I did it at about 2/3 of the price: 64GB Cellular iPad 2 plugged into the car's power port so that I can say "Hey Siri" and give it commands to play music through the vehicle's stock Bluetooth stereo, or to ask for directions, or to ask Siri for the AAPL stock price, etc.
Sure it does, if you have a Bluetooth stereo like I do. They are also available for purchase separately. My backup camera is displayed on my vehicle's stock stereo.
Plus: I can and do take my iPad with me when I leave my vehicle. And I can use it in other vehicles, if I would like.
I like my setup.
and it looks completely ridiculous. not to mention incurs worrying about theft -- grabbing your iPad every time you go into the store is absurd.
theres no two ways about it -- one car audio device that does it all is better than multiple devices that only do some things. what a kludge.
ah yeah -- your solution is so easy, that I'm sure you're already doing it! surely you are. right....? oh. you aren't. but, oh! surely your solution is so viable, that there is a third-party company selling all-in-one iPad head units that make it a snap! as easy as walking into a Best Buy and picking up a real head unit that does the same thing, only better. right? oh....no, there aren't. because its a total kludge that fails to do anything well, even if some of it is technically possible.
nice work, mate.
Yep, I do use my iPhone for radio over cellular, calls though the car radio, maps works fine with the built in GPS, the remote on my steering wheel controls the iPhone, about the only thing I don't have is a reversing camera. But still, all that goes over one USB cable with a radio that was about £150. Charges the phone at the same time too.
Just because you can't envisage setup/usage different to your own/the Apple way as ideal, doesn't mean it's not ideal for other people, "mate".
and it looks completely ridiculous. not to mention incurs worrying about theft -- grabbing your iPad every time you go into the store is absurd.
Hold on, the only extra device he's got there is the iPad, which isn't really an extra device at all since you still need the phone hooked up to a Carplay head unit anyway. Plus the iPad has half the value of the head unit, and you can take it with you when you leave the car, so the chance of theft is eliminated. Plus even if it was stolen, it'd be half the cost of the head unit which could also be stolen.
Love to use Apple Maps, but am told the GPS antenna that comes in cars is much more accurate than the one in the phone.
It's not the GPS antenna, it's the fact that built-in car nav systems take information from the speedometer and steering angle in order to dead reckon where GPS satellites aren't available. Some car systems are smart enough to calibrate the speedometer with the GPS data too. The interface is usually proprietary, so as far as I know, there's no aftermarket hardware that does this.
I believe you can officially get this data from the Ford Sync API, but as far as I know, no app has bothered to integrate it.
It's not the GPS antenna, it's the fact that built-in car nav systems take information from the speedometer and steering angle in order to dead reckon where GPS satellites aren't available. Some car systems are smart enough to calibrate the speedometer with the GPS data too. The interface is usually proprietary, so as far as I know, there's no aftermarket hardware that does this.
I believe you can officially get this data from the Ford Sync API, but as far as I know, no app has bothered to integrate it.
Thanks so much—very informative. I hoped that Kenwood had some kind of ability to just plug into the car's system, but from your info it seems unlikely.
i have it in my pioneer AppRadio as well (had v1 and v3). i find it pretty useful on occasion -- walking into or out of my vehicle and having the call seamlessly switch over without have to do or plug anything. thats living in the future, for me.
My experience is that this works so unpredictably that I don't want it.
I've had calls where I simply won't turn the car off until the car is over because I can't trust that the call will hand back to the phone properly. Either the audio stays stuck on bluetooth, and won't return audio to the call, or the call just ends when the car turns off. Getting into the car is the same problem - it doesn't do the hand off correctly.
I recognize that there are a lot of factors at play - the phone's software, bluetooth stack, the radio's software and bluetooth stack, but I've had this happen on every phone and radio I've had since 2008. It never gets better. Sometimes it works, sometimes it disappoints. I need it to work every time, or not have it, because there are some calls I can't have drop and phone back.
