In the car, the car stereo is undoubtedly the perfect companion for our daily commute. Today, most cars are equipped with Bluetooth connectivity to navigate using Android Auto or Apple CarPlay and even watch videos on the touchscreen.

Day in and day out, technology continues to advance, making it more comfortable for us to drive our vehicles. To that end, these "connected" car radios allow you to stay focused on the road while utilizing your smartphone's capabilities.

Two options

There are two widely used solutions on the market today: Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, both of which offer an almost similar user experience, allowing you to connect your smartphone via USB or Bluetooth to enjoy all the content on your phone: GPS functionality, receiving/sending calls and texts, listening to streaming music via Spotify, Apple Music or any other music service that sounds good. good-sounding music service to listen to streaming music. music or any other product with good sound quality, and so on. All of this is managed through voice commands, providing the driver with a degree of freedom while driving.

These car radios are mainly used to improve driving. They provide us with a great deal of real-time information (weather, road conditions, alternative routes ......) without compromising our attention to the road. This is clearly a significantly improved hands-free kit.

Carplay is evolving

The safe use of the iPhone, the well-known intuitive operating concept, the tried-and-tested voice control "Hey Siri" - all this makes Carplay possible. Carplay offers significant added value and increased safety because with Siri, basic functions such as telephone or navigation can only be controlled by voice. The driver's hands remain on the steering wheel and his or her eyes are primarily pointed forward.

Apple is increasingly defusing the criticisms of the past: Apple is allowing more and more third-party apps to use Carplay. Alternative navigation apps such as Google Maps, Waze, TomTom and Whatsapp can be used as communication tools in the long term. This means that many drivers can save on expensive factory infotainment systems.

 

 

How to start Carplay

 

You must register your iPhone once in each vehicle's infotainment system and then select Carplay to use it. From there, using Carplay couldn't be easier.

Plug in the cable: A Lightning cable is usually enough to connect your iPhone to the USB port on your infotainment system. The infotainment system will automatically recognize your iPhone and launch Carplay.

Wi-Fi with WLAN and Bluetooth only: In vehicles that support wireless Carplay (e.g. BMW), the vehicle always recognizes the iPhone when entering the vehicle and activates WLAN and Bluetooth on the iPhone. carplay will automatically become available after a few seconds.

Functionality

Carplay "mirrors" the iPhone's user interface to the car's large screen. The Carplay interface is optimized for operation on the vehicle display, and Siri can be used as voice control. Apps that aren't compatible with Carplay won't even appear on the vehicle screen.

The iPhone provides full computing power and all the features (voice control, navigation, music streaming, etc.). All internet traffic generated by Carplay runs through its SIM card!

Bluetooth pairing is required for phone calls only. The data connection, on the other hand, runs through a Lightning cable or Wi-Fi with Wireless Carplay.

If you're using wireless Carplay, you can put your iPhone in your jacket pocket and continue to use Carplay, but ideally you should put your iPhone in your car's charging cradle for wireless charging.