[tetsuo111]

BMW's target market used to be informed buyers interested in the Ultimate Driving Machine. Most of us have moved on to other brands. Here's another example of why:

How a Rented Hyundai Kona is Better than every BMW

[NickyC]

So this guy can't hook up some iDumbass gadget to a vehicle he's supposed to be focused on driving, and gets so triggered he has to slag BMW for it? Good grief.

I don't even know wtf Apple Carplay is nor do I care.

[Aaaaaaaaa]

Just typical click bait journalism. Post probably sponsored by Hyundai. CarPlay works flawlessly on my F80. :

[..Rush..]

Note to self: "Still not trading in my BMW for a Hyundai"

[Reign2016]

Originally Posted by Rush1

Note to self: "Still not trading in my BMW for a Hyundai"

what he said...

[Soterios]

Don't get me wrong. Apple Carplay is was a big selling point, (though it's pretty much standard now) but who the hell buys a car based on how well it connects to their phone? Is that a real car buyer?

[Machinebuilder]

His major point was that Apple carplay is a pay service and Android auto is not supported while economy cars have this. It does makes BMW look bad for younger drivers that value this. BMW is not the only company but younger drivers really love their phones and apps so they should not ignore this.

[Gamb1t]

Originally Posted by Soterios

Don't get me wrong. Apple Carplay is was a big selling point, (though it's pretty much standard now) but who the hell buys a car based on how well it connects to their phone? Is that a real car buyer?

Millennial and future Gen Z.

They are also the ones who do not understand what's with the obsession on rowing a middle stick to shift gear.

And if you really want to confuse the heck out of them.

[BMWILUVU]

Who buys a BMW because of carplay? I think he is a cheapskate who was priced out of the BMW market.

[MmmmmM2]

Who buy's a new 7 Series? Just sayin...

[10"]

This is what happens when the driving experience of current cars made by a brand (psssst...hey BMW) feel mostly generic and uninspired. People start focusing on nonsense like carplay and nav screens....it was inevitable!

[Darth One]

Clickbait shitposter. I remember when you had to go to school and then work your way up in the trade to call yourself a journalist. Someone should write a clickbait article “How a hamster running around on a keyboard is a better journalist than James Riswick and Autoblog”

[Soterios]

Originally Posted by Gamb1t

Millennial and future Gen Z.

They are also the ones who do not understand what's with the obsession on rowing a middle stick to shift gear.

And if you really want to confuse the heck out of them.

Hey I'm a millennial, dammit!

Not all is lost. The Gen Z kid we just hired as a co op has a manual transmission AND manual windows! He's a rare bird though. Haha

[New2Roundel]

Originally Posted by Darth One

Clickbait shitposter. I remember when you had to go to school and then work your way up in the trade to call yourself a journalist. Someone should write a clickbait article “How a hamster running around on a keyboard is a better journalist than James Riswick and Autoblog”

Anyone can write an editorial or in current terms, a blog post.

Many people lucky enough to have a large microphone in the auto world unfortunately do not use it responsibly and seem to lack the underlying perspective to accurately comment on what's good or bad. Anyone who compares any average vehicle to any luxury vehicle based on standard features has no concept of the inherent differences between legit luxury and bundling technology to save money. It always cracks me up when someone complains that a hyundai comes with all sorts of standard stuff but with a Porsche you have to pay extra for it. Guess what---I generally don't want half the stuff the hyundai comes with and would vastly prefer to pick and choose what is in my car. I love that my M3 has cloth seats and no nav. It's equipped like a base civic or accent. I guess the original owner who spent >$65k just wasted his money.

[MmmmmM2]

Originally Posted by Soterios

Hey I'm a millennial, dammit!

Not all is lost. The Gen Z kid we just hired as a co op has a manual transmission AND manual windows! He's a rare bird though. Haha

I wonder if new cars even come with manual roll down windows anymore??

[ntg44]

I was ready for a new phone, and I switched from Android to an iPhone 7 because I had recently bought my 2017 M3 and ordered it with CarPlay in anticipation for the switch. After pairing up the phone, my call quality was complete garbage, so much static. I also couldn't stand that every time I used the phone, the screen on the car would mirror the app I was using. Also bugged me that I couldn't read my own text messages on the car screen. I understand the reason for this, but I'm not at all interested in my text messages being read out in front of my passengers and then dictating my response like a robot. About the only thing I liked about CarPlay was the integration with my music apps.

