
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Ya like I said, I could only see it being useful as a stand alone unit in an entry level car.
mazda616
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 20:36 |
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Huh. This makes me feel better about my new car not having CarPlay.
BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 20:38 |
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CarPlay is super useful for cars without nav (or if you prefer phone maps to the nav maps). Plus 90% of the time I have to charge my phone in the car, anyway, so if I’m gonna have it plugged in, might as well have the screen up there.
KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 20:40 |
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Android Auto is something I’m going to put in my Silverado at some point, but by the same token, it doesn’t have Bluetooth, or even OnStar.
And I’m already used to plugging my phone into the charger anyway, so that one is a tossup for me.
jimz
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 20:41 |
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*shrug* I’m of the opposite opinion. I put a Pioneer head unit in my Ranger with CarPlay support, and I love it. as bad as some OEM touchscreen user interfaces are, the aftermarket is even worse.
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JCAlan
> BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/03/2016 at 20:42 |
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This I could see.
deekster_caddy
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 20:47 |
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The new Nav must be amazing! In 2013 it was awful. I always get my phone out and plug it in so that it can charge while I use Waze. So that part of my routine wouldn't change.
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JCAlan
> jimz
04/03/2016 at 20:48 |
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Oh I could totally see that. If I was adding an aftermarket system CarPlay would make sense. But still why can’t it be wireless? Obviously there’s a roadblock there, and until it’s opened up it’s a problem.
jkm7680
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 20:50 |
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I like it in my Jetta, just makes me use another screen. Don’t really use it much though. Surprised you can’t use Waze with it though, because the factory nav isn’t that good.
It’s a bit annoying that it’ll try to pair with any phone that’s connected to the USB port though. Then when they unplug, you have to go through the re connection process all over again.
Patrick Nichols
> jimz
04/03/2016 at 20:50 |
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Appradio 4? I have 3 and was pretty upset that iOS 7 (I think) made it lose a lot of functionality, but it still allows me to use Bluetooth and Pandora (things my base 08 vw didn't have). I also love how it looks clean and functional opposed to the typical LED happy aftermarket units. I'll probably get 4 in my next car this summer (hopefully a new or used Tacoma)
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deekster_caddy
> jimz
04/03/2016 at 20:51 |
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I ised to LOVE pioneer head units. Then I got their BT8000 head and was so confused I never made full use if it’s features. At least the USB and Bluetooth worked properly. I looked at their carplay heads when they first came out and was meh. Which one did you get?
PS9
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 20:53 |
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Now enter Carplay. First I must take my phone out of my pocket, and plug it in. No more handy Bluetooth.
This is a move straight out of apple’s playbook; take away/refuse to offer a critical feature at launch, then charge a premium for it when intro’d in the second or third generation offering. When Steve was around, they used to really get people’s goat by telling them the things they wanted from the company were dumb and weren’t going to happen, which of course just made them all want it more.
Don’t worry. Apple Carplay 2 will have bluetooth enabled and a host of other minor margin-saving upgrades for $199 or so over Carplay 1.
Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 20:54 |
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This is what I use
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JCAlan
> deekster_caddy
04/03/2016 at 20:56 |
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It really is good. I can change orientation from N always at the top or to display whichever way I’m facing. It can have a flat map look or a 3D look. I can zoom in or out easily. I can hit “route overview” and it zooms out and shows the entire route. Plus the system gives weather and traffic updates through Sirius. I don’t use nav a lot so it’s not a huge thing for me, but this is the best system I’ve used and much prefer it to Apple Maps.
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JCAlan
> Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
04/03/2016 at 20:57 |
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Lol that's what I used in my Ranger, did the trick just fine.
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JCAlan
> PS9
04/03/2016 at 21:00 |
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I do look for it to be added, as it is a major drawback.
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Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 21:00 |
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I think I got mine at a yard sale.
