[DogOnTheWeb]

Apple claimed during WWDC ‘22 that 79% of U.S. buyers would only buy a car if it was “CarPlay-capable”. Biased source, sure, but the data indicates most consumers value music, maps, and voice assistant in their cars and the manufacturers are responding with about 98% of new cars supporting them.

[judge2020]

The issue is that car UI has historically been terrible. People just want usable maps and music, and maps are terrible in 99% of cars pre-2020.

Carplay is a common interface, and has niceties like being able to selecting different playlists from different music apps instead of needing to pre-select your music choice for the car ride.

[vladvasiliu]

> The issue is that car UI has historically been terrible. People just want usable maps and music, and maps are terrible in 99% of cars pre-2020.

This.

One of the nicest cars I've driven, controls-wise, was a Fiesta I rented a few years back. I just plugged in my iPhone, and directly got access to maps, spotify, etc via the car's controls.

It had physical knobs to adjust the volume, the air conditioning, etc. When I put it in reverse, the camera feed would replace whatever was on the screen.

It worked perfectly because it just didn't get in my way and didn't have me futz around in some three-level-deep menu to do anything.

[mrguyorama]

My 2018 VW works the same way. It even has a third brand of phone connection; MirrorLink

[johnwalkr]

Just because people want those things doesn't mean they also want to control AC from a touch screen and janky driver assist features.

And as others said, CarPlay is so much better than the older OEM systems for music and maps. Even current OEM systems in 2023 don't neccessarily have maps that keep themselves updated.

One feature of CarPlay I didn't think of until I used it, is the ability to plan your route on your phone while you're drinking a coffee or walking to your parking spot, and have your navigation ready to go before you even start your car.

[di456]

I'm in the 21%. I prefer my phone in a dash mount for navigation. I don't need or want an expensive, outdated head unit that costs an arm and a leg to replace. Give me Bluetooth and analog knobs and I'm happy.

[vladvasiliu]

I'm of course with you on the physical knobs and having direct access to the vehicle's functions.

But I absolutely prefer having CarPlay instead of having to stick my phone in a random location, blocking the view, or having to make sure wires don't interfere with anything, or finding a way to have the phone not vibrate, etc. I usually rent my cars, so I can't set up something sturdy and have cables get there nicely.

I also like my phones small, which makes them less than ideal in a car, being sometimes far away (I hate talking to my phones so have to be able to reach them with my hands). The aforementioned vibrations don't help, either.

My dad's Toyota, as well as a Fiesta I rented a while back, were perfect for this. I could stash the phone somewhere out of the way, and have the map or whatever displayed on the big screen of the car, which didn't vibrate and was well-placed.

[di456]

The dash mount I use doesn't have any of the problems you described. It's easily visible at a glance without obstructing my view of the road or mirrors. Arguably safer than looking down at the head unit would be. The cable routing never got in the way of anything. And no vibration issues either.

[koolba]

> Give me Bluetooth and analog knobs and I'm happy.

Preach it brother!

Throw in an analog dial for the A/C fan too!

[xattt]

Add a manual choke and a spark retard/advance dial and now you’re really driving!

/s

[jimt1234]

My first car didn't even have a battery. I drove it for 2 years, always being careful to park on a hill so I could "pop it". So yeah, leave out the useless 12-volt battery, too. /s LOL

[xuhu]

I wonder if cars from 50 years ago came with two wooden ramps that you could place next to the rear wheels and back up onto them before turning the ignition off.

[jimt1234]

My grandpa used to tell me about hand-cranks to start an engine[1] and maintaining a car prior to antifreeze (had to drain all the water from the radiator in the winter).

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6pLp4tlIw0

[Nursie]

Why would you replace it? So long as your phone can take over the screen, that’s where your updates come from.

[di456]

They break just like why other car part. The replacement cost of a fancy, proprietary head unit is in the $US thousands.

I'd rather save thousands on the car price up front with a basic head unit that is affordable to replace.

[yellowapple]

I don't even need Bluetooth at this point. Give me audio and charging over my phone's Type-C port and I'm set.

[rxyz]

People want carplay, but also buttons and knobs for AC, seats, volume. Car manufacturers dont want to pay for both screens and buttons so they push everything into screens.

[shortstuffsushi]

I wonder what the market share makeup would look like for people who want smart appliances. This is another one where most people that I know want as dumb as possible.