Android Auto and Apple CarPlay – are they herds behind?

 

Digital technologies and the automotive industry are getting closer every year. And it’s not just about the hype that auto brand marketers want to apply. Yes, it is very fashionable to announce the addition of AI to summarize correspondence in the messenger while you are on the road or the ability to open the car when the owner approaches with a smartphone.

 

The cars themselves are becoming more technologically advanced. Engines have hundreds of sensors, the electronic control unit takes into account all their readings and already has a load comparable to a powerful computer. There is a lot of data coming in in real time and you need to react to everything without delay, because security depends on it. It is not surprising that for several years now some sensors have been made analog again, physically building interactions with vehicle systems in order to relieve the load on the ECU and control boards.

 

This approach to the topic of synchronizing a car and a smartphone seems unnecessary, however, systems for interaction between the driver and the car are also part of the operation. Displaying images from cameras, warnings about events on the road, fatigue sensors – all this and other information is broadcast to the driver. Via the dashboard and/or multimedia system. Nevertheless, automobile production is generally quite inert. New technologies take a long time to be introduced, and “yesterday’s” features are good if they appear in the next generation of the model.

 

Why do we need Android Auto and Apple CarPlay?

 

 

So far Android Auto is mostly about the comfort and safety of using data from a smartphone while driving. Navigation is displayed on a large screen, notifications are announced acoustically, and responses may be dictated. In general, the list of all applications that can be launched on the car’s multimedia is so small that it fits on one web page.

 

 

Apple CarPlay ограничивается тем же, дополнительно имея еще возможность управлять принадлежностями HomeKit, например механизмом открывания дверей.

 

At the same time, Google and Apple are also in no hurry to add new features to run in the car. The range of applications, like 5 years ago, is limited to music audio services, navigation, road information services and social networks, which display a short version of a personal message on the car display. You can also ask a voice assistant, Google Assistant or Siri, to dial someone’s phone number, read a description of events from the calendar, or create a new one.

 

What to use

 

It’s clear that you shouldn’t play videos while driving, scroll through Tik Tok, or play asphalt. Safety comes first and rightly so. Google maps will not allow you to write the address in the line if the car is moving faster than 5 km/h. Voice input is automatically activated. This also largely regulates the viewing of videos, even from local media in the car. As soon as movement begins, playback is paused and cannot be resumed.

 

 

It is curious that Chinese manufacturers offer special set-top boxes that not only provide a wireless connection between the smartphone and the car, but also unlock multimedia capabilities while driving. One of the latest innovations was, for example, a set-top box that turns a car multimedia system into an external screen for Samsung Dex. In the parking lot, you can look through text files and run any application on a slightly larger screen.

 

The latest update to Android Auto, which is already a year old in fact, added a split-screen feature. When two applications are simultaneously displayed on the screen. It’s convenient when the trip route is displayed in one part, and the audio player in a slightly smaller part. It also added the ability to choose a desktop background from a dozen offered.

 

 

However, this is where the innovation ends.

 

At this year’s developer conference, Apple announced a new version of CarPlay,  which is much more flexible and functional. At least, that’s what it says. How compliant auto brands will be is also a question.

 

The system will be able to configure the operation of car systems – air conditioner, lighting, assistants – through the menu interface. But the charging setting point is noteworthy. That is, most likely. Electric cars and plug-in hybrids will be the pioneers of the new CarPlay.

 

What you need for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to work

 

You can connect your smartphone to your car via cable or wirelessly. In the case of Android, you will need a cable with a USB Type-C connector, and in the case of an iPhone – Lightning or the same USB-C for the latest iPhone 15.

 

If your smartphone is running Android 8 or 9, download the Android Auto app. Starting with Android 10, Android Auto features are already built into the system. Android Auto is not supported on Android Go devices.

 

 

Apple CarPlay доступен для смартфонов начиная с iPhone 5 и до сегодняшнего iPhone 15. То есть поддержка реализована для iOS 10.3.4 22 и новее. На середину 2024 года это iOS та iPadOS 17.

 

Wireless connection to Android Auto is supported on the following devices:

 

• Phones with Android OS 11.0 and later;
• Smartphones made by Google or Samsung with Android 10.0 OS;
• Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ or Note 8 with Android 9.0.

 

This will also require support for 5 GHz Wi-Fi.

 

List of all car models having support for Android Auto. And this is a list of models with Apple CarPlay support. The lists are similar in many respects.

 

Android Auto experience

 

 

Let’s share some impressions when using Android Auto. In our case, this is the wired option in a 2018 car. The smartphone received car software updates in 2022, where a custom background and split screen appeared for two applications, slightly faster initialization at startup.

 

1. Wireless Android cars are not a panacea. Yes, you can get it from a wired one by purchasing one of the Chinese Bluetooth transmitters with Android Auto support. This option is good if you drive a lot during the day and get out of the car quite often. Then you won’t have to pull the cable all the time.
2. If your car does not have wireless charging for your smartphone, you will have to connect the device with a cable. We already all know that over time the plug will fail and stop working. We have already replaced three cables in 2 years. GPS eats up the battery quite quickly. Therefore, if the trip takes more than an hour, the smartphone will be noticeably discharged.
3. The ideal option would be to have both a wireless connection and wireless charging. The main thing is that the latter is powerful enough to charge the smartphone battery at least a little. A standard wireless charging module for VAG, for example, costs 200-300 euros. That is, changing laces, and even a smartphone connector once, is still cheaper.
4. Android Auto works great with navigation and music services. But it doesn’t show messages from instant messengers in full, just the first 10 words. He also cannot voice them in Ukrainian or Russian, only English. Therefore, half of the applications can be safely turned off in the launch settings, so as not to take up space with icons on the screen of the multimedia system. By the way, perhaps the calendar still makes sense to be in activated applications, showing reminders that usually have a short description.
5. You can’t watch YouTube in a car while driving, and rightly so. But why then can’t you watch it when the car is in the parking lot? Games built into Android cars work when the car is stationary. Our test car also has a media player for watching videos from CDs (who else remembers what that is?). To be fair, the system also pauses their playback when the movement begins.
6. Yes, enthusiasts here have also tried their best and, together with wireless adapters for cars, sometimes sew a shell into them, which, in essence, does Screen Mirroring on the dashboard screen. There is already, for example, Samsung Dex for cars. Then you get access to all smartphone applications on an ongoing basis. Is it convenient and safe to view tables while traveling? It’s up to you.
7. Voice assistants are an obviously convenient and safe way to control your smartphone while traveling. But so far only navigation applications can recognize voice well. And even then, the destination address may not always be heard correctly. It is worth hoping that AI which has already been announced for Android cars, will soon appear for everyone.
8. The general inertia of the automobile industry seems to be decreasing in the last decade. Along with the popularity of electric cars comes the accelerated adaptation of cars to personal digital devices.