Third time's a charm. I guess Ford just needed to try everything and get the bad ones out of the way before finally admitting they should go with Apple. Once they change, they'll still have to support the other technology in older vehicles. I wonder if they will be able to provide a retrofit kit for these vehicles.
I was just thinking to myself how terrible the car interfaces look. You'd think car manufacturers would have a better idea in interfaces.
Instead it's disorganised clutter again and again, especially problematic when it involves the potential of taking one's eyes off the road to use it.
Ever use Chrysler's 8.4" uconnect? I love it and it's praised by everyone as one of the best infotainment systems out there. It's easy to use and very responsive to anything you throw at it.
That is the system I have. It is pretty good, but it isn't exactly going to win a design award. Some things are too small like recent entries in the phone application. They pop up a tiny window with small items. Lets face it, I'm driving trying to call someone back. They should use more of that 8.4". It is certainly the best system I have had in a car, but it is also the newest. I do hope we see a CarPlay firmware update, but that is probably not going to happen. But I can dream.
maybe Microsoft can add a removable keyboard, the metro UI skin, a touchpad, and throw in one year of Microsoft Office 365 for free, plus 10GB of SkyDrive. All running on top of the same, clunky Windows Embedded OS. It's how they typically roll.
Saw this on Autoblog yesterday, and it mentioned nothing about supporting CarPlay. Did say it supports Sire Eyes Free. I quickly read through this article (mostly history of the various systems in cars), but didn't see anything specifically about it supporting CarPlay. Did I miss something?
There is no reason why most 2013, 2014, and 2015 vehicles on the road could not receive a firmware update that the user could do themselves by placing it on thumb drive, and distribute CarPlay to the masses. But its virtually NO WHERE.
Auto manufacturers have no concept of value or customer satisfaction. This should be something that they raced to be the first one to say "UPDATE your Car so that all of you iPhone owners can instantly have the fantastic in-car experience that we didn't sell you at the dealership."
No, instead we're still driving around with the crap that came bundled with our infotainment system, and customer sat is low.
I too, have a 2013 Chrysler with the Uconnect system. I drove a new 2014 Ford first and the MS sync took me and the salesman half a dozen tries to make it call my wife.
On the Chrysler, I push the botton on the steering wheel, wait for the avatar to introduce “her” self, then I say "CALL…JANE….DOE…HOME". She says “DO YOU WANT TO CALL JANE DOE HOME?” I say “YES”, and she dials the phone, etc.
Sometimes as I am leaving the office and before I reach the car, I will use Siri to call home. It goes like this. “Siri, call home”. That’s it.
Microsoft actually hasn't been super involved in the second generation version, MyFordTouch and MyLincolnTouch. And last I checked, MS had laid off some staff from their Automotive division. But MFT has no Microsoft branding like Sync did.
Ford dumped Microsoft a while ago. Ford actually had to re-write the whole program from the ground up in house after the disaster Microsoft gave Ford. The current gen MFT actually works pretty decent, although it could be better.
I had a Mercury Mountaineer (one of the last) with the Sync powered by Microsoft for a month. I'd say about a third of the time when I plugged in my iPhone it would fail to recognize it. Never encountered that from other factory stereos. Just Sync.
There is no reason why most 2013, 2014, and 2015 vehicles on the road could not receive a firmware update that the user could do themselves by placing it on thumb drive, and distribute CarPlay to the masses. But its virtually NO WHERE.
Auto manufacturers have no concept of value or customer satisfaction. This should be something that they raced to be the first one to say "UPDATE your Car so that all of you iPhone owners can instantly have the fantastic in-car experience that we didn't sell you at the dealership."
No, instead we're still driving around with the crap that came bundled with our infotainment system, and customer sat is low.
1) This is similar to Android-based devices getting new versions of Android. The more expensive and newer ones are more likely and the older cheaper models are less likely. Cost-benefit has to be worked out and the dealerships can't have people driving up with people complaining about or wanting their old SW put in place if there is something wrong. That's a lot of potential problems. Even now with the 2015 Hyundai Sonata there is talk that it's not as responsive as it should be. If they can't make that work right then what hope is there for a 2012 Hyundai Elantra?
2) Remember that CarPlay is not installed in any car; only the ability to allow the CarPlay UI to be accessed from the iPhone as a secondary display.
