[alex0015]

It's a strange feeling reading these comments because not only have I never used carplay or android auto, I don't think I've ever noticed anyone else using it in a car someone's driven me in. Everyone I know just has their phone in a dash mount. I don't think it's that small a sample size either! I drive a 2014 Accord and it auto connects to my android with Bluetooth when I turn on the car. It's hard to really imagine the experience of maps or music being improved by seeing it on my dashboard screen compared to right next to it on the phone.

I imagine everyone who is fully involved with the carplay ecosystem feels equally as strongly in the other direction and has for a long time.

[qmarchi]

CarPlay and Android Auto only really started seeing adoption in post 2017 Model Year vehicles.

Anyone I know that has one, will immediately either plugin or connect whenever they go live.

There's other benefits like (in the aforementioned article), CarPlay Ultra being able to send data to multiple screens like the front dash. Where having my directions right next to me speed means I don't have to check two screens.

[alex0015]

Oh, that's really cool. For about two years the car I drove and the phone I had lined up such that I could kind of wedge it in the front dash next to the speedometer, and that was for sure a better location than the dash mount I have now. I'd forgotten about that.

[wvenable]

I only got a car with Carplay this year... before that, phone in a dash mount.

But just getting into you car and having it project your phone interface instantly from your pocket on a screen that is part of the car is really nice. I don't even have a super large screen (10.5 inches, widescreen) but it's significantly better than looking at my phone. It even integrates with the heads up display.

> It's hard to really imagine the experience of maps or music being improved by seeing it on my dashboard screen compared to right next to it on the phone.

It might be hard to imagine but it shouldn't be. I would find it very hard to go back to fiddling with my phone rather than have it nicely integrated into all the buttons and dials on my car. Never taking my phone out of my pocket and forgetting it in the car -- I did that a lot. The audio integration across the radio, phone apps, and navigation is perfect -- Bluetooth doesn't come close and was always a frustration. It's just better in every way, that's why people like it.

[fluidcruft]

I use Android Auto a lot when traveling in rental cars. The alternative is annoying. With Android Auto, I at least know how to navigate and play audio with minimal effort. Otherwise I just use my phone and in a rental I typically don't have a mount so it's annoying because my phone discovers new and unexpected places to hide. First world problems, I know.

[Ancapistani]

I’m not a huge fan of it, but I do find it more convenient than BlueTooth alone.

For context, I drive a ‘91 GMC pickup, so neither cars nor car audio are super important to me. I still bought a CarPlay-enabled Android head unit because it’s less of a hassle to use.

[Telaneo]

> I drive a 2014 Accord and it auto connects to my android with Bluetooth when I turn on the car. It's hard to really imagine the experience of maps or music being improved by seeing it on my dashboard screen compared to right next to it on the phone.

How about instead of your phone? You don't need your phone dash mount if you have Carplay.

[hparadiz]

I personally only need the map up sometimes so I find the whole thing kind of patronizing. The last time I tried it I didn't like that I couldn't switch between different music apps without exiting the entire system. Maybe it's different now but I'm pretty content not using it. Also the Carplay / Android port on my car is old and doesn't support fast charging.

[Telaneo]

> I personally only need the map up sometimes so I find the whole thing kind of patronizing.

You should be able to have it only show the music app or whatever if that's what bothers you. My cars default infotainment shows the map by default too, so this is more or less the same from my point of view (other than the fact that the car's maps are out of date).

> The last time I tried it I didn't like that I couldn't switch between different music apps without exiting the entire system.

As in you need to exit one app to open another? You can add whatever apps to the home(?) screen if you need to see them both at the same time, but if you want two apps to be fully open at the same time, that's not happening, as that's probably a hold-over from phone UI. Or am I misunderstanding you here?

[hparadiz]

My car's default system is running Android 4.x and has big "Audio", "Maps", "Climate" physical buttons on both the wheel and the center dash but rarely use the car's Maps screen. I usually have it set to Audio and it just shows what's playing via Bluetooth. I'm mostly driving around LA so my typical driving pattern is knowing 90% of the route and needing to sometimes lookup traffic and then looking at the directions for the last 10% if I'm going somewhere new. Otherwise I'm playing either Spotify, Soundcloud, or Beatport.

When I tried Android Auto it actually took over my car's infotainment system and made my phone slightly slower having to drive another screen? I dunno it's been years. I just don't see the value in it personally.

[Telaneo]

If you just use it for music and are happy with bluetooth, it's understandable why you don't see the benefit. Heck, do you even need a screen at that point (barring a backup camera)?

For maps, having up to date maps is an enormous relief compared to relying on the outdated maps that came with your car (at least in my experience).

> When I tried Android Auto it actually took over my car's infotainment system

Yes. I prefer it that way. The car's default infotainment system might as well not exist for all I care, since I prefer the Carplay experience.

> and made my phone slightly slower having to drive another screen?

I haven't noticed this problem.