Anyone I know that has one, will immediately either plugin or connect whenever they go live.
There's other benefits like (in the aforementioned article), CarPlay Ultra being able to send data to multiple screens like the front dash. Where having my directions right next to me speed means I don't have to check two screens.
But just getting into you car and having it project your phone interface instantly from your pocket on a screen that is part of the car is really nice. I don't even have a super large screen (10.5 inches, widescreen) but it's significantly better than looking at my phone. It even integrates with the heads up display.
> It's hard to really imagine the experience of maps or music being improved by seeing it on my dashboard screen compared to right next to it on the phone.
It might be hard to imagine but it shouldn't be. I would find it very hard to go back to fiddling with my phone rather than have it nicely integrated into all the buttons and dials on my car. Never taking my phone out of my pocket and forgetting it in the car -- I did that a lot. The audio integration across the radio, phone apps, and navigation is perfect -- Bluetooth doesn't come close and was always a frustration. It's just better in every way, that's why people like it.
For context, I drive a ‘91 GMC pickup, so neither cars nor car audio are super important to me. I still bought a CarPlay-enabled Android head unit because it’s less of a hassle to use.
How about instead of your phone? You don't need your phone dash mount if you have Carplay.
You should be able to have it only show the music app or whatever if that's what bothers you. My cars default infotainment shows the map by default too, so this is more or less the same from my point of view (other than the fact that the car's maps are out of date).
> The last time I tried it I didn't like that I couldn't switch between different music apps without exiting the entire system.
As in you need to exit one app to open another? You can add whatever apps to the home(?) screen if you need to see them both at the same time, but if you want two apps to be fully open at the same time, that's not happening, as that's probably a hold-over from phone UI. Or am I misunderstanding you here?
When I tried Android Auto it actually took over my car's infotainment system and made my phone slightly slower having to drive another screen? I dunno it's been years. I just don't see the value in it personally.
For maps, having up to date maps is an enormous relief compared to relying on the outdated maps that came with your car (at least in my experience).
> When I tried Android Auto it actually took over my car's infotainment system
Yes. I prefer it that way. The car's default infotainment system might as well not exist for all I care, since I prefer the Carplay experience.
> and made my phone slightly slower having to drive another screen?
I haven't noticed this problem.