You can still connect an android phone to any of these cars you simply won't be able to use the carplay features. Not really surprising seeing most new cars don't even have android USB compatibility while you can plug in a 10 year old ipod and still connect to any deck with USB connectivity.
It's not like all carmakers are exclusively apple as they are covering their bases here. Apple has simply been ahead of the curve with the ability to retain compatibility with older hardware;
I can hardly wait until more cars adopt the Tesla "single screen for everything" approach.
17" screen the handles Audio/HVAC/cameras/owners manual, its web enabled (car is 3g enabled) which allows Google Maps (pinch to zoom) as Nav as well as web browsing...and can split the screen for a combo of any of the above functions.
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At 7:40 of the video I posted on page 1 you see them jumping in and out of CarPlay, so there is a stock interface if you don't have an iPhone. While it does only work with certain models of phone, if you're buying a brand new car there's a pretty good chance you aren't the kind of person to have a 3 year old phone.
While I love touch screens, I certainly feel there's still an important role for physical buttons in a car. As a safety measure, most people can operate their car stereo without taking their eyes off the road if the controls are tactile. I suppose that's where Siri would be useful, but she needs to get a lot more functional.
That is my opinion, yes. This feature is available on 2014 models from makers such as Ferrari and Mercedes Benz. I don't imagine people that are in the position to buy those cars are holding onto their phones for more than 3 years. Anybody I know that has that kind of money upgrades their phone yearly without thinking about it. I don't believe having an iPhone 5 at this point is terribly unique.
Perhaps my view is skewed by virtue of the fact I tend to hang out with people who are interested in tech.
Well, from the chart above, looks like my next vehicle purchase will be an Audi, GM, Honda or Hyundai. Not a chance I own an Apple product again and I would prefer full integration.
Really too bad they can't be open to at least Apple/Google full integration.
I can hardly wait until more cars adopt the Tesla "single screen for everything" approach.
17" screen the handles Audio/HVAC/cameras/owners manual, its web enabled (car is 3g enabled) which allows Google Maps (pinch to zoom) as Nav as well as web browsing...and can split the screen for a combo of any of the above functions.
Will never happen. Touchscreens look cool but certain controls should always be left to buttons as you don't get that tactile feel from a touchscreen you get from a button where you can just glance and touch without overly focusing like you need to do to press one of many touch screen buttons next to each other. I can perform many interior functions without looking in my car but with a touch screen I would have to take my eyes off the road to change HVAC or radio settings.
I believe it was Car & Driver that complained that the Honda Accord had way too many buttons/switches in the interior. Honda's response was to make two touch screens and combine all those buttons into screens. Car & Driver then said it was much worse as it's easier to glance and press a button than to have to navigate through screen levels to access that function and then press it.
Will never happen. Touchscreens look cool but certain controls should always be left to buttons as you don't get that tactile feel from a touchscreen you get from a button where you can just glance and touch without overly focusing like you need to do to press one of many touch screen buttons next to each other. I can perform many interior functions without looking in my car but with a touch screen I would have to take my eyes off the road to change HVAC or radio settings.
Here is a picture of my current touch screen. I can hit phone, then phonebook and scroll through contacts, etc. while driving. I can change the climate in the vehicle. I can adjust heated front seats and on and on...I can scroll through satellite channels and descriptions...It's already happening:
Here is a picture of my current touch screen. I can hit phone, then phonebook and scroll through contacts, etc. while driving. I can change the climate in the vehicle. I can adjust heated front seats and on and on...I can scroll through satellite channels and descriptions...It's already happening:
Yeah but your Dodge still has buttons for a lot of those functions.
That is my opinion, yes. This feature is available on 2014 models from makers such as Ferrari and Mercedes Benz. I don't imagine people that are in the position to buy those cars are holding onto their phones for more than 3 years. Anybody I know that has that kind of money upgrades their phone yearly without thinking about it. I don't believe having an iPhone 5 at this point is terribly unique.
Perhaps my view is skewed by virtue of the fact I tend to hang out with people who are interested in tech.
I just don't see the correlation. To me it's just a timing thing. Yes Ferrari's and Benz' will have it but so will Ford's etc it seems. I know some people that upgrade there phone yearly (me) and I know a heck of a lot more people who don't. I've never owned a new vehicle in my life, but I always have the latest phones and throw money away elsewhere. I know a guy who seems to have a new car every couple years but still rocks a Blackberry. It just seems like you tried to connect the two things.
