Thinking of swapping my RNS 510 for an aftermarket CarPlay unit. Alpine iLX-700 or Pioneer SPH-DA120

[AndyFromTheBrac]

@fred I've not seen Apple Maps in CarPlay yet other than screenies. The traffic / rerouting looks much better so that will help. I did a quick nav from my home to Bristol Airport and it tried sending me via the emergency vehicle route, which is the thing I'm a bit nervous about.

That said I'm just hanging on for this firmware update, as instructed. Alpine are being cagey about what this will actually do; either it's a nice new feature or some kind of major bug fix they don't want to walk about (a few weeks in @fred have you had any issues?) My local Alpine dealer to me are going to fit it gratis if I agree to them using the photos on their web/social media pages as it would be their first CarPlay HU so I'm happy with that (just don't want to wait anymore!!)

Does the HU have a GPS antenna or rely on the phone only? If so, I think I'll get the dash tray with the 12v socket and have the cable come straight up thru there so it just sits in the tray.


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[fred]

no issues for me right now. The Alpine doesn't have an internal GPS antenna, relies solely on the phone's one. 5 new apps released in the last 24 hours, including RadioPlayer, Vox (lossless audio), Pandora. Apple are obviously only allowing audio apps on Carplay whilst they work out what they can deploy safely (ie. without getting sued for distracting the driver and causing an accident).

Apple maps on carplay gives you route options before you start out. Not as good as tomtom or Google maps tho. This is quite a big deal for me though http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/carplay/#carplay_privacy

I'm loving Siri at the moment.

"Hey Siri, play Trombone Shorty". [plays all music by Trombone Shorty]
Hey Siri, playlist: Dub reggae" [opens playlist and starts playing]
Hey Siri, skip" [skips to next track]
"Hey Siri, take me home" [opens maps, plans a route home]
"Hey Siri, find me a nearby open tapas restaurant " [finds a list of open restaurants, tells me the average trip advisor review and average price, asks if that is the one I'm looking for, listens for a reply and if yes, plots a route there using maps, if no, she tells me about the next one or answers a question (e.g. "are they open?)"].
I can also set location based reminders with my carplay device as a location, and Siri understands what I'm looking at in certain apps which is pretty cool. http://www.guidingtech.com/45159/new-siri-commands-ios-9/

If you feel the need you can use a PAC TR7 to override the parking brake restriction on the AV input. That is, if you really want to display video when driving for example. I'd love to be able to programme the OK button on my MFSW to become a Siri button, but its a small niggle, and I imagine it might be possible via VCDS.

I've decided to install a HCE-C155 rear camera over changing the CANBUS adapter to display parking sensor information on screen, so I then have both camera and sensors.

 

[IanE]

Fred - sounds good! A big concern I have though, living somewhere where 3G is often absent, is do you need 3G (and therefore also need to pay for data) for Siri to work? Also for Apple maps to work? Cheers Ian


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[fred]

There are 6 main steps to navigation:

1. Siri integration
2. Search for destination
3. download a large scale map to that destination.
4. plot / choose a route
5. track location whilst on a route
6. downloading high-res / 3d map whilst on route

Step 1 requires an internet connection at the time. No surprises there.

Step 2 can be done offline, but all this seems to do is put the destination in your recent searches list.I need to do some more testing of this (will come back and edit if I'm incorrect) but you still need a mobile connection to repeat step 2 in Car Play.

You can carry out step 3 to DL the large scale map whilst on Wifi (e.g. at home). Apple maps doesn't DL the large scale map again if it is a destination you've searched for previously as the map will still be in it's cache.

Step 4 DOES require an internet connection. This IMO is something that can be improved, as, if you have GPS and offline map data but no internet, the device could plot the route (albeit without traffic data for example).

Step 5 is reliant on GPS only, so happens without an internet connection. Note that if you haven't committed to a route, you can still see where you are on your previously downloaded map, so you can continue to navigate semi-manually. I tend to do this most of the time anyway, I rarely rely on turn by turn or generated routes except in cities where I might miss an exit. I need to test if you can also follow a route without using turn-by-turn and without an internet connection as long as you have previously done step 4. I think so, but step 6 will be limited obvs.

Step 6 requires an internet connection. Again, potential for improvement here. If I'm navigating from one town to another there's no reason why maps shouldn't DL high res / 3d maps for the whole route and store them.

One thing to note is that google maps has the same limitations for data connection as Apple maps, they're the same in this respect. Also I cant even begin to tell you how much I like 3D maps for navigating. (This is on my TomTom, though I can't see it on Google maps).

 

[IanE]

Fred thanks very much for taking the time to provide such a helpful reply. Ian

 

[CaliforniaDAN]

Does anyone know if the BBC Radio IPlayer app works with car play?
The reason I ask is I am a big user of this app for downloading comedies and radio shows, Bob Harris, Paul Jones etc and listening while I drive.

If so then I will look into changing my ICE and then get an iPhone 6S!

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

@CaliforniaDAN it doesn't as such but I believe it allows audio playback (if you start it on your phone whilst plugged into a CarPlay HU)

That said if you use the free radioplayer UK app you can search and add these particular shows as favourites etc and this does work through CarPlay (only just released with CarPlay support) Once favourited new shows will appear etc

That's a screenie from the app, with my simple search term at the top; bbc bob harris

I've not used this in CarPlay mode so I'm not sure how well Siri is integrated to it yet. This could be a big win for me as I like to listen to specific shows and news/items on demand too.

 

[CaliforniaDAN]

Thanks for the update.
I have that app as well as an "unlimited" data SIM card so as long as I have 4G access I can then listen, hopefully either Apple or BBC can get it sorted so I can listen to a full show downloaded on an iPhone and I will be a happier camper when travelling!

 

[fred]

CarPlay works as an audio dock via the lightning cable. So anything I play (or do) on the phone takes priority, with a simple set of controls on the CarPlay screen for audio apps which don't have a dedicated CarPlay app.
So @CaliforniaDAN you can play previously downloaded bbc iplayer radio shows without requiring mobile data.

 

[IanE]

Oh how I wish one of the CarPlay head units would let me mirror the tomtom app on my iPhone 6!

 

[CaliforniaDAN]

CarPlay works as an audio dock via the lightning cable. So anything I play (or do) on the phone takes priority, with a simple set of controls on the CarPlay screen for audio apps which don't have a dedicated CarPlay app.
So @CaliforniaDAN you can play previously downloaded bbc iplayer radio shows without requiring mobile data.

Thanks for the update Fred.

 

[CaliforniaDAN]

CarPlay works as an audio dock via the lightning cable. So anything I play (or do) on the phone takes priority, with a simple set of controls on the CarPlay screen for audio apps which don't have a dedicated CarPlay app.
So @CaliforniaDAN you can play previously downloaded bbc iplayer radio shows without requiring mobile data.

Hi fred, thanks for the update I will look into that, I may even look at an iPod touch and hook up that way.

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

@IanE there's a bit of a backdoor way of doing that with any head unit which has video/audio in and the use of a miracast-type wifi dongle. I investigated this originally (see above) but the nasty proprietary video ports on my RNS 510 and adapters needed, meant it was costly - the iLX-700 has a standard video (camera) input and if you don't want to plug in a rear view cam, you could in theory do this as these guys here show

(fast forward to about 14:50). There's not a lot of info and it's going to be a bit hit and miss I'd think. It's why I'm getting the Alpine fitted (just waiting on availability at the moment!).

@fred that's a really useful bit of info, thanks!

 

[IanE]

Andy thanks for that - I'll be watching your progress with interest! .... though I do want dab

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

Andy thanks for that - I'll be watching your progress with interest! .... though I do want dab

The Alpine has an optional DAB tuner. I've not gone for that as I think I'll probably listen to "radio" in a different way now; using the various CarPlay apps via 3G (eg stitcher etc)

http://www.alpine.co.uk/p/Products/digital-media-receiver-4660/ilx-700

If you open the "related products" section there's the DAB & DTV options. If I think I'll need it, I'll just add it later.


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[IanE]

Woah! £180 on Amazon for the dab tuner. What with one thing and another, I think I'm going to have a look at a "no limit" 3G contract for my iPhone. Then I'd do as you propose for radio Andy.

 

[fred]

Oh how I wish one of the CarPlay head units would let me mirror the tomtom app on my iPhone 6!

what did you use before you discovered your TomTom app?

What I'm getting at is that (once mobile data dependency for large downloads is reduced) Apple maps will have surpassed all other 3rd party navigation apps including Google maps (for example, calendar event integration with maps, 3D maps, free map updates). I love my TomTom Go 5000 but I tried talking to it today and nothing happened.

 

[fred]

@IanE ...It's why I'm getting the Alpine fitted (just waiting on availability at the moment!).

cool. which CANBUS adapter are you going for? (full climate/parking sensor integration or not?)

 

[fred]

Personally I've never really understood the benefits of DAB, particularly over internet radio or music podcasts. Does it mean I can get Radio 4 on the continent? Or is it just an attempt to backdoor DRM on to the consumer like region locked DVDs?

 

[IanE]

Fred - I used a dedicated tomtom device stuck on the windscreen.

I take your point about Apple maps, but my concern is being dependant on having a data connection. I'm concerned about this for two reasons;
1. Monthly ongoing data charges
2. I often find myself in areas where there is no data connection available, even if you've paid for it!

Of course tomtom just works, with no cost above initial app purchase.

I am a great fan of Apple products, but these concerns prevent me from taking the plunge on CarPlay - but as above I'll be checking out no limit SIM cards - one that I've found so far (giffgaff) is £20/month

Oh and I'd need to check out that whichever head unit I went for allowed steering wheel controls, climate/parking (I note the comment above re CANBUS on the Apline unit) on display and if the display between the speedo and rev counter displayed any related info.

On DAB I don't know much about it except that I could get 6radio and the sound quality is reported as better? I guess I wouldn't be as bothered if I could access internet radio - though maybe dab signal is more reliable than internet as we're travelling along in far flung places?

 

[IanE]

Bit of a blummin minefield!!

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

cool. which CANBUS adapter are you going for? (full climate/parking sensor integration or not?)

The full climate / parking sensor malarkey, even though it was a bit more expensive.

@IanE I share your reservations about Apple Maps (this was the only reason I stalled on CarPlay for so long!) I've just decided that whichever app I use it will be way better than the VW nav I have now.

I understand Apple has modified the caching methods it uses and is committed to making this better still so reliance on a data signal isn't needed all of the time. I'll report on that when I have it!

 

[reserves]

Maybe slightly off topic but do the new T6 Stereos have CarPlay?

Fingered crossed they retrofit the T5 and can be coded.

CarPlay + DAB + Navigation on DIS would be perfect

 

[fred]

No CarPlay on the T6

 

[fred]

CarPlay + DAB + Navigation on DIS would be perfect

You can do this today for £700ish with the Alpine iLX-700