As someone who only had 20+ year old cars and motorcycles, I don't see what's CarPlay supposed to solve? All I need is a Bluetooth-capable radio and a phone holder to display the navigation, so I can listen to my music and focus on driving. Phone doesn't need to be touched unless changing destinations. Do people seriously need to be constantly entertained while driving?

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varenc 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Carplay isn't about entertainment for me. It's just a vastly superior and convenient way to view the same map you can see on your iPhone.

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ChrisMarshallNY 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I have a beater subie (2018). It has CarPlay (fairly basic variant). It also has very few touchscreens, which I like.

I could easily afford better, but have little interest in doing so. It’s low miles, paid for, handles well in the snow, and is in decent shape. A car gets me from Point A to Point B, and I want it to do so reliably and safely. I couldn’t care any less, what people think of me. Life’s too short.

I also write iOS apps; ones that make a lot of use of navigation stuff.

I like being able to use my app to determine a destination, plug it into CarPlay, and immediately get a map to where I want. Point A, meet Point B.

I’m sure that some of the systems fancier cars use, may be fine for this kind of thing, but CarPlay does it very smoothly.

I’m with the author. No CarPlay, no sale.

I really don’t think any manufacturer is concerned about what I think, though. There’s a lot of fish in the sea.

	▲	al_borland 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		That’s the great thing about CarPlay it makes the usually junk infotainment system in cars (especially older ones) irrelevant, so they still seem modern. For a budget car, I’d be perfectly happy if they had a screen for CarPlay/Android Auto that didn’t do anything else if a phone wasn’t connected. I think this makes a lot of sense as a cost cutting measure. Maybe it would just be used for the mandated backup camera. I also love it for rental cars. I can get in any rental, and instead of having to learn my way around or figure out a Garmin add-on, CarPlay can make the navigation and music instantly familiar with all the data I need.

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artisinal 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I’m not a big fan of the dumbed down interface. Using the Music app on CarPlay is frustrating. I prefer operating the music app on my phone with a phone mount. Same goes for navigation apps. Finding a restaurant with pictures and reviews is so much faster on my phone.

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intrasight 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I do see the maps - on my phone. What does seeing them somewhere else add? It seems completely redundant to me.

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al_borland 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The bigger screen is nice. The integration is also nice. I can push a button on my steering wheel to activate Siri to tell it where to go. Music controls on the wheel also pass through to CarPaly. I have a low res auxiliary screen to display added data (oil temp, weather, etc) and the music option will display music track data from CarPlay as well.

So instead of trying to look at a tiny screen that’s clipped onto an air vent, I can use the screens and integrated controls, keeping my hands on the wheel and my eyes more in the road.

Also, the biggest battery drain is having the screen on. CarPlay allows me to have the screen on the phone off while still accessing all the data. With a wireless adapter, I can also leave the phone in my pocket, so I don’t need to set it up every time I get in the car or remember to grab it when getting out. So it feels more like the native experience of using the car.

	▲	artisinal 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		With the exception of the screen size I can do all of that with my phone in a mount as well. But you shouldn’t be operating your phone while driving, not even with CarPlay. It’s illegal in many countries.

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ChrisMarshallNY 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The car screen is much better, for me. Much safer, and less distracting.

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aetch 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I’d rather have the map shown on the headunit screen rather than have the phone screen next to a larger but unused headunit screen.

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Aniket-N 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I use to think this until i got a car with carplay. Now I can’t live without it. In fact wireless carplay was a game changer. You have to experience the convenience to know what it’s like.