I'm hopeful that Apple's wireless CarPlay gets this right, eventually. This is why I like CarPlay over lightning so much: I can count on the call audio to work. (I admit CarPlay has some teething issues. It seems a lot better after the 8.3 update. I'm willing to forgive bugs early on, where I won't after 7 years of the same bluetooth behavior.)
Currently I have in my car the AVH-4100NEX. I did pair it with Bluetooth to my phone. I used it exactly once, and writing about it here makes me want to have the phone forget that pairing.
It's not the GPS antenna, it's the fact that built-in car nav systems take information from the speedometer and steering angle in order to dead reckon where GPS satellites aren't available. Some car systems are smart enough to calibrate the speedometer with the GPS data too. The interface is usually proprietary, so as far as I know, there's no aftermarket hardware that does this.
I believe you can officially get this data from the Ford Sync API, but as far as I know, no app has bothered to integrate it.
Can you say more about this? My understanding is that no one does this. The vehicle speed line into a radio is about increasing volume when on the highway, and lowering volume at slower speeds. GPS is very accurate at speed, where speedometers are not, but it's very slow to update, and would be unreliable for calibrating a speedometer unless you were using cruise control for a mile on a flat road with no altitude shift and had multiple satellites in view with strong signal. Speedometers are inaccurate - it's driven by a gear or sender at the transmission and you'd need to have TPMS at the wheels to take into account lower or higher tire pressure, and use the some kind of index off the ABS gear on the axle to tell rotations of the wheel. GPS is also inaccurate in that it's slow to update, which could put your calibration off by as much as +/-3%. That's better than the -10% of many cars at speed, but a lot of work for something that only works under very specific conditions. What cars do this again?
What I want to know is how this unit handles the GPS that is already in my 2015 car. Love to use Apple Maps, but am told the GPS antenna that comes in cars is much more accurate than the one in the phone. I also have a premium system that came with a Harmon-Kardon amp under the seat. Hope that can be used with the Kenwood too.
Antennae aren't accurate or inaccurate - it's whether or not they can receive signal under adverse conditions. I had one nav unit that had its own antennae and the manufacturer said that it augmented the iPhone's own for Apple Maps use. I was never in a location where that appeared to be of any benefit.
My car has a Bose-branded amplifier from the factory and I'm able to use aftermarket systems with it. I haven't looked at what BMW/Mini/Volvo/Land Rover are doing, but I have a friend with an Audi equipped with H-K and connecting the aftermarket radio worked fine. Message me with your vehicle, and I'll look it up and see what's required?
Back when I got my Head unit for my 2003 Chevy Silverado, it was a few years later, I ended up going with a JVC unit. It one one of the only ones that I could pop out the whole Display on and had a lot of great features or company's like Pioneer. Look at a Pioneer and it looks like something from 10 years in the past. Primitive looking Interface, the navigation looked like crap is comparison with no traffic info unlike my JVC. At the time I paid over $800 for it. Even now while Pioneer does support CarPlay that's pretty new, it's just not great. I don't know know why anyone would pay a Premium for what they ask to get one of them. The Kenwood unit looks like, but man I just can't justify replacing what I have right now. Maybe in a couple more years.
Right - but if you hadn't bought the JVC and sunk cost in it... what would you do today? Maybe the Kenwood? Or a Pioneer?
The AVH-4100NEX allows you to remove the whole display. It comes with a sleeve to hold it when removed.
The problem with Nav is this: Apple and Google both look pretty, both have traffic, but if you're offline, you're out of luck. The built-in navs never look nice, have maps that were updated the last time to you bought a disc from the dealer, and may handle traffic via FM. Or not.
Bought a Kenwood aftermarket unit. It looked great from the first screen. After that the interface was sooooo bad. I'll never buy a Kenwood again. They don't know how to do car interfaces. Very regrettable purchase.
Thanks so much—very informative. I hoped that Kenwood had some kind of ability to just plug into the car's system, but from your info it seems unlikely.
