720s Carplay upgrade?

[Frankychops]

Streetbeat said:

Seems a good way to cut your market down by half, but maybe its a licensing thing.

would anyone not buy a car because its not got AA or CarPlay? especailly this sort of car?

[Streetbeat]

I meant in reference to the link for the retrofit system that was just carplay, not in relation to buying a car

[Frankychops]

Streetbeat said:

I meant in reference to the link for the retrofit system that was just carplay, not in relation to buying a car

haha!

[964Cup]

br d said:

Thanks mate, car is all good so far although I haven't been using it much.

The Android Auto thing is frustrating, as Streetbeat said the car already has Carplay so it doesn't seem a big leap to AA.
My gut tells me it isn't going to happen though.

I'm convinced it's a US market thing - I've never met an American with any money who uses Android. I presume it's the same in China, for similar status-signalling reasons. I think fear of the fruit cult is a European thing. As you know I ended up buying an iPhone just to give the car a brain, although that has been the only thing I use it for.

There is one advantage to using a separate phone to provide your car integration, I discovered the other day. If you want to listen to something using headphones while driving, you can't do it with your phone connected to Android Auto. There's no way to tell it to force the audio to bluetooth. So I shall now be using the iPhone to provide Waze in the family wagon while I carry on listening to Audible from my actual phone on interminable autoroutes.

Here endeth the fantastically interesting PSA.

[br d]

I don't know if this is any use to anybody who has a 750S and is not an Apple fan.

I'm Android through and through but I have a long euro trip coming up and didn't fancy sticking all that crap to the windscreen again, especially as I like the fold out phones and the cradle is bloody huge. So I bought an iPhone and a tenner a month Giff Gaff which I connect with a cable to the USB C port in the cubby hole thing. If you keep the Bluetooth and WiFi switched off it activates the Carplay just through the cable. This means I can still have my android phone pairing with the car via Bluetooth.

It all runs great. I have Waze and Spotify on the car screen and I can mess about with those as I please and I just chuck the Android on the passenger seat. Both phones show as connected and it's a breeze to switch between them. If I get a call Spotify fades down and I just answer it via the car screen.
Everything works happily together which surprised me. I tuck the iPhone down behind the seat and because it's cabled in its charging anytime I'm driving so I just leave it there turned on. On my trip I will be doing some driving everyday so it won't go flat.

Might seem like a lot of faffing but I just can't get along with using Apple stuff and once this is set up it just works. I'm now thinking about other apps that might be useful on the Carplay.

Edit/
Bugger! Just seen your post above 964 - apologies for missing it, I'm not here often - and you've beaten me to it with the same idea!
I've also got Audible on the iPhone which will save me messing with the Android on the Autobahn!

Edited by br d on Thursday 11th April 21:10

[964Cup]

br d said:

I don't know if this is any use to anybody who has a 750S and is not an Apple fan.

I'm Android through and through but I have a long euro trip coming up and didn't fancy sticking all that crap to the windscreen again, especially as I like the fold out phones and the cradle is bloody huge. So I bought an iPhone and a tenner a month Giff Gaff which I connect with a cable to the USB C port in the cubby hole thing. If you keep the Bluetooth and WiFi switched off it activates the Carplay just through the cable. This means I can still have my android phone pairing with the car via Bluetooth.

It all runs great. I have Waze and Spotify on the car screen and I can mess about with those as I please and I just chuck the Android on the passenger seat. Both phones show as connected and it's a breeze to switch between them. If I get a call Spotify fades down and I just answer it via the car screen.
Everything works happily together which surprised me. I tuck the iPhone down behind the seat and because it's cabled in its charging anytime I'm driving so I just leave it there turned on. On my trip I will be doing some driving everyday so it won't go flat.

Might seem like a lot of faffing but I just can't get along with using Apple stuff and once this is set up it just works. I'm now thinking about other apps that might be useful on the Carplay.

Edit/
Bugger! Just seen your post above 964 - apologies for missing it, I'm not here often - and you've beaten me to it with the same idea!
I've also got Audible on the iPhone which will save me messing with the Android on the Autobahn!

Edited by br d on Thursday 11th April 21:10

Great minds and all that. Yup, same same. I used a refurb iPhone 12 mini so I can keep it in the cubby (using a right-angle lightning cable so it fits in neatly). I've resisted putting Audible on it because I don't want to mess about keeping my listening positions in sync, and I don't much want to share my listening habits with the fruit cult either, so I just uploaded 100Gb of music to Apple Music, installed Waze and left it at that; I use the BT connection for audiobooks and phone calls from my Android. It works very well. I do switch the iphone off when I'm not using the car for a while to avoid overcycling the battery. I also put a 25W cigar plug charger in the socket under the dash so I can keep my actual phone charged.

