{"id":19363,"date":"2022-04-07T00:04:02","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T04:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=19363"},"modified":"2022-04-07T00:04:02","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T04:04:02","slug":"apple-carplay-android-auto-faq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=19363","title":{"rendered":"What are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto? FAQs answered"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s good reason why Apple CarPlay<\/a> and Google\u2019s Android Auto<\/a> are putting the nail in the coffin of automakers\u2019 own smartphone platforms: They work. Prior to the platforms\u2019 rollouts, automakers struggled to marry their in-car touchscreens and knob-and-display infotainment systems with smartphones. Such media player interfaces were and continue to be confusing, frustrating or glitchy.<\/p>\n

Enter CarPlay and Android Auto, which use software to largely mirror what\u2019s on a driver\u2019s device \u2013 in a streamlined and relatively safe auto-centric way \u2013 on a car\u2019s infotainment screen. They include the apps and interfaces owners of the devices already know and appear the same on every in-dash display \u2013 whether in a Bentley<\/a> or a Buick<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What type of phone do you need for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

CarPlay is compatible with the iPhone 5 going forward, without needing a separate app. Android Auto, on the other hand, requires downloading an app for devices with Android 9 or below, while devices with Android 10 and later don\u2019t require a separate app.<\/p>\n

What apps are available for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Both platforms include native apps for familiar features such as phoning, messaging, music, maps, audiobooks and podcasts, and leverage their parent company\u2019s voice assistant for hands-free functionality. They also integrate popular third-party apps for music streaming, messaging services, navigation, parking, shopping, sports and even EV charging.<\/p>\n

More than 600 vehicle models now offer CarPlay, and more than 500 are now compatible with Android Auto. The platforms are also available in aftermarket<\/a> head units, and in 2018, Mazda added CarPlay support to vehicles from 2014 model-year vehicle forward<\/a> by way of a dealer-installed upgrade for vehicles equipped with the Mazda<\/a> Connect system.<\/p>\n

Some automakers were initially, and until recently, reluctant to allow Apple and Google into their dashboards \u2013 Toyota<\/a> in particular objected to owners\u2019 usage data being shared automatically with Apple and Google.\u00a0 At the time of this writing, Tesla<\/a> is the only major automaker that has shunned the platforms and stuck with a proprietary system.<\/p>\n

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What’s the difference between wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In most cases, a device needs to be connected to a car\u2019s smartphone-integration USB port. (This port might be labeled as such in your car or designated by a white outline.) But with the introduction of iOS 9 in September 2015, more than 20 automakers now offer wireless CarPlay, while Android had already cut the cord in March 2015. (A handful of automakers offer wireless CarPlay only.)<\/p>\n

Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto can\u2019t use a Bluetooth connection, and instead require connecting to a vehicle via Wi-Fi. No, this doesn\u2019t mean they chew through the data allowance for an in-car Wi-Fi hot spot. Since the platforms are data-intensive, they need this more robust connection to the car\u2019s infotainment system.<\/p>\n

One downside of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is a Wi-Fi connection more quickly drains a device\u2019s battery<\/a>. Of course, you can always plug the device into a USB charge-only port, and if your car has wireless device charging and <\/em>wireless CarPlay and Android Auto you get the best of both worlds.<\/p>\n

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Do Apple CarPlay and Android Auto get updated?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In addition to their simplicity and familiarity, one of the biggest advantages of CarPlay and Android Auto over automakers\u2019 smartphone-integration platforms is they\u2019re routinely refreshed through software updates. While a handful of automakers offer over-the-air software updates for their infotainment systems, for all but Tesla it\u2019s not as easy and seamless and having your smartphone update while you sleep, and getting new and enhanced features.<\/p>\n

For example, along with adding wireless capability, the iOS 9 update allowed car companies to develop apps that let car occupants operate vehicle-specific features such as climate controls. Subsequent updates added features such as support for third-party navigation apps like Waze and for food ordering and parking services apps.<\/p>\n

With the release of iOS 13 in 2019 came one of the biggest changes to CarPlay: a Dashboard feature with a split-screen option that can simultaneously show maps, media info and calendar items. It also added a Settings app that lets users switch between light and dark modes, adjust album art in the Now Playing screen and enable a Do Not Disturb feature.<\/p>\n

Last year CarPlay added the availability to unlock a car and start the engine<\/a> with an iPhone for certain 2021 models. The feature also allows sharing digital \u201ckeys\u201d with family or friends and will even work for up to five hours after an iPhone\u2019s battery is dead.<\/p>\n

Android Auto has also been consistently updated. Google initially didn\u2019t allow third parties to integrate mapping apps with Android Auto, reserving the platform for its own Google Maps and Waze. But now third-party mapping apps such as Sygic and TomTom AmiGO are available.<\/p>\n

In late 2016 Google added the option to run Android Auto as an app on an Android device. In this case, that means via an embedded Android Automotive OS<\/a>, which so far only a few vehicles run, notably Polestar<\/a> EVs.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of 2018, Google announced the addition of Google Assistant to Android Auto, while in July 2019 the platform got a UI overhaul. Last summer, Android Auto got a major upgrade that added being able to personalize the launch screen directly from your phone, a A-Z quick scrolling feature for lengthy catalogs of songs and contacts list and integration of EV charging, parking and navigation apps.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What limitations do Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Neither system is a complete replacement for a car\u2019s \u201cnative\u201d infotainment system. If you want to listen to the radio, be it terrestrial or SiriusXM, you need the car\u2019s interface. Same if you want to change various vehicle functions. Navigation apps such as Google Maps are also reliant on data to be able to search for a new destination and map a route \u00ad\u2013 if you\u2019re in an area without service and haven\u2019t pre-downloaded map data (most people don\u2019t even know you can do that), you won\u2019t have a navigation system. That\u2019s one reason why carmakers continue to offer native navigation systems, although some, such as new systems by Mercedes<\/a>, offer augmented reality directions in the central screen or head-up display that you definitely won\u2019t get with Google Maps.<\/p>\n

What Apple CarPlay can do, or can\u2019t do, also depends on the car. Some lock out CarPlay\u2019s ability to look through Playlists in the music app while the car is in motion, for example, requiring you to select something using Siri. Others, however, keep everything available to you at all times.<\/p>\n

What’s the difference between Android Auto and Android Automotive OS?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We’ve already described Android Auto, but you’re going to increasingly see the term Android Automotive, which is not the same thing. Instead of providing just an interface to control your smartphone through the car’s infotainment system, Android Automotive is in fact the entire infotainment system. It is effectively an operating system created by Google that car brands can customize with their specific designs or “skins” that can control everything a car’s native system normally would. So, think changing a radio station or customizing drive mode settings. Android Auto is still needed to communicate and control smartphone apps, and although CarPlay was not yet compatible at the time of this writing, it will in the future. You can see more about Android Automotive and its early adoption in the 2022 GMC Yukon<\/a> below.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s good reason why Apple CarPlay and Google\u2019s Android Auto are putting the nail in the coffin of automakers\u2019 own smartphone platforms: They work. Prior to the platforms\u2019 rollouts, automakers struggled to marry their in-car touchscreens and knob-and-display infotainment systems with smartphones. Such media player interfaces were and continue to be confusing, frustrating or glitchy. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}