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CarPlay !!! (Reviews, ...)


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Big thanks to everyone that posted the firmware updates today to help out when Pioneer's site slowed to a crawl. A few notes:

 

1 - I agree with most people about what's been said so far - it feels a little Beta-ish, but still clean enough to make work on a regular basis.

 

2 - Spotify is not quite ready for primetime. And if what has been said about the delay regarding CarPlay is true, the second party apps are still trying to find their footing. A big reason why they were likely not included on the home screen initially.

 

3 - iTunes Radio seems to work really well, as did playing the local music on my phone. So I feel like Apple's core apps got it right.

 

4 - Siri has been refreshingly easy to use, I haven't had a simple problem dialing or sending texts. Not sure I want my texts read through the stereo when others are in the car however, but I can wait. I don't usually check messages when driving anyway.

 

5 - Maps. I haven't tried inputting an address by voice, but so far, maps has been pretty solid. It's basic, I wish it felt bigger on the screen, but I the layout is clean and information is easily read. Kentinportland is right, it would be really nice to be able to move around the maps, but that feature is not yet available.

 

6 - Really liked how contacts are displayed just like on your phone. Favorites, Recents, etc - with photos.

 

7 - Apple has said this is all about listening and speaking. So on the display side, yes it's a little disappointing contact photos are not large or full screen, album art is minuscule, podcast art is the same - would have been nice to have big photos to select from instead of a list. But maybe it's safer?

 

8 - I feel like the left section of the screen that houses the virtual home button, time, and network strength is a waste. Does that info really need to be displayed? Could a gesture take the place of the home button? Feels like sacrificing that screen real estate just makes everything else a bit smaller - like maps. 

 

All in all, even with it feeling a bit unpolished, this is why I have this head unit, so I am glad the software has finally been updated. I think there is a world of potential with this platform, and I have little doubt that Apple will get it right and consistently improve as the software and apps are updated.

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I did the update, and for the most part I am pleased.Things I wish this solution allowed:

 

  • The phone to be set for Bluetooth and USB connection. So I could use Bluetooth for short trips, and plug in for long trips. Car play activate automatically when plugged in, but Bluetooth if not plugged in.
  • I wish there was a button on the screen near the home button to activate SIRI. I have an older truck (2003) and have no steering wheel button to map to activate SIRI. Hey SIRI works great, but since the music isn't muted with a button press, sometimes I have to turn the radio down to get the phone to respond to the Hey SIRI command. Not sure many would have this issue.
  • Finally, I mope many more apps become CarPlay aware. :-D  (Waze, Slacker, Pandora, etc.)

I'm sure it will get better with time, but i'm impatient. :-D

Overall Satisfied.

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  • I wish there was a button on the screen near the home button to activate SIRI. I have an older truck (2003) and have no steering wheel button to map to activate SIRI. Hey SIRI works great, but since the music isn't muted with a button press, sometimes I have to turn the radio down to get the phone to respond to the Hey SIRI command. Not sure many would have this issue.

 

The Home button activates Siri. Hold it down and Siri will activate. No other button or "Hey Siri" needed.

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5 - Maps. I haven't tried inputting an address by voice, but so far, maps has been pretty solid. It's basic, I wish it felt bigger on the screen, but I the layout is clean and information is easily read. Kentinportland is right, it would be really nice to be able to move around the maps, but that feature is not yet available.

I didn't have any problem panning around in maps. Pinch to zoom didn't work but I could drag the map to move around.

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I have seen some glitches.

 

From HD Radio, cause Siri to appear or if someone calls, then back to not CarPlay and it doesn't consistently return to where I was. Usually lands on a source other than the radio.

 

Seems like I need to pause before speaking to Siri. A moment AFTER the bleep and animation on the screen.

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I got an 8000NEX & iP6 on iOs 8.0.2 and well I've never really needed a navigation unit since I could just use my phone and it'll play in the background, but it's nice to see a larger map ya' know? But now that Carplay is out, does anyone else feel that you could've saved a lot more money by just buying a 4000NEX?

 

Even though a lot of good and bad has already been covered, here is my opinion on Carplay:

 

That GoodGood

-Sleek design

-Ease of use

-Smooth and almost seamless integration

-Ability to still play other music apps in the background

-Feels like a big 7" phone attached to my car

 

Not so good

-That annoying sidebar just for the home button

-Spotify needs to be polished, it doesn't behave very well

-Another annoying thing, apps on my phone load or switch to app when using the HU

-STILL NOT able to use BT Audio when plugged in.

 

Overall 6/10 for me. Hopefully there will be an update from pioneer to improve carplay

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I am having a terribly annoying issue since the update..

 

The Audio resume doesnt work at all!!

 

I have the USB1 on the iphone, and carplay and all the other stuff mentioned works fine. Maps and all..