Bought a Kenwood aftermarket unit. It looked great from the first screen. After that the interface was sooooo bad. I'll never buy a Kenwood again. They don't know how to do car interfaces. Very regrettable purchase.
That's why you plug in the phone and get to CarPlay - so you don't have to see the radio mfr.'s interface. There have been a few good ones, but I know your experience is the majority.
Comments
and it looks completely ridiculous. not to mention incurs worrying about theft -- grabbing your iPad every time you go into the store is absurd.
theres no two ways about it -- one car audio device that does it all is better than multiple devices that only do some things. what a kludge.
how much was your iPhone and where did it come from?
Yep, I do use my iPhone for radio over cellular, calls though the car radio, maps works fine with the built in GPS, the remote on my steering wheel controls the iPhone, about the only thing I don't have is a reversing camera. But still, all that goes over one USB cable with a radio that was about £150. Charges the phone at the same time too.
Just because you can't envisage setup/usage different to your own/the Apple way as ideal, doesn't mean it's not ideal for other people, "mate".
Hold on, the only extra device he's got there is the iPad, which isn't really an extra device at all since you still need the phone hooked up to a Carplay head unit anyway. Plus the iPad has half the value of the head unit, and you can take it with you when you leave the car, so the chance of theft is eliminated. Plus even if it was stolen, it'd be half the cost of the head unit which could also be stolen.
Except there are still multiple devices, the head unit and the iPhone. What a kludge.
and it looks completely ridiculous. not to mention incurs worrying about theft -- grabbing your iPad every time you go into the store is absurd.
theres no two ways about it -- one car audio device that does it all is better than multiple devices that only do some things. what a kludge.
You seem to have overlooked this:
Plus: I can and do take my iPad with me when I leave my vehicle. And I can use it in other vehicles, if I would like.
I like my setup.
I do not always use the iPad. Sometimes I use my iPhone 6 in the same place.
Love to use Apple Maps, but am told the GPS antenna that comes in cars is much more accurate than the one in the phone.
It's not the GPS antenna, it's the fact that built-in car nav systems take information from the speedometer and steering angle in order to dead reckon where GPS satellites aren't available. Some car systems are smart enough to calibrate the speedometer with the GPS data too. The interface is usually proprietary, so as far as I know, there's no aftermarket hardware that does this.
I believe you can officially get this data from the Ford Sync API, but as far as I know, no app has bothered to integrate it.
i have it in my pioneer AppRadio as well (had v1 and v3). i find it pretty useful on occasion -- walking into or out of my vehicle and having the call seamlessly switch over without have to do or plug anything. thats living in the future, for me.
My experience is that this works so unpredictably that I don't want it.
I've had calls where I simply won't turn the car off until the car is over because I can't trust that the call will hand back to the phone properly. Either the audio stays stuck on bluetooth, and won't return audio to the call, or the call just ends when the car turns off. Getting into the car is the same problem - it doesn't do the hand off correctly.
I recognize that there are a lot of factors at play - the phone's software, bluetooth stack, the radio's software and bluetooth stack, but I've had this happen on every phone and radio I've had since 2008. It never gets better. Sometimes it works, sometimes it disappoints. I need it to work every time, or not have it, because there are some calls I can't have drop and phone back.
I'm hopeful that Apple's wireless CarPlay gets this right, eventually. This is why I like CarPlay over lightning so much: I can count on the call audio to work. (I admit CarPlay has some teething issues. It seems a lot better after the 8.3 update. I'm willing to forgive bugs early on, where I won't after 7 years of the same bluetooth behavior.)
Currently I have in my car the AVH-4100NEX. I did pair it with Bluetooth to my phone. I used it exactly once, and writing about it here makes me want to have the phone forget that pairing.
It's not the GPS antenna, it's the fact that built-in car nav systems take information from the speedometer and steering angle in order to dead reckon where GPS satellites aren't available. Some car systems are smart enough to calibrate the speedometer with the GPS data too. The interface is usually proprietary, so as far as I know, there's no aftermarket hardware that does this.
