this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023
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I'm a techie at heart.
But the only thing my car needs to do is act as a Bluetooth speaker/mic for my phone, and have a wireless charging mount.
When I need to use the phone for GPS/etc it goes on the mount.
When I turn on my car it connects to my phone over Bluetooth and starts playing music. Even if it's in my pocket (shorter trips)
It works, it's fast, it's simple.
I'm not a big fan of too much tech in cars, I hate touchscreen climate controls, and I still drive a manual transmission; but using Android auto with maps and Spotify has been amazing. And the wireless mostly works most of the time.
I have the Motorla wireless adaptor and it would be hard to go back. Works every time. Never have to take my phone out of my pocket.... only downside is it uses a moderate amount of battery, but for a 20 min commute it's a non issue.
The irony is all these fancy head units wait until you pull out of the driveway and then throw up a big on screen warning about distracted driving. That you then have to take your eyes off the road to dismiss by pressing OK.
It would be nice if there was a spot provided for a mount that didn’t require some stupid vent clip or suction cup. A standard that would allow us to use a smartphone or tablet and maybe even leave one in the car (outside chance).
when I got my current car, it had a stupid, dumb radio with a cd deck. I installed a cheap double dim with a touch screen on it and asked if they could replace the ashtray/powersocket thing. The piece they had that fit under the cover/door had a USB hub/charging station that I could drop a stack of phones in (including one connected to carplay/android auto on the new deck.)
that was worth the $20 to install it.
That would be awesome to have as an option in my car. Instead I get to use a window suction cup or (what I chose) replace the factory radio with a double din aftermarket head unit with CarPlay. I like CarPlay but would never want to have to rely on it for things like climate control or other similar functions. As a music player and GPS I love it. I hear great things about android auto as well.
Yup. My car is old enough it has physical buttons for the enviro and stuff. The only virtual buttons control the entertainment deck itself.
I just bought a 2023 Accord and all the actual car controls are still physical. The screen shows me my rear camera and CarPlay, I control everything else with knobs and buttons. So separating the important-to-operate-without-looking controls and the touch screen isn’t quite dead yet.
I was just thinking of that the other day. They could probably get it to look pretty natural if they tried.
Good for you. I love getting in the car that is cool on a hot summers day because I activated the climate control from my phone 5 minutes before leaving or having a nice toasty warm car on a freezing winter day. I enjoy telling my car I want to go to an address I have not been at before and it navigates me there without having to press more than one button or inputting an address. I then enjoy a huge nice map both in the center cluster and a big display that shows a large map so I don't have to squint at my relatively small phone on a mount. I enjoy telling my car what I want to listen to and it plays that music. I enjoy not putting getting my phone out of my pants pocked and into a mount. Especially for shorter rides. I also especially enjoy not having my car in for oil changes, not having to stop for gas, the car having a full "tank" every morning and other such comforts.
The car has it's own spotify account which for me is great, because I listen to different types of music when driving compared to when I am using my phone at work or in the gym. Music services working the way they do these days it means it will suggest more great driving music when in the car and not music that is similar to what I listen to in the gym. If I want to listen to that the phone is of course connected to bluetooth and is just a input change away.
I hope you can continue enjoying your type of desired driving experience. But realize there are other perspectives. I am also a techie at home and at work ( Cloud IT-consultant, previously Systems Architecht, previously Technician ). I also do minor work such as changing headlights, filters, and 12-volt batteries myself. I know how to change oil on a car and do some simple home improvement stuff such as simple carpentry and putting in new flooring. But when I get in my car I just want it to be in the background and don't be in the way. Just get in and go. Being in a Tesla is where I am happiest for now.