Comment by rothbardrand | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rothbardrand | Hacker News Reader

I've been a loyal toyota buyer for over 30 years. But I will not buy another car, unless it has first class CarPlay support. (and it should support the android equivalent as well) Having to interact with the phone while driving is a safety problem and Apple (and presumably android too) delivered a great solution several years ago-- no excuse for not implementing it.

Especially given that auto makers really suck at this kind of software. My car has navigation and all the bells and whistles (was not a choice when buying) and I ONLY use it as a bluetooth audio receiver, effectively. IT's just terrible for everything else.

I'm drawing a line in the sand here. I will buy a 10 year old used something if I have to and put in an aftermarket CarPlay system. (They're also making it harder to put in aftermarket systems..... ok you going to do that, then you better make yours first class.)

I love that with my current toyota when I get in my phone hooks back up and starts playing music, but I hate having to use the phone screen for navigation and the like, since there are no good auto mounts I can find. [1]

[1] I have a vent based magnetic one. The magnetic attachment is great, but the vent vanes swing back and forth and its never been quite satisfying... right now if I turn at the right speed the phone swings over and turns off the radio by hitting its button. annoying.

> Having to interact with the phone while driving is a safety problem

Surprised and dismayed if this is the prevailing viewpoint, that using a phone while driving is a necessity that should be made as safe as possible.

I'm guessing you're not thinking about GPS, are you?

Be careful what you wish for, I heard that Google is aggressively gathering information about ones driving through Android auto.

My car has pretty basic integration: calls, music. I have access to the phone book and playlists on the car display and I don't need nor want more integration.

May be off topic but it's funny to see complaints regarding infotainment systems when all I've done is driven 10 year old toyotas without infotainment systemsfor the past decade. "More money, more problems."

Why do I even need this? Just give me a bluetooth receiver and a usb outlet for the phone. You set up the navi before driving off, just like you would in the built-in systems. I don't understand why carplay is such a big deal tbh.

Bigger screen in a better place; it uses your car mic instead of the phone mic; it uses your steering wheel buttons instead of needing to touch the phone; when you get a call or want to talk to the system, the A/C turns down the blower setting. Probably some others.

All of those except the screen can be done with Bluetooth.

I agree, my family has a long history of buying Toyotas. I really, really dislike their usage of entune at the expense of just integrating CarPlay + Android Auto. This is an issue that also will cause me to shop non-Toyota.

Tangential, but if Pro Fit International make a 'vehicle specific mount' for your model I highly recommend them. They require partial disassembly of your dash trim, which a car stereo installer can do for you. They bolt very solidly to the frame behind your dash and provide a mounting plate angled facing you, which you attach your phone/GPS/whatever to.

I found the best way to attach a phone to the mount was to buy a phone 'holster' - the belt clip type. Break the clip part off and grid down the back so it's flat, then use a 3M adhesive pad to attach the phone holder to the mount. Then you can easily snap the phone into place and see the screen while driving. It's more work than a cheap vent-clip type, but absolutely worth it.

No affiliation with the company, I just think they have the best product and I found them very helpful.

Almost flippant based on the issue with the car mount, I have a 2013 Infiniti g37x, and where the gps/ touch screen is they have a circular dial. If I put my phone over the built in screen, the dial holds it in place perfectly. Better then any mount I’ve owned. Funny how that works out.

(I’m agreeing that car mounts suck, and car play is amazing in the cars I’ve been in that have it )

Our in-laws car has a screen that flips down to let you put a minidisc(!) in or replace the navigation DVD. That flip-down tray makes for a perfect phone stand.

I don't trust car manufacturers to implement anything more complex than a Bluetooth module that has only power and analog audio integration. I don't want all this stuff. I love my old land cruiser because it's well designed in almost all aspects, which cannot be said for any infotainment system.

Out of curiosity, have you spent a lot of time with CarPlay?

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