[Captainkirkw]

I have not set up Car Play on my wife's iPhone yet nor have I tried Android Auto on my Samsung Galaxy S10e in it either but will try it this week so we can play around with it, but has anyone compared using Google Maps, Waze, etc... through CP/AA versus using the Mazda NAV system?

I have the Mazda NAV in my Miata but don't use it as I prefer using Google Maps or Waze on my Samsung. I do have the Android Auto app but have not done the upgrade in my Miata to use it on the infotainment screen. I did try it in a rental car and liked it and read recently that Carplay uses the whole width of the new screen in the CX-30 whereas AA uses a smaller portion of the screen but has some extra info on the side so that will be interesting to compare.

 

[MAZman]

Though I haven't used it extensively, the new Mazda NAV with Sirius Traffic is good but I don't think it would be as accurate as Waze or Google Maps via CP or AA because of the ongoing data update process. Also, Sirius Traffic reliability is dependent upon your region and the coverage offered in that area. My preference is Waze via Carplay because of Iphone - it has proven to be very accurate and reliable in my region.

 

[Captainkirkw]

Thank you MAZman. We will try CP on her iPhone first, I just need to get her to download it if she doesn't already have it.

 

[zico21]

Thank you MAZman. We will try CP on her iPhone first, I just need to get her to download it if she doesn't already have it.

As long as her phone is up to date, CarPlay is automatically installed and will be recognized (as I recall) automatically when connected to the front USB port. The CarPlay features can be found in the “Settings” app under “General”. You can select and rearrange the Apps that show up in the car’s display in the phone’s CarPlay section of “Settings-General”. Be sure to try the iPhone “Maps” app as it has continued to get better and better. I especially appreciate the addition of traffic lights and stop signs along one’s route and the reference to them in voiced instructions, such as ”turn right at the next light”. This is much more human like, especially in unfamiliar cities.

I also got the Navigation SD card off eBay, mainly for the heads up display info. In my relatively rural area I have found that Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps speed limit info is more plentiful and accurate than the Navigation SD map’s, but I still use the SD maps from time to time. Often I’ll have Waze running with no route selected to get the audio road/police warnings (even though I’m a rule follower) and use the Navigation SD for navigation so the route instructions show up in the heads up display.

Not surprisingly, all the options have their pluses and minuses.

 

[naranja]

There was no Sirius or Maps on my Prefered package CX-30 so first I used Android Auto. The map screen does have audio controls filling part of the right side.

I borrowed a spare Iphone from a family member and used it with a prepaid data sim with the idea that I would like full screen map and leave it dedicated in the car. It was not starting up on the in dash screen automatically every time. The Mazda voice control wasn't seamless with Waze. Also, since I don't drive everyday keeping the iphone battery charged was a issue, and I discovered that I liked the android split screen better...nice to see what's playing, radio controls,etc without changing screen.

So, I switched back to using my android auto and am happy. If I'm using waze the cars voice control works great. I do have issues with the connection if I switch back and forth from plugged in to bluetooth.

I also bought a $45 eBay Mazda nav sd card and think it's worth that, even without traffic and HUD. I like the speed limit indicator and the idea it would work for navigation if my phone didn't have a data connection.

 

[zico21]

There was no Sirius or Maps on my Prefered package CX-30 so first I used Android Auto. The map screen does have audio controls filling part of the right side.

I borrowed a spare Iphone from a family member and used it with a prepaid data sim with the idea that I would like full screen map and leave it dedicated in the car. It was not starting up on the in dash screen automatically every time. The Mazda voice control wasn't seamless with Waze. Also, since I don't drive everyday keeping the iphone battery charged was a issue, and I discovered that I liked the android split screen better...nice to see what's playing, radio controls,etc without changing screen.

So, I switched back to using my android auto and am happy. If I'm using waze the cars voice control works great. I do have issues with the connection if I switch back and forth from plugged in to bluetooth.

I also bought a $45 eBay Mazda nav sd card and think it's worth that, even without traffic and HUD. I like the speed limit indicator and the idea it would work for navigation if my phone didn't have a data connection.

The current version of CarPlay allows for split screen when using Apple Maps, sharing the screen with a choice of several music apps. From memory, it shows the map in about 2/3rds of the screen and the remaining third shows the music controls. I believe when a navigation detail window (next turn for example) pops up it temporarily shares the remains third with the running music app.

I read recently that the coming update of iOS is going to allow different navigation apps besides Apple Maps (Google maps, Waze) to have this capability once the different apps update their apps to take advantage of this feature.

 

[Captainkirkw]

Thank you for the Apple Car Play info zico21. I switched from iOS to Android many year ago so while I try to keep up with it since my wife is still using it, neither of us had tried CP so we will hopefully check it out when we drive it together this evening.

I decided to try Android Auto on my Samsung last night and two negative things happened. I could not get Google Maps nor Waze to show up on the screen, yet Google Play music was playing through it. Also, when I unplugged my USB cable, the fit was so tight that the outer casing stayed stuck in the USB slot so now that nice cable I had is ruined. I had to get a pair of needle nose pliers to carefully pull the housing out so hopefully that won't happen when we try it using my wife's lightning cable tonight. If so, then we will have to take it to Mazda to see what is wrong with the slot.