I believe you can officially get this data from the Ford Sync API, but as far as I know, no app has bothered to integrate it.
Can you say more about this? My understanding is that no one does this. The vehicle speed line into a radio is about increasing volume when on the highway, and lowering volume at slower speeds. GPS is very accurate at speed, where speedometers are not, but it's very slow to update, and would be unreliable for calibrating a speedometer unless you were using cruise control for a mile on a flat road with no altitude shift and had multiple satellites in view with strong signal. Speedometers are inaccurate - it's driven by a gear or sender at the transmission and you'd need to have TPMS at the wheels to take into account lower or higher tire pressure, and use the some kind of index off the ABS gear on the axle to tell rotations of the wheel. GPS is also inaccurate in that it's slow to update, which could put your calibration off by as much as +/-3%. That's better than the -10% of many cars at speed, but a lot of work for something that only works under very specific conditions. What cars do this again?
What I want to know is how this unit handles the GPS that is already in my 2015 car. Love to use Apple Maps, but am told the GPS antenna that comes in cars is much more accurate than the one in the phone. I also have a premium system that came with a Harmon-Kardon amp under the seat. Hope that can be used with the Kenwood too.
Antennae aren't accurate or inaccurate - it's whether or not they can receive signal under adverse conditions. I had one nav unit that had its own antennae and the manufacturer said that it augmented the iPhone's own for Apple Maps use. I was never in a location where that appeared to be of any benefit.
My car has a Bose-branded amplifier from the factory and I'm able to use aftermarket systems with it. I haven't looked at what BMW/Mini/Volvo/Land Rover are doing, but I have a friend with an Audi equipped with H-K and connecting the aftermarket radio worked fine. Message me with your vehicle, and I'll look it up and see what's required?
Back when I got my Head unit for my 2003 Chevy Silverado, it was a few years later, I ended up going with a JVC unit. It one one of the only ones that I could pop out the whole Display on and had a lot of great features or company's like Pioneer. Look at a Pioneer and it looks like something from 10 years in the past. Primitive looking Interface, the navigation looked like crap is comparison with no traffic info unlike my JVC. At the time I paid over $800 for it. Even now while Pioneer does support CarPlay that's pretty new, it's just not great. I don't know know why anyone would pay a Premium for what they ask to get one of them. The Kenwood unit looks like, but man I just can't justify replacing what I have right now. Maybe in a couple more years.
Right - but if you hadn't bought the JVC and sunk cost in it... what would you do today? Maybe the Kenwood? Or a Pioneer?
The AVH-4100NEX allows you to remove the whole display. It comes with a sleeve to hold it when removed.
The problem with Nav is this: Apple and Google both look pretty, both have traffic, but if you're offline, you're out of luck. The built-in navs never look nice, have maps that were updated the last time to you bought a disc from the dealer, and may handle traffic via FM. Or not.
It's all tradeoffs.
Bought a Kenwood aftermarket unit. It looked great from the first screen. After that the interface was sooooo bad. I'll never buy a Kenwood again. They don't know how to do car interfaces. Very regrettable purchase.
Thanks so much—very informative. I hoped that Kenwood had some kind of ability to just plug into the car's system, but from your info it seems unlikely.
http://www.scosche.com/car-audio/2012-subaru-impreza-in-dash-install-kit
and http://www.scosche.com/car-audio/2007-up-nissan-car-stereo-connector
Appear to be the parts needed to make the radio fit your system, but I would confirm with scosche first. If it is, it's pretty easy to install.
Bought a Kenwood aftermarket unit. It looked great from the first screen. After that the interface was sooooo bad. I'll never buy a Kenwood again. They don't know how to do car interfaces. Very regrettable purchase.
That's why you plug in the phone and get to CarPlay - so you don't have to see the radio mfr.'s interface. There have been a few good ones, but I know your experience is the majority.