nore03

I for one hope they do not integrate this into any Acura.... I think it takes away from the luxury feel of the car and it is not as user friendly as people would think. It is 2 different systems in the car trying to work together and a lot of times it doesn't work the way you would like it to. The 2 screens in my TLX are fine to me, I like it and it is pretty simple for the most part. I know some people complain about it but using the 2 screens in the Accord is even more of a hassle once you integrate the Car play features into it. At least in the TLX the 2 screens for the most part work together and you can use voice to control most of your features or even control your music while being on the Navi screen(you will see why this is important below). In the Accord the car play features are basically a stand alone option in the car and once you open that up you have to stay in that option and if you need to do something that requires the touch screen you have to go back out of car play and into whatever other option you need. All this while driving is too much. Not to mention using the touch screen is the easiest way to control all your music.

I have an Iphone 6s and a Samsung edge plus. I drove from Tampa to Hartford, CT and used the Android because google maps is much better than Apple Maps. It did a fine job as far as navi goes but when it came to wanting to switch radio stations I had to leave the navi option and push different screens to get around to find the music I wanted to listen to. On top of that Apple Music is much better than Androids music set up but you can't use Apple for music while using Android for its car play(which makes sense). So I was forced to use XM or find radio stations. Trying to do that while driving is definitely not worth the risk. While using the system in Hartford I kept my Iphone connected since I pretty much know the area so I didn't need navi and the integration was a little better but can't use your phone(which I understand you shouldn't do anyway, but there are times when you just need it) and have you screen on something different. For example, if you have the navi screen up and you get a text message and you want to open your phone and read the text message on the phone it will take the navi off the screen in the car and open your text messages on the while you are reading it on your phone. If you press the screen to go back to maps on the car your phone will go back to maps??? That was annoying!! Now I have to answer the question to my lady friend, "who is that".... Sorry, I am getting personal but you get the idea. Using Android Auto is no better, once you are connected you can't easily use your phone at all. You have to have the app open already and push the task bar button to open a previous app. If your phone is set to automatically fall a sleep after a while from not using it your screen goes black in the car until you unlock and open your phone again, so for my trip I had to turn off the auto lock and sleep feature....

I get the idea of android auto and apple car play and I think for someone who is buying a less expensive vehicle it is definitely nice to have but I think once you decide to spend more money and get a nicer vehicle it would be better if the manufacture just made a better navi system. I like the Acura system, I like that the screen is further up(compared to the Accord having it further down where you have to kind of look down to see what is going on). My only request from Acura would be to keep the system the same just speed it up and make better use of the Acura link system. Since it is basically connected to the internet anyway get LTE in it and use Google instead of whatever it is that it uses now and have the maps be based on google maps. If you pay for the Acura link services then the car is connected even when it is off so let it download maps weekly so it stays up to date. That would make the most sense to me, that way we don't have to choose between using android for our maps(google maps which is awesome) and music(google play which I am not a fan of) or Apple for our maps(which is not as good as google) and music(apple music which is far superior to anything else out).

Momyc

I don't understand why they don't put a Wi-Fi connection as Tesla , connected to your home Wi-Fi to get the updates for Maps or even firmware ones. I know could be security issues , but Tesla doesn't seems to have issues with that. My 2c

audioxbliss

Great overview and overall feedback. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are both very immature products with little support right now. However, they should improve with age, much like the Chromecast, Apple TV, etc. Developers just need time to make their apps compatible and fluid. I remember when I first bought a Chromecast and it was complete shit. I could barely do anything with it and there was basically zero support for it outside of Google apps. But now, I can't imagine using a TV without it since it now has great Netflix and Plex integration. I suspect Android Auto and CarPlay are going to be similar in this regard, which means buying into it right now is a terrible idea. My $35 Chromecast investment was literally nothing compared to buying a $20k+ car just for that functionality. Maybe in 5 years I'd consider buying a car for it, but that depends entirely on developers getting on board and how much I still like my TLX.

