Why Volvo Thinks Its Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Are The Best

Don't want navigation because it's dated even before you purchase the car? No problem. Are you not willing to buy the expensive screen for your cheap smart fortwo? That's not an issue either, as the expensive Samsung smartphone you carry around in your pocket does a lot of awesome things.

But I bet many people have been wondering which car makes the best use of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Volvo thinks it's found the best and, not surprisingly, we're talking about the all-new S90 sedan, now arriving in U.S. showrooms.

TechRadar did this interesting little interview with Jim Nichols, the Technology Communications Manager at Volvo USA. This guy says making the most of either of these connectivity features has to do with how big the screen on your car is.

While most cars have a 6, 7 or 8-inch display that can project those eight CarPlay icons, the Volvo system is colossal. So there's room for the climate control features, media or nav still available while Apple's figures are being shown. That's great if you don't want to fiddle around trying to hit a particular icon while driving. Of course, it's worth pointing out that most other cars have dedicated analog buttons for all that stuff.

And then there are the things that we noticed when we test-drove the Volvo XC90, a sister car for the S90. The Bowers & Wilkins is fantastic, one of the best of any regular car, and the central display works just as well as any tablet, which is more than you can say about 90% of the systems out there.

The Android Auto is part of a comprehensive suite of additions for the next model year of 90-series Volvos. Once it's available, you should be able to retrofit it at your local dealer. Best give it a few months!