Apple CarPlay Coming to Select Lexus Vehicles This Year

PeterF

agreed, reason to wait?

I don't know. Lack of it isn't really stopping me now, and the LS500 has many other charms :)

Ian Schmidt

I don't know. Lack of it isn't really stopping me now, and the LS500 has many other charms :)

I must agree. There is a lot to like about the LS500. I'm looking forward to seeing in at the beginning of February.

I'm also quite used to the current interface and don't find it that frustrating

I'm wondering what Acura's new Android based touchpad is going to be like to use. It looks like it has potential to be easier to use while driving than Lexus' current touch based control system.

On the other hand, I do not like touch screens in cars because I hate looking at fingerprints all over the screen, it makes the dashboard look dirty.

Acura's is weird because you have to touch the pad at the same place the widget on the screen is. So you have to look at the screen, figure out where the thing you wanted was, then look down at the touchpad. Lexus' various controllers, for all their other faults, don't require looking at the controller itself.

Ian Schmidt

Acura's is weird because you have to touch the pad at the same place the widget on the screen is. So you have to look at the screen, figure out where the thing you wanted was, then look down at the touchpad. Lexus' various controllers, for all their other faults, don't require looking at the controller itself.

i think only real difference is that in Acura, you basically just move selection focus from button to button.. you dont actually move a pointer. I wonder why Lexus does not have that instead of pointer, never made much sense. I guess it does give you less options possible on the screen.

So moving left on Acura touchpad will still give you move to the left, to the next button on the left.

As Acura described it, it's a full-on absolute touch pad, where pressing upper left on the pad taps upper left on the screen. That may well be an error on their part though.

In other news, people are now pushing Apple to offer car-less CarPlay like Android Auto already has in order to bypass BMW's weird subscription thing.

Ian Schmidt

As Acura described it, it's a full-on absolute touch pad, where pressing upper left on the pad taps upper left on the screen. That may well be an error on their part though.

In other news, people are now pushing Apple to offer car-less CarPlay (like Android Auto already has) in order to bypass BMW's weird subscription thing. This would let you do CarPlay's simplified in-car interface on the actual phone's screen.

it is not an error, i am sure it will do something like that to an extent, but you will also be able to simply move it left or right to select buttons... however it wont be as mouse, but rather as one of the 5-6 buttons selection... it makes sense.

Ian Schmidt

In other news, people are now pushing Apple to offer car-less CarPlay (like Android Auto already has) in order to bypass BMW's weird subscription thing. This would let you do CarPlay's simplified in-car interface on the actual phone's screen.

This is a super interesting idea, would love to see this happen.

Ian Schmidt

In other news, people are now pushing Apple to offer car-less CarPlay (like Android Auto already has) in order to bypass BMW's weird subscription thing. This would let you do CarPlay's simplified in-car interface on the actual phone's screen.

Hopefully that includes Google Maps lol.

Ian Schmidt

In other news, people are now pushing Apple to offer car-less CarPlay (like Android Auto already has) in order to bypass BMW's weird subscription thing. This would let you do CarPlay's simplified in-car interface on the actual phone's screen.

that isnt that useful really, it is just big buttons interface to make it easier to press. You dont get any of real integration features.

krew

This is a super interesting idea, would love to see this happen.

Yeah, you can already do it on your Android phone if your car does not support CarPlay/Auto by downloading the Android Auto app from the Play Store. Just get a in-car phone stand and you're set.

Hollis told Automotive News that CarPlay and Amazon's Alexa voice assistant will be standard on the Avalon and future Toyota vehicles. Android Auto — for smartphones using Google software — will be next.

"Clearly CarPlay, and really any integration of technology, needs to occur in our vehicles," he said. "We start with it today."

Toyota's luxury division, Lexus, confirmed that Alexa would be integrated into its vehicles, but not CarPlay or Android Auto yet.

Hollis said the Apple and Android capability would be retrofitted onto older Toyota models, but that it would take time.

Michael Ramsey, an analyst at the Gartner consultancy, said Toyota's low-key rollout of smartphone integration is likely the result of an internal debate over sharing customer data with the tech giants.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20180122/OEM06/180129997/toyota-apple-carplay-detroit

spwolf

that isnt that useful really, it is just big buttons interface to make it easier to press. You dont get any of real integration features.

The integration features aren't that deep. This plus a Bluetooth connection to the car for audio/phone gets you most of the benefit.