3) Auto makers being behind the times is very common. How many years had CD players been out and car manufactures were still putting tape decks in cars?
Automakers have moved into this area far more slowly than our glaciers are receding. There was like a decade when all we needed was an auxiliary in, just saying%u2019%u2026
Yeah, by the time a new car debuts with a "state of the art" infotainment system, the OS looks 5 years old...roads on GPS are all pixelated on the "oversized" 8" screen with unusually large pixels.
That is the system I have. It is pretty good, but it isn't exactly going to win a design award. Some things are too small like recent entries in the phone application. They pop up a tiny window with small items. Lets face it, I'm driving trying to call someone back. They should use more of that 8.4". It is certainly the best system I have had in a car, but it is also the newest. I do hope we see a CarPlay firmware update, but that is probably not going to happen. But I can dream.
Why not just use the voice commands to call someone? It works like a charm, even if you have to tell it a number to dial.
Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Fiat is on the list of supported CarPlay manufactures. I suspect you'll need to get a new car with a supported connect system in order to use it. Maybe if you have the current 8.4A system that has the apps on it you may see a software update, but if you have the one under it like me in my Dart then you're probably SOL.
Yeah, by the time a new car debuts with a "state of the art" infotainment system, the OS looks 5 years old...roads on GPS are all pixelated on the "oversized" 8" screen with unusually large pixels.
It's amazing that cars with plenty of power for an LCD have such shitty displays compared to even budget tablets these days.
This is another lost attempt by Microsoft to muscle into a market and set their own standards. This is no longer the 1990s where Microsoft could impose their second-rate solution on a pliable populous certain of Microsoft's superior technical standing.
Yes, you are 100% correct but the memo never got through ..It read .... "Stop, we can you longer build crap and expect they will come".
I too, have a 2013 Chrysler with the Uconnect system. I drove a new 2014 Ford first and the MS sync took me and the salesman half a dozen tries to make it call my wife.
On the Chrysler, I push the botton on the steering wheel, wait for the avatar to introduce “her” self, then I say "CALL…JANE….DOE…HOME". She says “DO YOU WANT TO CALL JANE DOE HOME?” I say “YES”, and she dials the phone, etc.
Sometimes as I am leaving the office and before I reach the car, I will use Siri to call home. It goes like this. “Siri, call home”. That’s it.
Its amazing that manuracfurers today cannot get this right. They're trying to use 2 smaller (sometimes 3) screens, have hidden menus, require the use of buttons under the screen (or a stupid knob/touchpad), etc. They just don't get simplicity.
Yes, uconnect isn't exactly always the prettiest system in the world, but 9.9/10 times it just works and works well. Thats whats important to me. When I'm driving down the road I couldn't care less how pretty it is. You're not supposed to be looking at the screen for long periods of time anyways. Most buttons and options are large and are very responsive when touched. This makes it so you don't have to stare at the screen, or use a control knob or touchpad in some of those more expensive vehicles. They're trying to get too fancy IMO and end up making it a horrible user experience, especially when driving down the road.
Check your timeline. Google's effort came one year after Apple's announcement.
Facts don't matter to some people.
The iPhone was years in the making and somehow...android follows in one year...(we all know the boardroom extortion there). And the Apple watch was the worst kept secret for a few years. Zero noise came from the Samsung, Google, or MS camps until The Apple rumors got hot and heavy. Then it was just a rush to be "first" not best. And CarPlay was Apple first as well. Apole sometimes borrows ideas as well. But credit where it's due. And Apple is due quite a bit.
Its amazing that manuracfurers today cannot get this right. They're trying to use 2 smaller (sometimes 3) screens, have hidden menus, require the use of buttons under the screen (or a stupid knob/touchpad), etc. They just don't get simplicity.
Yes, uconnect isn't exactly always the prettiest system in the world, but 9.9/10 times it just works and works well. Thats whats important to me. When I'm driving down the road I couldn't care less how pretty it is. You're not supposed to be looking at the screen for long periods of time anyways. Most buttons and options are large and are very responsive when touched. This makes it so you don't have to stare at the screen, or use a control knob or touchpad in some of those more expensive vehicles. They're trying to get too fancy IMO and end up making it a horrible user experience, especially when driving down the road.
I think all systems now have their ups and downs. My uncle has had a ton of issues with the uconnect system in his Jeep. Ford finally listened to customers and added buttons and knobs to their new vehicles with MFT. One thing I like about the MFT is you can control it with the steering wheel without looking at the main screen. The uconnect system seems decent from Chrysler/Jeep rentals I've had. The only thing I didn't like about it is the wasted space on the screen. I prefer the navigation map for example to fill the whole screen, not just a small portion. Chrysler should give you the option to reduce the size of the buttons that take up a lot of space at the bottom of the screen.
Comments
I was just thinking to myself how terrible the car interfaces look. You'd think car manufacturers would have a better idea in interfaces.
Instead it's disorganised clutter again and again, especially problematic when it involves the potential of taking one's eyes off the road to use it.
Porsche's interface is a mess, despite being it a premium brand. It's like buying a macbook pro with a Vista operating system.
It runs in the family as Volkswagen's interface is hopeless as well.
Third time's a charm. I guess Ford just needed to try everything and get the bad ones out of the way before finally admitting they should go with Apple. Once they change, they'll still have to support the other technology in older vehicles. I wonder if they will be able to provide a retrofit kit for these vehicles.
I was just thinking to myself how terrible the car interfaces look. You'd think car manufacturers would have a better idea in interfaces.
Instead it's disorganised clutter again and again, especially problematic when it involves the potential of taking one's eyes off the road to use it.
Ever use Chrysler's 8.4" uconnect? I love it and it's praised by everyone as one of the best infotainment systems out there. It's easy to use and very responsive to anything you throw at it.
That is the system I have. It is pretty good, but it isn't exactly going to win a design award. Some things are too small like recent entries in the phone application. They pop up a tiny window with small items. Lets face it, I'm driving trying to call someone back. They should use more of that 8.4". It is certainly the best system I have had in a car, but it is also the newest. I do hope we see a CarPlay firmware update, but that is probably not going to happen. But I can dream.
Saw this on Autoblog yesterday, and it mentioned nothing about supporting CarPlay. Did say it supports Sire Eyes Free. I quickly read through this article (mostly history of the various systems in cars), but didn't see anything specifically about it supporting CarPlay. Did I miss something?
no firm date
CarPlay in a nutshell, basically.
There is no reason why most 2013, 2014, and 2015 vehicles on the road could not receive a firmware update that the user could do themselves by placing it on thumb drive, and distribute CarPlay to the masses. But its virtually NO WHERE.
Auto manufacturers have no concept of value or customer satisfaction. This should be something that they raced to be the first one to say "UPDATE your Car so that all of you iPhone owners can instantly have the fantastic in-car experience that we didn't sell you at the dealership."
No, instead we're still driving around with the crap that came bundled with our infotainment system, and customer sat is low.
Seriously, Siri, select Sirius...
I too, have a 2013 Chrysler with the Uconnect system. I drove a new 2014 Ford first and the MS sync took me and the salesman half a dozen tries to make it call my wife.
On the Chrysler, I push the botton on the steering wheel, wait for the avatar to introduce “her” self, then I say "CALL…JANE….DOE…HOME". She says “DO YOU WANT TO CALL JANE DOE HOME?” I say “YES”, and she dials the phone, etc.
Sometimes as I am leaving the office and before I reach the car, I will use Siri to call home. It goes like this. “Siri, call home”. That’s it.
Microsoft actually hasn't been super involved in the second generation version, MyFordTouch and MyLincolnTouch. And last I checked, MS had laid off some staff from their Automotive division. But MFT has no Microsoft branding like Sync did.
Ford dumped Microsoft a while ago. Ford actually had to re-write the whole program from the ground up in house after the disaster Microsoft gave Ford. The current gen MFT actually works pretty decent, although it could be better.
"All you had to do was one thing..."
1) This is similar to Android-based devices getting new versions of Android. The more expensive and newer ones are more likely and the older cheaper models are less likely. Cost-benefit has to be worked out and the dealerships can't have people driving up with people complaining about or wanting their old SW put in place if there is something wrong. That's a lot of potential problems. Even now with the 2015 Hyundai Sonata there is talk that it's not as responsive as it should be. If they can't make that work right then what hope is there for a 2012 Hyundai Elantra?
2) Remember that CarPlay is not installed in any car; only the ability to allow the CarPlay UI to be accessed from the iPhone as a secondary display.
3) Auto makers being behind the times is very common. How many years had CD players been out and car manufactures were still putting tape decks in cars?
Admitting it is the step to getting help.
Automakers have moved into this area far more slowly than our glaciers are receding. There was like a decade when all we needed was an auxiliary in, just saying%u2019%u2026
Yeah, by the time a new car debuts with a "state of the art" infotainment system, the OS looks 5 years old...roads on GPS are all pixelated on the "oversized" 8" screen with unusually large pixels.
That is the system I have. It is pretty good, but it isn't exactly going to win a design award. Some things are too small like recent entries in the phone application. They pop up a tiny window with small items. Lets face it, I'm driving trying to call someone back. They should use more of that 8.4". It is certainly the best system I have had in a car, but it is also the newest. I do hope we see a CarPlay firmware update, but that is probably not going to happen. But I can dream.
Why not just use the voice commands to call someone? It works like a charm, even if you have to tell it a number to dial.
Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Fiat is on the list of supported CarPlay manufactures. I suspect you'll need to get a new car with a supported connect system in order to use it. Maybe if you have the current 8.4A system that has the apps on it you may see a software update, but if you have the one under it like me in my Dart then you're probably SOL.
It's amazing that cars with plenty of power for an LCD have such shitty displays compared to even budget tablets these days.
Yes, you are 100% correct but the memo never got through ..It read .... "Stop, we can you longer build crap and expect they will come".
I too, have a 2013 Chrysler with the Uconnect system. I drove a new 2014 Ford first and the MS sync took me and the salesman half a dozen tries to make it call my wife.
On the Chrysler, I push the botton on the steering wheel, wait for the avatar to introduce “her” self, then I say "CALL…JANE….DOE…HOME". She says “DO YOU WANT TO CALL JANE DOE HOME?” I say “YES”, and she dials the phone, etc.
Sometimes as I am leaving the office and before I reach the car, I will use Siri to call home. It goes like this. “Siri, call home”. That’s it.
Its amazing that manuracfurers today cannot get this right. They're trying to use 2 smaller (sometimes 3) screens, have hidden menus, require the use of buttons under the screen (or a stupid knob/touchpad), etc. They just don't get simplicity.
Yes, uconnect isn't exactly always the prettiest system in the world, but 9.9/10 times it just works and works well. Thats whats important to me. When I'm driving down the road I couldn't care less how pretty it is. You're not supposed to be looking at the screen for long periods of time anyways. Most buttons and options are large and are very responsive when touched. This makes it so you don't have to stare at the screen, or use a control knob or touchpad in some of those more expensive vehicles. They're trying to get too fancy IMO and end up making it a horrible user experience, especially when driving down the road.
Facts don't matter to some people.
The iPhone was years in the making and somehow...android follows in one year...(we all know the boardroom extortion there). And the Apple watch was the worst kept secret for a few years. Zero noise came from the Samsung, Google, or MS camps until The Apple rumors got hot and heavy. Then it was just a rush to be "first" not best. And CarPlay was Apple first as well. Apole sometimes borrows ideas as well. But credit where it's due. And Apple is due quite a bit.
Its amazing that manuracfurers today cannot get this right. They're trying to use 2 smaller (sometimes 3) screens, have hidden menus, require the use of buttons under the screen (or a stupid knob/touchpad), etc. They just don't get simplicity.
Yes, uconnect isn't exactly always the prettiest system in the world, but 9.9/10 times it just works and works well. Thats whats important to me. When I'm driving down the road I couldn't care less how pretty it is. You're not supposed to be looking at the screen for long periods of time anyways. Most buttons and options are large and are very responsive when touched. This makes it so you don't have to stare at the screen, or use a control knob or touchpad in some of those more expensive vehicles. They're trying to get too fancy IMO and end up making it a horrible user experience, especially when driving down the road.
I think all systems now have their ups and downs. My uncle has had a ton of issues with the uconnect system in his Jeep. Ford finally listened to customers and added buttons and knobs to their new vehicles with MFT. One thing I like about the MFT is you can control it with the steering wheel without looking at the main screen. The uconnect system seems decent from Chrysler/Jeep rentals I've had. The only thing I didn't like about it is the wasted space on the screen. I prefer the navigation map for example to fill the whole screen, not just a small portion. Chrysler should give you the option to reduce the size of the buttons that take up a lot of space at the bottom of the screen.