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robg · 07-25-2016, 10:49 AM

I've tried it in a few GM rental cars and was very underwhelmed.

Had CarPlay in a rental car last week. Pretty underwhelming. I ended up just using my phone without it. A few annoyances:

-the phone and messages apps basically just summon Siri. You can't even see a list of recent calls as you can with most native car interfaces. If you want to use Siri you can just hold down the voice recognition button on the steering wheel instead in most current models (even without CarPlay)

-Pandora integration is way worse than the regular BMW apps integration. Doesn't even let you see all your channels or create a new one. Thumbs up/down is clunkier to access as well.

-Apple maps navigation (only choice when using carplay) is worse than the built in BMW nav and way worse than google maps. You can't even get a detailed route list (unless you access it on the phone directky). Traffic isn't shown on the map either.

Overall I definitely would not pay extra to have CarPlay integration and even if the car came with it id probably never use it.

Basically, it seems like Apple was so worried about creating additional driver distractions that they dumbed it down to the point that's it's actually more distracting (since you end up picking up your phone in frustration)

Not sure how Android auto is in comparison although having google maps access is a big win.

It might be an nice to have feature on a basic economy car that otherwise wouldn't have built in nav, etc. But compared to some of the better built in interfaces it sucks.

Also, my experience reminded me of what a bad idea touch screens in cars are. I get that they are easier to figure out initially compared to controllers but they are way more distracting to use. I guess most people assume that since touch screens work well for phones they're a great idea in cars. And most journalists value interfaces that are quick to figure out since they have limited time in the car hopefully BMW, Audi and Mazda will stick with their superior controllers.

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07-25-2016, 10:49 AM	#1
robg Carmudgeon Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,244	Rant - CarPlay sucks I've tried it in a few GM rental cars and was very underwhelmed. Had CarPlay in a rental car last week. Pretty underwhelming. I ended up just using my phone without it. A few annoyances: -the phone and messages apps basically just summon Siri. You can't even see a list of recent calls as you can with most native car interfaces. If you want to use Siri you can just hold down the voice recognition button on the steering wheel instead in most current models (even without CarPlay) -Pandora integration is way worse than the regular BMW apps integration. Doesn't even let you see all your channels or create a new one. Thumbs up/down is clunkier to access as well. -Apple maps navigation (only choice when using carplay) is worse than the built in BMW nav and way worse than google maps. You can't even get a detailed route list (unless you access it on the phone directky). Traffic isn't shown on the map either. Overall I definitely would not pay extra to have CarPlay integration and even if the car came with it id probably never use it. Basically, it seems like Apple was so worried about creating additional driver distractions that they dumbed it down to the point that's it's actually more distracting (since you end up picking up your phone in frustration) Not sure how Android auto is in comparison although having google maps access is a big win. It might be an nice to have feature on a basic economy car that otherwise wouldn't have built in nav, etc. But compared to some of the better built in interfaces it sucks. Also, my experience reminded me of what a bad idea touch screens in cars are. I get that they are easier to figure out initially compared to controllers but they are way more distracting to use. I guess most people assume that since touch screens work well for phones they're a great idea in cars. And most journalists value interfaces that are quick to figure out since they have limited time in the car hopefully BMW, Audi and Mazda will stick with their superior controllers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk