[Ron Jeffries]

Went thru the charming process of forgetting my phone and fiddling until CarPlay was set up. It seemed mostly OK except that it seems to want to navigate all the time to somewhere where I don't want to go, and when I go to log in on Tidal or other music providers, won't give me the login buttons, so I can't log in to them anyway.

I'm pretty much an a Apple fanperson but this seems useless. What am I missing?

[p912guy]

I have Apple CarPlay on my GMC Canyon and I am not impressed. I wouldn't pay the extra $$ BMW want's for it, and now it's going to be a subscription service instead of just a one time payment so I'd be even less likely to purchase the service. I very rarely use the CarPlay feature in my truck. I find extended bluetooth in my m235i much more valuable.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by Ron Jeffries

Went thru the charming process of forgetting my phone and fiddling until CarPlay was set up. It seemed mostly OK except that it seems to want to navigate all the time to somewhere where I don't want to go, and when I go to log in on Tidal or other music providers, won't give me the login buttons, so I can't log in to them anyway.

I'm pretty much an a Apple fanperson but this seems useless. What am I missing?

We acquired two 2018MY vehicles from BMW Corporate (BMW and a Mini). The Mini came first and has CarPlay. I quickly grew to hate it. It kept interrupting my in-car nav with any nonsense inbound text (which shouldn't be shown while driving anyway), and insists on using Apple Map which I don't want. It was so bad, when the 3 Series arrived, I made sure we never connected it. Disconnecting the Mini CarPlay is in the near future, although that is my wife's car and up to her. I'd avoid it as much as possible in future cars.

[Poochie]

Someone told me they could code Apple CarPlay in iDrive 5 or 6 without any issues.. Anyone knows if there are any hardware differences between a non-CarPlay optioned vehicle and one with it.. or is it all just software.. ? Makes sense to skip it now, if It could be coded on/off later..

[BEM-S4]

I've had a few loaners with Carplay and like Sportstick I am not a fan. Doubly not a fan when GF is driving she gets way too distracted and becomes a danger to herself and others. Since the car tends to go where your eyes go, since she's looking right at the screen the car tends to dive that way, leaving me as passenger very uncomfortable.

[dsmclone]

My wifes VW has both Android Auto and Carplay. Android Auto seems to work a lot better and I assume this is true regardless of automaker.

[Ron Jeffries]

i feel vindicated but disappointed.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Ron Jeffries

i feel vindicated but disappointed.

I think part of the problem is there is only so much information you (meaning anyone) can process while being an attentive driver, and the interface is not in your general sight line. The Audi virtual cockpit, while it requires a little getting used to, is a quantum leap in that regard.

For me at least, in a BMW, CarPlay doesn't accomplish anything I cannot accomplish without it - and the interface is more distracting than it's worth. I am more than willing to sacrifice 1% of functionality for 50% fewer distractions.

As-is I can set my destination then once en route listen to music, place and receive calls, change audio inputs etc. and never have to look at a screen.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

I think part of the problem is there is only so much information you (meaning anyone) can process while being an attentive driver, and the interface is not in your general sight line. The Audi virtual cockpit, while it requires a little getting used to, is a quantum leap in that regard.

For me at least, in a BMW, CarPlay doesn't accomplish anything I cannot accomplish without it - and the interface is more distracting than it's worth. I am more than willing to sacrifice 1% of functionality for 50% fewer distractions.

As-is I can set my destination then once en route listen to music, place and receive calls, change audio inputs etc. and never have to look at a screen.

I set up CarPlay on my new m240i. It is "okay" but I see all the issues people have mentioned. I have found out how to keep it out of the way most of the time, though, so I'll keep it connected for now. Let's hope it gets much better in iOS 12 as it has been rumored.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by silverado

I set up CarPlay on my new m240i. It is "okay" but I see all the issues people have mentioned. I have found out how to keep it out of the way most of the time, though, so I'll keep it connected for now. Let's hope it gets much better in iOS 12 as it has been rumored b

That's a good point I never tried to tweak anything just thought it was too much and disconnected my phone.

I think "intrusive" is probably the best word to describe my CarPlay experience - but good that you can tone it down if desired.

[SizzlerWA]

I regret Apple CarPlay. It is slow and buggy. Animations get stuck. Not a fan. It's not intuitive. I am a big fan of Apple and BMW separately, just not together in CarPlay.

[analemma]

We just finished a two-week road trip from Vancouver BC down to the Paso Robles area and back. We used Carplay quite a bit, as it seems to be the only way to access the playlist structure on my iPhone for music.
What drove me crazy:
-whenever I picked up my phone to check email (while my wife was driving!) Sirius radio would quit and the Carplay screen would pop up in place of the nav screen. It took a couple of menu moves to get back to the nav, and sometimes pushing the map button would bring up the car nav, while other times it would bring up the Apple maps app, which we never use.
When we were only listening to music from the phone, things seemed to work fine.
Overall I can't say I'm impressed with either Carplay or the native nav system.
This is a 2017 230i. Great drive, otherwise.

[judas]

For me, it is useless. So useless in fact that I turned it off and connect to cell phone through bluetooth and BMW Apps (Spotify).

I might be telling another story if Apple Maps worked where I live, but it just doesn't and I can't display Waze nor google maps on screen.

[VIN240i13]

Originally Posted by judas

For me, it is useless. So useless in fact that I turned it off and connect to cell phone through bluetooth and BMW Apps (Spotify).

I might be telling another story if Apple Maps worked where I live, but it just doesn't and I can't display Waze nor google maps on screen.

The biggest issue with Apple CarPlay is most people do not really understand what it is used for, an A to Z summery from an Apple Fanboy site states:

CarPlay is not an in-car system that runs iOS or iOS apps. It's a connectivity solution that casts a familiar iOS interface to the car's infotainment system display, allowing you to control select apps and your device either with said infotainment screen or your voice.

The key statements are:
Not an in-car system that runs iOS or iOS Apps
Allows control of select apps

Take away all the iOS functionality you love about you iPhone (assuming you are one of the iSheep flock) and knowing the select apps you do get to use basically are buggy and slow, the whole experience becomes pointless.

[ortoLANparty]

Had CarPlay in a rental in the UK earlier this year. I’m torn - CarPlay gives you the iOS-style interface you are used to on your phone, but the lack of split screen (nav+media) was annoying. I have the tech package on my 2016, and honestly it only requires a bit of preparation - send the destination to the car before you leave, or while you’re parked. CarPlay is much better when you’re in the passenger seat and in motion, but the BMW interface is quite intuitive and easy to use when you’re driving.

[MrOhnoez]

Working at a dealership for 3 years now, I think it's the most useless feature ever to exist.
It causes for conflicts and confusion than it hopes to resolve.
I'd suggest it to a customer with like 15 cars and doesn't have time to learn ALL the infotainment systems.
If your carplay is auto starting destinations.
Go into the BMW connected APP
Go into settings
and somewhere deep in the bowels you will see "autostart navigation"
Turn it off.
I'm an android guy so haven't had to worry about issues yet.
I love using waze on Android auto on my VW though. Pair it with a radar detector and a county that doesn't use lasers and you feel (almost) invincible!

[mcompact]

When I worked as a BMW Genius I would ask new owners if they wanted me to show them how to set up CarPlay; 9 times out of 10 they declined. Of that remaining 1 percent, most got fed up with it and went back to a conventional BT pairing.

[mattc1176]

Instantly regretting adding it on to my m240 order after reading this thread! 2 main reasons for getting it: I don't like having to type my destination into the car nav, I'd rather type it quickly into the phone then have the apple map up on my screen (yes I like apple maps) and I don't like how the BT itunes music on my phone works with my current m235. It's very slow when trying to skip songs or search for anything. Will Carplay not solve those 2 issues?

I couldn't care less about getting my text messages sent to me or stream from other apps so if those things suck I'm fine with it.

[gk09]

Originally Posted by Ron Jeffries

Went thru the charming process of forgetting my phone and fiddling until CarPlay was set up. It seemed mostly OK except that it seems to want to navigate all the time to somewhere where I don't want to go, and when I go to log in on Tidal or other music providers, won't give me the login buttons, so I can't log in to them anyway.

I'm pretty much an a Apple fanperson but this seems useless. What am I missing?

Hated it