 

I have a Thumbdrive on USB2 with music and audiobooks, in separate folders...Before when I am listening to a multi-chaptered book, it would start where I left off when powering off and on, aside from when you unplug it or add remove content..

Now it seems that it re reads the drive everystart up, and starts at a random place on the drive. I have to navigate to the folder and remember where I left off and try to get back to where I was.....

 

This is a killer for me as I am always takig short trips, it will not work.......

 

Does anyone here know how to revert back to 1.05?

 

Also, I have tried multiple formatings of flash drives and SD card, and they all behave the same since the update.   Having resume, to me is worth more than all the bells and whistles of Carplay that is really meh, compared to the stuff that was allready on the unit..

 

the voice texting is cool, but I want audio resume back.......Has anyone else had this same problem?

 

Thanks in advance for any replies...

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I am having a terribly annoying issue since the update..

 

The Audio resume doesnt work at all!!

 

I have the USB1 on the iphone, and carplay and all the other stuff mentioned works fine. Maps and all..

 

I have a Thumbdrive on USB2 with music and audiobooks, in separate folders...Before when I am listening to a multi-chaptered book, it would start where I left off when powering off and on, aside from when you unplug it or add remove content..

Now it seems that it re reads the drive everystart up, and starts at a random place on the drive. I have to navigate to the folder and remember where I left off and try to get back to where I was.....

 

This is a killer for me as I am always takig short trips, it will not work.......

 

Does anyone here know how to revert back to 1.05?

 

Also, I have tried multiple formatings of flash drives and SD card, and they all behave the same since the update.   Having resume, to me is worth more than all the bells and whistles of Carplay that is really meh, compared to the stuff that was allready on the unit..

 

the voice texting is cool, but I want audio resume back.......Has anyone else had this same problem?

 

Thanks in advance for any replies...

 

I agree that this is incredibly annoying. The only workaround I've discovered is to leave my music app open on my phone when I leave the car; then, if you start CarPlay up with the music app already open, it will go right back to where you left off. Of course, if you listen to music or audiobooks on your phone in between those times, you lose your place.

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I am listening to content on my thumbrives, and that is why I bought them...

 

I have an 8000, and a 4000, and I don't like to keep my phone in the glove box.

 

I need my phone for work, so using it for a music source is out, because I am using it for emails and texts constantly. I do short courier type deliveries, and invested quite a bit in these units, and really have come to rely on there functions..

 

Playing from USB source without this is useless....I have a 128 GIG thumbrive and you can imagine the elabore file structure, and everytime I start the car, it plays the same Marvin Gaye tune, that in the course of one day I have grown to hate, as it signals how this unit used to work and now it doesnt...

 

UGH>....

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So far I am personally really impressed with the overall usability of CarPlay.  I have the 6000 NEX with an iPhone 6 running 8.0.2.

 

Some positives right off:

  • Navigation:
    • Starting navigation prior to getting into the car
    • The color scheme of the maps is far more pleasing than the stock options on the head unit (Again, totally my personal preference)
    • Ability to disable voice guidance prompts without navigating menus - There is a Speaker button on the top right of the map, tap once to disable audio, tap again to enable
  • Siri Integration
    • Message read back has been nice (But then I haven't had anyone in the car with me yet)
    • Hitting the Phone button and Siri immediately asks who you want to call
    • "Navigate to..." an existing contact is working well
  • Spotify is working famously (for me anyway.  I know others have not been so lucky)
  • Media Player
    • It uses the IOS' integrated settings rather than Pioneer's - Pioneer forces you to always repeat a playlist whereas IOS does not.  This way if you are playing a small playlist in particular (100 - 500 songs) you will not hear the same song again.
    • Ability to create Genius Playlists
  • Volume - Ability to independently adjust the output volume and alert volume (This is most likely system wide)

Unfortunately with the good there is always some issues.  By way of gripes, I agree with everyone else regarding the real estate that the home signal strength/home button takes up, however it seems that this is only really an issue in Maps/Navigation mode where the extra space could truly be needed.

 

Also the album art being so faint, for lack of a better phrase, suck ass.  I played around with contrast, brightness and temperature and I am able to see it better than before, however it really still only pops if the art has predominantly solid colors.  Personally I would have liked to have seen them use the format from CarMediaPlayer, which mimics AppleTV.  With that said, I do like how large the skip/pause buttons are.  Another drawback is the size of the position marker.  It is so small it is difficult to glance and see it, you almost miss it.

 

And now, for the bad:

  • I have audio crash on me three times already
    • A work around to this is to stop the car, pull the key, restart the car - It is a pain, especially if on the freeway...no music  :shock:
    • Twice it was only the Music app that crashed, Spotify worked (Hence the comment above)
  • Phone must be unlocked prior to accessing CarPlay
    • Maybe this is more of a gripe, but it is a pain.  It seems like there is this order of operations that you must  follow in order for your car to play music/display-information-it-used-to-naturally - Personally, I want my music to resume playing when I get in my car.  I don't want to futz with my screen for 5 minutes after getting into my car.  This could be a huge problem if someone is waiting for my parking space, especially since the whole point of CarPlay is to keep you from touching your phone; I find myself doing much more  touching now trying to get things to work
  • Siri is ssssllllllooooooowwwwwww
    • This is not new to CarPlay.  I have been using the "Hey Siri" feature for the last few weeks with the same issue, I just hoped that this latest firmware release would have fixed the problem

All in all, I think that it was worth the wait, I just wish we didn't have to wait so long.  Initially, I want feel that because of the extra three months, this could have/should have been a bit more polished and refined.  However, I keep reminding myself that the head unit is simply a display for the software that is running on the iPhones.  CarPlay is being pushed from the IOS and the majority of these issues should be resolved by Apple and not Pioneer.  I am not holding my breath on Pioneer releasing another update in the next year/year and half, however I do hope Apple updates CarPlay frequently as it is in need.

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So far I am personally really impressed with the overall usability of CarPlay.  I have the 6000 NEX with an iPhone 6 running 8.0.2.

 

Some positives right off:

  • Navigation:
    • Starting navigation prior to getting into the car
    • The color scheme of the maps is far more pleasing than the stock options on the head unit (Again, totally my personal preference)
    • Ability to disable voice guidance prompts without navigating menus - There is a Speaker button on the top right of the map, tap once to disable audio, tap again to enable
  • Siri Integration
    • Message read back has been nice (But then I haven't had anyone in the car with me yet)
    • Hitting the Phone button and Siri immediately asks who you want to call
    • "Navigate to..." an existing contact is working well
  • Spotify is working famously (for me anyway.  I know others have not been so lucky)
  • Media Player
    • It uses the IOS' integrated settings rather than Pioneer's - Pioneer forces you to always repeat a playlist whereas IOS does not.  This way if you are playing a small playlist in particular (100 - 500 songs) you will not hear the same song again.
    • Ability to create Genius Playlists
  • Volume - Ability to independently adjust the output volume and alert volume (This is most likely system wide)

Unfortunately with the good there is always some issues.  By way of gripes, I agree with everyone else regarding the real estate that the home signal strength/home button takes up, however it seems that this is only really an issue in Maps/Navigation mode where the extra space could truly be needed.

 

Also the album art being so faint, for lack of a better phrase, suck ass.  I played around with contrast, brightness and temperature and I am able to see it better than before, however it really still only pops if the art has predominantly solid colors.  Personally I would have liked to have seen them use the format from CarMediaPlayer, which mimics AppleTV.  With that said, I do like how large the skip/pause buttons are.  Another drawback is the size of the position marker.  It is so small it is difficult to glance and see it, you almost miss it.

 

And now, for the bad:

  • I have audio crash on me three times already
    • A work around to this is to stop the car, pull the key, restart the car - It is a pain, especially if on the freeway...no music  :shock:
    • Twice it was only the Music app that crashed, Spotify worked (Hence the comment above)
  • Phone must be unlocked prior to accessing CarPlay
    • Maybe this is more of a gripe, but it is a pain.  It seems like there is this order of operations that you must  follow in order for your car to play music/display-information-it-used-to-naturally - Personally, I want my music to resume playing when I get in my car.  I don't want to futz with my screen for 5 minutes after getting into my car.  This could be a huge problem if someone is waiting for my parking space, especially since the whole point of CarPlay is to keep you from touching your phone; I find myself doing much more  touching now trying to get things to work
  • Siri is ssssllllllooooooowwwwwww
    • This is not new to CarPlay.  I have been using the "Hey Siri" feature for the last few weeks with the same issue, I just hoped that this latest firmware release would have fixed the problem

All in all, I think that it was worth the wait, I just wish we didn't have to wait so long.  Initially, I want feel that because of the extra three months, this could have/should have been a bit more polished and refined.  However, I keep reminding myself that the head unit is simply a display for the software that is running on the iPhones.  CarPlay is being pushed from the IOS and the majority of these issues should be resolved by Apple and not Pioneer.  I am not holding my breath on Pioneer releasing another update in the next year/year and half, however I do hope Apple updates CarPlay frequently as it is in need.

 

Great review! I wish I knew why your Spotify is working, though. Mine is basically unusable.

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Hey guys, this was awesome news when I heard it. So...updating the firmware does not diminish functionality on our NEX units? Meaning true HDMI mirroring (Netflix,youtube) through the HDMI/Lightning adapter and software bypass still working? Because for me CarPlay does not top this two functions of my unit. 

 

Thanks!!! 

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