It's a moot point almost since I was corrected CarPlay is just a feature on top of the interface anyways but if you're going to only support one type of phone anyways, make it more then phones a year and a half old.
Apple's CarPlay infotainment system hasn't made it into a single vehicle yet, and it's already drawing criticism for distracting drivers among safety advocates. The new tech unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show pairs users' iPhones with the car's dashboard display to make calls, dictate messages and listen to music. Some automakers, like Volvo, also let users interact with the HVAC system from the screen.
"The idea that people want to be on their phones, and therefore let's give them a way to do that -- that's not putting safety first, that's putting convenience and the desire to be in touch first," said Bruce Hamilton, manager of research and communications at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, to CNN Money.
Distracted driving is a huge concern on modern roads with more vehicles allowing drivers to use their smartphones through Bluetooth and infotainment systems. A Texas A&M study found that drivers' reaction time doubled while dictating text messages, according to CNN Money. The new tech is certainly not making drivers pay more attention.
Apple knows that inattentive drivers are a major cause of concern and addressed it in their press release, saying: "CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction." Still, none of the models with the tech are available yet. It's hard to make quality judgments until it is actually on the road.
The new system will debut later this year in some Volvo, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Apple claims to be working on future deals with BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Jaguar, Land Rover, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota and more. For automakers, the tech means a common standard and potentially less money invested into bespoke infotainment systems. Apple gets even more people using its software. Scroll down for Volvo's video preview of CarPlay.
Will never happen. Touchscreens look cool but certain controls should always be left to buttons as you don't get that tactile feel from a touchscreen you get from a button where you can just glance and touch without overly focusing like you need to do to press one of many touch screen buttons next to each other. I can perform many interior functions without looking in my car but with a touch screen I would have to take my eyes off the road to change HVAC or radio settings.
I believe it was Car & Driver that complained that the Honda Accord had way too many buttons/switches in the interior. Honda's response was to make two touch screens and combine all those buttons into screens. Car & Driver then said it was much worse as it's easier to glance and press a button than to have to navigate through screen levels to access that function and then press it.
It'll happen, slowly evolving into it being common place, certainly as a factory option at first. 5-7 years ago, screens from major manufacturers topped out at maybe 5-6", and that was mainly for Nav capabilities on higher end models.
Now you can get an almost 9" screen on a low-mid level Dodge Dart...and the car may not even have Nav as an option; the screen is just as much for the other functions as it is showing maps/directions.
As the tech picks up, this is how I would see those big screens like in the Tesla working, basically all by voice command which tech obviously already exists now. Voice command could turn on the defrost or increase fan speed etc all by itself. A voice command to the car "Hvac" could turn that 17 inch screen temporarily into a 17" HVAC center, with oversized buttons 10x as big as the tactile buttons you see and try and fiddle with now. Also, screen provide the ability to customize each screens to only then show the most common commands that you use (either by your own manual setup, or, by the car's memory of your past commands/entry).
Probably also the option for haptic feedback, or, voice confirmation on the commands you've just done (by touch or by voice) so that you don't have to take the hands or eyes off the road by having to navigate menus.
If cars are going towards being "connected" like cellphones are, bigger screens are going to be required to make that a useable experience.
At some point, like the Tesla, that sort of tech will dominate the dash and leave no real state for redundant tactile buttons. Maybe not on all models and all cars, but certainly a lot more mainstream than just that of a $110k 415hp electric luxury sedan.
At some point, like the Tesla, that sort of tech will dominate the dash and leave no real state for redundant tactile buttons. Maybe not on all models and all cars, but certainly a lot more mainstream than just that of a $110k 415hp electric luxury sedan.
We will agree to disagree then as this "distracted driver" stuff isn't going away anytime soon in fact it's going to become a bigger deal than speeding in the future. Just because a Tesla has it doesn't mean anything as every car still comes with buttons and in the case of luxury cars a lot of them. Ford has had HVAC controls on their Nav screen as far back as the old Sync system and it hasn't changed that fact that all their new cars still have buttons for the HVAC controls in addition to the screen controls.
Last edited by Erick Estrada; 03-10-2014 at 08:23 AM.
True, but I don't touch them. I only use the touch screen. Way easier.
I'm the exact opposite. Way easier to simply rotate a dial than have to focus on and then touch a screen and have to press it multiple times to ramp the fan or temperature. Anyone that ever has a radio with numbered preset buttons and the same buttons mimicked on an LCD will always press the buttons. It's just faster and easier.
