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Leaving aside the proprietary infotainment systems that carmakers themselves provide to customers, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are currently the most convenient choices for drivers around the world who want to expand their smartphones’ capabilities to the head unit of their cars.
But despite the handy tools that each of these two comes with, it’s also not a secret that both CarPlay and Android Auto ship with a series of drawbacks, including missing features that users have been requested for many years already.
After discussing the Android Auto features that Apple should add to CarPlay, let’s have a look at how Google itself can improve its platform by simply checking out what the iPhone maker has to offer behind the wheel.
These apps are grouped in cards, so you can, for example, see navigation data from Apple Maps side by side with a card used by Spotify and another one for the active phone call.
Such a feature would make sense in Android Auto as well, especially since pretty much the same apps are used here too, including navigation apps, Spotify, and obviously phone calls.
Apple has recently decided to open the navigation card on the dashboard to third-party apps like Google Maps and Waze, and since both belong to Google, it’s very clear such a thing would be much easier should a dashboard make its way to Android Auto.
CarPlay is baked into iOS, which means that Apple can easily update it every time the company releases a new set of improvements for the operating system itself. This in turns should technically guarantee increased stability and fewer bugs, albeit this is also something that comes down to the work that the parent company puts in the whole project.
On the other hand, offering a dedicated app comes with its own series of advantages, including more frequent updates without any changes to the OS.
But at the end of the day, native support at OS level would provide everyone with a more straightforward experience, while also keeping the entire userbase on the last version as long as their devices are up-to-date.
As many discovered the hard way, Samsung’s cables are among the best out there for Android Auto, while cheap cables that are available for just one dollar typically cause connection issues from the very beginning.
Things are entirely different in the Apple world, as CarPlay works best with certified cables that must wear the “Made for iPhone” logo. If a cable causes issues on CarPlay, there’s a chance it doesn’t work right with the iPhone as well, so sticking either with a certified cord or the one that shipped with the iPhone is the best way to go.
Google should update Android Auto to issue warnings whenever bad cables are used, which should basically help prevent problems caused by the low-quality cables that many people often turn to.
After discussing the Android Auto features that Apple should add to CarPlay, let’s have a look at how Google itself can improve its platform by simply checking out what the iPhone maker has to offer behind the wheel.
Android Auto dashboard
One of the most useful recent additions to the CarPlay feature lineup is the dashboard, also referred to as the multi-view panel, which displays information from multiple apps side by side on the same screen.These apps are grouped in cards, so you can, for example, see navigation data from Apple Maps side by side with a card used by Spotify and another one for the active phone call.
Such a feature would make sense in Android Auto as well, especially since pretty much the same apps are used here too, including navigation apps, Spotify, and obviously phone calls.
Apple has recently decided to open the navigation card on the dashboard to third-party apps like Google Maps and Waze, and since both belong to Google, it’s very clear such a thing would be much easier should a dashboard make its way to Android Auto.
Native support at operating system level
This is something that Google has previously considered but which for some reason is yet to happen.CarPlay is baked into iOS, which means that Apple can easily update it every time the company releases a new set of improvements for the operating system itself. This in turns should technically guarantee increased stability and fewer bugs, albeit this is also something that comes down to the work that the parent company puts in the whole project.
On the other hand, offering a dedicated app comes with its own series of advantages, including more frequent updates without any changes to the OS.
But at the end of the day, native support at OS level would provide everyone with a more straightforward experience, while also keeping the entire userbase on the last version as long as their devices are up-to-date.
Better cable management
It’s not a secret that one of the main causes of issues with Android Auto is the cable that users turn to when connecting their smartphones to cars.As many discovered the hard way, Samsung’s cables are among the best out there for Android Auto, while cheap cables that are available for just one dollar typically cause connection issues from the very beginning.
Things are entirely different in the Apple world, as CarPlay works best with certified cables that must wear the “Made for iPhone” logo. If a cable causes issues on CarPlay, there’s a chance it doesn’t work right with the iPhone as well, so sticking either with a certified cord or the one that shipped with the iPhone is the best way to go.
Google should update Android Auto to issue warnings whenever bad cables are used, which should basically help prevent problems caused by the low-quality cables that many people often turn to.
Google News