After a few months I couldn't tolerate the call quality anymore, so I switched back to Android and connected it as a media device and my experience has been flawless ever since. I'm not saying CarPlay is dumb, but it definitely wasn't for me. About the only thing I miss is the audio integration, but giving my phone to a passenger or changing the artist at a stoplight isn't really that annoying, and I just skip through tracks using the more basic interface.

I enjoy my car much more now because of it. CarPlay may be important to a lot of people, but it's far from everything. If it was up to me, I'd get rid of the screen entirely. Leave the tech to the tech companies, in my opinion. A well integrated docking solution would go so much farther and be less obsolete going forward.

[pz619]

Well, shit. Guess I gotta go trade in my 400 hp RWD coupe for a 147 hp wrong wheel drive crossover because it has carplay. Everyone knows Carplay is what defines a good car.

I pity you guys who have an older E46, E39, E90, etc that doesn't even have carplay. Not even sure how you get out of bed each morning.

[EstorilM240]

I actually strongly agree with this article.

Carplay issues are the major part of my day to day aggravation currently (driving wise, the car really is a blast). Having a consistent Carplay connection where I don't have to be mentally uncertain about "is this thing going to connect, or am I going to idle for 2 minutes while I restart my wifi and phone or even re-pair Bluetooth". Same with constantly seeing "Cannot connect to (null)" on apps, the knob not working, CarPlay screen being blank or laggy. Just imagine if you had to spend 2 minutes fixing your radio every morning because the tuner components were unreliable.

Quite odd how $20K rental car specials can get this reliable but BMW cannot. German mechanical engineering is rumored to be good, how about that software engineering? I also never understood the obsession with wireless-only CarPlay, and now the $90/year subscription ding. It's these very low-cost but high "mental enjoyment impact" factors. I've tried upgrading the iDrive software, and iOS software consistently (used both iOS 11 and 12), and am hoping that iOS 13 fixes something, but based on reliability in other vehicles ranging from Ford, Citroen, Chevrolet, Hondas, Audis, etc. I think the culprit is clear

Yes, I enjoy my 335hp RWD sports coupe and that's overwhelmingly why I still wouldn't trade it in for a worse-performing car just on CarPlay issues. But if I had to give up 15 hp/go back to the M235i's N55, and a bit of suspension tuning to have 100% reliable CarPlay? Probably worth it on a daily driver. Yes, I grew up with cars without CarPlay or with only tape players + AM FM radio. But it's one of those technological improvement things where people naturally demand perfection.

The Android auto point is also very relevant: The iOS vs. Android gap is not that huge even at upper income levels: In the US, this article estimates 16M Android households over $100K income vs. 20M iOS households over $100K income. https://www.businessinsider.com/char...e-by-os-2013-3

Originally Posted by ntgarage44

I was ready for a new phone, and I switched from Android to an iPhone 7 because I had recently bought my 2017 M3 and ordered it with CarPlay in anticipation for the switch. After pairing up the phone, my call quality was complete garbage, so much static. ... About the only thing I liked about CarPlay was the integration with my music apps.

If you still want to give CarPlay a shot, it may be worth upgrading the iDrive software (didn't make a huge difference to me on my MY2017 but might help)

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by EstorilM240

If you still want to give CarPlay a shot, it may be worth upgrading the iDrive software (didn't make a huge difference to me on my MY2017 but might help)

I appreciate the suggestion, but that ship has long sailed (2+ years). My frustrations with the iPhone 7 were much broader than my CarPlay issues. Only way I'd go back is if my current phone was inoperable and I needed to use it until an Android phone interesting enough came out to replace it. But I'm definitely not trying to derail this thread into an Android vs. iOS debate...it's so tired at this point.

[clee1982]

well, talking about people not caring about driving dynamics in the other thread, this is prime examples...

[Germanauto]

Criticize bmw on legit stuff like driving dynamics, shit like this is stupid clickbait.

[P1]

Originally Posted by New2Roundel

Anyone can write an editorial or in current terms, a blog post.

Many people lucky enough to have a large microphone in the auto world unfortunately do not use it responsibly and seem to lack the underlying perspective to accurately comment on what's good or bad. Anyone who compares any average vehicle to any luxury vehicle based on standard features has no concept of the inherent differences between legit luxury and bundling technology to save money. It always cracks me up when someone complains that a hyundai comes with all sorts of standard stuff but with a Porsche you have to pay extra for it. Guess what---I generally don't want half the stuff the hyundai comes with and would vastly prefer to pick and choose what is in my car. I love that my M3 has cloth seats and no nav. It's equipped like a base civic or accent. I guess the original owner who spent >$65k just wasted his money.

Let's not forget about my personal pet peeve: automotive "reviewers" on YouTube. Goodness gracious.