I bought a car that is so old it is no longer there Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and I love it. It’s an older BMW and it has USB, but nothing special. I use the built-in navigation system for maps, Bluetooth for music, and you know what? I don’t miss CarPlay at all. In fact, I’m relieved that I’m no longer dependent on my smartphone. That’s a big problem for Apple and Google. By all accounts, CarPlay and Android Auto have made things worse, not better.
What does my older car do that CarPlay doesn’t? Let’s start with the things it doesn’t do. It never freezes. When I switch from music to cards I don’t get an endless pause that makes me wonder if I need to restart… something. The only thing I restart is the combustion engine. The navigation system works normally.
With Android Auto and CarPlay, I am constantly fighting bugs and glitches. The audio stops working while I’m listening to an Audible audiobook, or Waze hangs just as I approach a major exit, leaving me with a frozen map on my screen.
Awesome. Now I get to troubleshoot my car while driving 55 mph, while also trying to figure out what to do about the exit I just missed.
That is, if I manage to get on the road before the trouble starts. I’m constantly having connection issues with both Android Auto and CarPlay. On Android, my device would not only disconnect from Bluetooth (why do I need BT for a wired CarPlay connection?!), but also remove my car from my list of Bluetooth devices. I’ve seen this happen on the top Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones, and more than once.
My Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max is a fraction more reliable. I have fewer connection issues, but CarPlay still freezes often when I have to switch between apps, especially apps that play audio content.
I once made the horrible mistake of using Apple’s iOS 17 beta software while relying on my iPhone for CarPlay. CarPlay broke on every ride. I will never do that again, my friends. It was a harrowing experience with rapid software crashes, and it’s impossible to downgrade from beta software in an emergency.
Buttons are good, touch screens are bad
I use my phone in the kitchen, but I don’t use it to chop vegetables
My car isn’t perfect; BMW’s complicated iDrive entertainment system is quite infamous. Still, I vastly prefer it to my iPhone 15 Pro Max or Pixel 8 Pro or Galaxy S24Ultra control my system. It may not have the voice assistant and messaging features. It can be inconvenient to navigate with just a hand pad and a button to press. It’s still so much better than a touchscreen.
The best thing about my car is the way it eschews touchscreens. It has six programmable buttons, and you can program them to do anything on the screen. Instead of just radio stations, I can program buttons for navigation shortcuts, or music, or the on-board computer.
I don’t have to tap a touchscreen multiple times for every common task. When I want to go home, I press button #1. I can do it without looking because it’s a real, big button. Instead of focusing my attention on a small display, BMW (back in the day) recognized that buttons were more efficient. I wish more car companies and phone makers would remember this path.
I want to love CarPlay and Android Auto. My phone is smart and all my music, audiobooks and navigation shortcuts are preloaded. My phone can send text messages just by listening to me, and can prioritize notifications to filter out what’s unimportant.
My phone should be part of my car, but not the center of attention. I use my phone in the kitchen, but I don’t use it to chop vegetables. I use it to read a recipe, I don’t use it to stir the pot.
A car must be waterproof, but a smartphone can fail
In the car, my phone should provide information and content, but it shouldn’t be the buttons and dials. Phones are terrible because they are buttons and buttons, and we have real buttons and buttons. I have to keep my eyes on the road. A touchscreen is so patently stupid to drive that it’s shocking that carmakers and phone makers have been allowed to collaborate on this.
Smartphones aren’t built to be infallible as they speed down the highway behind two tons of metal and gasoline. My car is built to respond immediately, in all conditions. The reversing camera appears when I put the car in reverse, so I don’t hit someone behind me.
My smartphone is not responding very well. If the phone crashes, what then? It doesn’t restart quickly. There are software bugs and it crashes and I just have to live with it. Who left this thing behind the wheel?
We should laugh at the ridiculous idea that the future is entirely touchscreens and return to the tools that work. Until my phone’s touchscreen performs better than the button on my car stereo, I’ll continue using the button to turn up the volume and turn off CarPlay.