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Patrick Nichols
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 21:05 |
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I think it has to do with Bluetooth tech. Wifi can transmit more data (like video on a GoPro or drone paired with a phone) but Bluetooth is limited to sound and text I think
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JCAlan
> Patrick Nichols
04/03/2016 at 21:09 |
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Then maybe they can do it through wifi instead, the truck has that connectivity already in it as well.
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Patrick Nichols
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 21:13 |
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I think they're may be legal liability reasons why they may not do that. It could open up options to streaming video and other distractions while driving
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deekster_caddy
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 21:18 |
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It’s going to be hard to peel me away from Waze for anything else. When I got my Volt in ‘13 the NAV was like a bad joke and an extra $2000.
Ssfancyfresh
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 21:40 |
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I recently rented a 2016 camaro. It happened to be equipped with car play, so I got excited to test it out.
Your description is on point. It’s not easier to use and i can get the same functionality with the generic interface, minus the cord. I was disappointed.
Sam
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 21:48 |
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My guess is that Carplay V2 or V3 will be less stupid. Usually these things take several iterations to be any good.
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JCAlan
> Ssfancyfresh
04/03/2016 at 21:53 |
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The moment I plugged it in I felt disappointed and realized I'd never use it.
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jimz
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 22:04 |
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Bandwidth. USB 2.0 can transfer at up to 480 Mb/s. Bluetooth can't even come close.
TheOnelectronic
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 22:04 |
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The difference is that your normal OEM stuff is all run from the head unit. Carplay and Android Auto are run from your phone. Your car just functions as an interface. Bluetooth wouldn’t be able to handle all the data (video, audio, touch, etc...) that the system has to send back and forth.
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jimz
> Patrick Nichols
04/03/2016 at 22:05 |
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AVH-4100NEX
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TheOnelectronic
> JCAlan
04/03/2016 at 22:16 |
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I put an Android Auto head unit in my BRZ. It’s essentially similar, but here are my thoughts;
Yes, you have to plug your phone in EVERY TIME. It’s a pain in the ass, but I don’t think I’ve gotten below 30% charge more than twice in the last six months since my phone gets a full top-up to and from work.
Secondly, The BRZ’s OEM head unit was garbage. Garbage sound, terrible, laggy nav, and poor interface. It offered nothing beyond simple bluetooth audio streaming. While the Pioneer head unit I replaced it with is a vast improvement in sound, it had no nav and the interface isn’t great. So being able to run google maps from my phone is nifty.
The main reason I like it, though, is that I can interact with apps. The two main things I use in the car are Spotify and Audible. With AA, I can switch between the two, as well as select playlists, songs, or artists in Spotify and books/chapters in Audible without picking up my phone. A feature I particularly enjoy is that you can “+” a song directly from the head unit as well as setting shuffle/repeat settings. Using bluetooth, this would require me to pick up my phone and furtively glance down at it to change playlists while trying not to crash. My major complaints are that Spotify does not allow you to access your saved songs list from the head unit, for whatever reason, thus requiring picking up the phone anyway if you need to change to that. Bonus points since AA locks out your phone “for safety” requiring some trickery to get out of the splash screen.
I guess if all you really use is Pandora, which for some reason has widespread app presence on a lot of systems, then bluetooth is fine. I had just gotten tired of not actually being able to leave my phone in my pocket since I needed to take it out to choose a song anyway. It’s not that big a difference between taking my phone out to put it in the cupholder and taking it out to plug it in.
It also reads out and allows me to respond (by occasionally hilarious voice typing) to texts, skype messages, and any other app that writes in AA support. Pretty handy. Perplexingly you cannot choose any navigation app besides Google Maps. You’d think with Waze being google-owned it would be a choice.
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
04/03/2016 at 22:26 |
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I used one that my Dad bought in the early 90's when I drove our Trailblazer. It did the trick just fine.
gawdzillla
> JCAlan
04/04/2016 at 08:53 |
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were u able to try android auto ? is that any better ?
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JCAlan
> gawdzillla
04/04/2016 at 09:00 |
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I’m honestly not even sure if it has it, I don’t have anything that’s Android to test it.