[br d]

964Cup said:

Great minds and all that. Yup, same same. I used a refurb iPhone 12 mini so I can keep it in the cubby (using a right-angle lightning cable so it fits in neatly). I've resisted putting Audible on it because I don't want to mess about keeping my listening positions in sync, and I don't much want to share my listening habits with the fruit cult either, so I just uploaded 100Gb of music to Apple Music, installed Waze and left it at that; I use the BT connection for audiobooks and phone calls from my Android. It works very well. I do switch the iphone off when I'm not using the car for a while to avoid overcycling the battery. I also put a 25W cigar plug charger in the socket under the dash so I can keep my actual phone charged.

Now you see right here is the difference between impulse and control!
You examine the space carefully and buy the appropriate sized phone and correctly orientated cable, enabling a neat and practical solution.
I buy the first thing I see on the Internet without bothering to look and then shout and swear when the stupid thing doesn't fit in the hole and I have to shove it behind the seat and trail cable everywhere!

I'm going to order a mini and the proper cable tonight.

And yeah I forgot that Audible issue, I used to have it two devices and it always skipped back on one of them to a previous session, very frustrating trying to remember where I'd got to, I'll leave that on the android.

[964Cup]

:-) This cable if you've not already bought it: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0C74KKMN1

[br d]

Cheers man, ordered.
You seen the Harry's Garage thing?

Edited by br d on Sunday 14th April 19:05

[supersport]

What a lovely colour that car was.

[964Cup]

br d said:

Cheers man, ordered.
You seen the Harry's Garage thing?

Edited by br d on Sunday 14th April 19:05

Long thread running here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Many people telling us our cars sound dull and are pointless, and that [insert something else here] would be more fun and a better GT. Takes all sorts.

[Pouhon]

Official McLaren 720s carplay/android auto upgrade rumoured for dec 2024. I have not heard anything more concrete than that.

But in the meantime, it looks like the aftermarket are getting there.

https://mysupercarexpert.com/products/mclaren-mp4-...


This is first solution to use the oem screen, all others I've seen before are add on screens from China, with IMO the bodge job/lucky dip functionality that you'd expect. The supecarexperts kit looks good, if McLaren don't get an update out, I think i might give this a go.

[Streetbeat]

I wsd told yesterday at my local main dealer service, Carplay will be available from September ish circa £2000 fitted. Pretty good when aftermarket is £1500 fitted.

[davek_964]

Streetbeat said:

I wsd told yesterday at my local main dealer service, Carplay will be available from September ish circa £2000 fitted. Pretty good when aftermarket is £1500 fitted.

As long as it's not the Chinese one with a McLaren stamp on it

It's one of the things I fancy - but even with man maths I can't justify it. I think it would add very little to how I use the media in the car - handy with maps on the main screen but for the amount I use navigation that isn't really enough.

[964Cup]

davek_964 said:

As long as it's not the Chinese one with a McLaren stamp on it

It's one of the things I fancy - but even with man maths I can't justify it. I think it would add very little to how I use the media in the car - handy with maps on the main screen but for the amount I use navigation that isn't really enough.

Do you use a separate camera detector? I find my Android box essential for that (as part of Maps or Waze); for navigation since IMO the inbuilt nav in the 750 is poor but also to avoid traffic; and for Audible.

[davek_964]

964Cup said:

davek_964 said:

As long as it's not the Chinese one with a McLaren stamp on it

It's one of the things I fancy - but even with man maths I can't justify it. I think it would add very little to how I use the media in the car - handy with maps on the main screen but for the amount I use navigation that isn't really enough.

Do you use a separate camera detector? I find my Android box essential for that (as part of Maps or Waze); for navigation since IMO the inbuilt nav in the 750 is poor but also to avoid traffic; and for Audible.

I don't really use a camera detector at all. I did try Waze once but didn't really like it, so if I am going somewhere I use Google maps - and the camera alerts on that are nice but it's rare I have it on. 99% of the time, my phone stays in my pockets - I use Amazon Auto, so music is via voice control.

As I said - I like the idea of carplay (or in my case, Android Auto) - but I don't think it fits my use case enough to make it worth the cost.

[Streetbeat]

davek_964 said:

As long as it's not the Chinese one with a McLaren stamp on it

It's one of the things I fancy - but even with man maths I can't justify it. I think it would add very little to how I use the media in the car - handy with maps on the main screen but for the amount I use navigation that isn't really enough.

It will have to be licensed as its official and no android auto so unlikely the Chinese one.

It's a lot of money, but, I think I would use it frequently and moving forward its a bonus selling point for the car as an official upgrade.

[supersport]

Wow that's a lot. It'd almost be worth upgrading to a 750 at that cost

I'd only use it for navigation and then only once in a blue moon.

[Streetbeat]

supersport said:

Wow that's a lot. It'd almost be worth upgrading to a 750 at that cost

I'd only use it for navigation and then only once in a blue moon.

£500 more than a generic Chinese unit, I think for Mclaren that's pretty reasonable, if it does end up at that.

[LotusJas]

Well worth it for the official product at the price of £2k vs an aftermarket one.

Personally I don't need CarPlay in the car though, given the way I use, and have my phone mounted, but it's definitely a nice to have feature.