I will say that both Android Auto and CarPlay are envisioned as complete replacements for your infotainment deck. The way they were designed and are intended to be used means you shouldn't be trying to swap back and forth between the car interface and the mobile interface all the time. The idea would be that you use it and stick with it throughout your drive. That means (right now) ditching AM/FM/CD/XM/whatever in favor of internet based music like Google Play Music, Spotify, Apple Music, etc. I would be perfectly fine doing that, but I know a lot of people still listen to the radio because they don't mind ads and are okay with having no control over what music is playing. Then again, I'm also the kind of guy that doesn't have cable TV since I can get my media fix solely via internet, again without ads and with total control.

Having used my buddy's Sonata for a few days, I will say that it's kind of a toss-up for me. A lot of the Android Auto experience is still in development and has a long way to go before it's really ready to be a complete replacement. On the other hand, it's so much snappier and user-friendly once you really dive into it that I can't see Acuralink being a competitor once Android Auto fully realizes its potential. The voice command system on Android Auto is leagues ahead of Acura's system (or any other system I've used, for that matter) and so much more natural. On the other hand, Acura's system is clearly bespoke and has much better integration with the car as a whole. It's not like I can adjust my A/C, set my car's various safety features, or (like I mentioned before) listen to FM radio through Android Auto. So, there's a trade-off and it'd be pretty hard for me to make a choice if I had to make it right now.

As far as speeding up the system, I think that's going to be impossible. I met an engineer who used to work at Honda, and he said the systems they used under the Honda brand were based on ASICs and ASSPs rather than consumer grade stuff. That means the chips were designed to do exactly what the designers needed them to do based on the software they were building. In theory, that means the chips are running at peak performance and are unable to do anything faster, which means software solutions are out. Hardware solutions will be difficult at best since Acura will need to spend millions developing new hardware... and then somehow get that hardware into customers' vehicles. Which would cost millions more. So, we're stuck with what we have. The "internet" in the car is of a similar vein, using satellite "internet" to download data. I keep using quotes because satellite internet has a maximum practical bandwidth of somewhere around 0.5Mbps in optimal conditions and a signal latency measured in full seconds, not milliseconds. The hardware used for this is also completely incompatible with WiFi and cell systems.

Now, before I end this wall 'o text, I will say that the screen turning off was weird. That didn't happen to me at all while I was using my friend's car. If you still have the car, you should get that looked at because it's not normal behavior in the slightest. I know some early aftermarket headunits had some weird quirks like the screen turning off and the bottom buttons on the car side not working correctly, but I don't think any factory system should have that behavior.

Sorry for so much text, I just wanted to share my thoughts as well To be clear, I agree with you that the Android Auto system is not yet mature enough for primetime and it makes sense that such an immature system should be kept out of higher end brands. However, I believe it will become a better option than the factory systems we have available some time in the next few years. But, it still won't completely replace in-car infotainment since it (a) is dependent on having a compatible phone, (b) is dependent on the phone having the correct hardware for the job, and (c) is dependent on the person using it having the desire to use solely the functions available on the device.

jarjarbinks

Great review and write-up. Thanks for sharing.

Interesting to compare with Honda, here is an example of how Chevy approaches this: In their 2016 SS Sedan, you can get the stock 7-inch touchscreen that supports Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay, or you can pay hundreds of dollars for the upgraded sound system with an 8-inch touchscreen that supports Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, AND Android Auto. The interface on both of them is absolutely awful.

a77

Good thread and valuable insight. As far as Acura's and Honda's systems being slow and unresponsive...try Chrysler's Uconnect. However crap the rest of the car's may be, UConnect is a joy to use in comparison. Very fast and easy.

acurafan73

Will the TLX wirelessly stream music from an iPhone? Technology has really went crazy in the five years it's been since I last bought a new car, but that's the only feature that I'm really interested in.

Nexx

bluetooth audio streaming is standard in all Acura models now

samuel002

I think acura should have added Apple car play and Android auto into the new TLXs.

superblast

I'm guessing the processor in the current infotainment system isn't up to the task and it'll come with an upgrade to the entire system. Disappointing though.