If I recall correctly prior to the facelift it relied on either using a mobile phone with rSAP functionality (not iPhones!) or the insertion of a 3G SIM into the slot between the two SD Card slots behind the flip down panel. Remember that we are entering the time when 3g will start to be turned off in the UK (Vodafone is due to start this year) meaning pre-Facelift cars will increasingly become less able to have integrated connectivity as they will not support 4g. Facelift cars only came with 3 years of Audi Connect functionality, after which it had to be extended. Initially many were able to get that done for free but now it is a chargeable item. Audi Connect gives the ability to remotely connect with the car to do things like check it is locked, locate it on a map, book services etc. It also allows the downloading of map data updates and access to real time traffic data. I think it is about £120 per annum.
Mine is a 2012 - the last of the supercharged V6 petrols
It was before the "Tech Pack" version was released, but it came with the RSAP 3G connectivity MMI "Touch" (Audi Connect) system that was included in the Tech pack from about 2013 until the facelift.
RSAP was absolutely awesome - supported by most mobile phones, going all the way back to 2G-only Nokias (and then the car would be on 3G)... but NOT iPhones at all as they removed that from their Bluetooth support and I think some of the later Samsungs also dropped it - probably went the same way as the headphone jack: if Apple can get way with cutting that cost and still charging the same, then Samsung is sure as hell gonna try!
The only downside of RSAP was that if somebody sent you an SMS, then the car received it, not your phone... so I did find the odd message in the car a few days later!! WhatsApp/Signal/Telegram were all okay though as the car would create a WiFi hotspot and your phone would reconnect back to that.
I say "was" because I don't use it any more at all:
1) Even a phone on a weak 5G signal will normally be better speed than Audi 3G, which was pretty poor, even for 3G.
2) The Audi GoogleMaps is not "Google Maps" - it is Audi's proprietary snapshot of GoogleMaps, with:
a) most of the clever features removed (no live traffic updates - it only has the highways agency RDS updates)
b) a £200+ subscription fee every 2 years... after the first two years that were free
c) out-dated maps that are at least £200 per update (the subscription does NOT give you access to this)
I did have a spare SIM card that I tried briefly - it did get online slightly faster, but once you were online, the speed was the same. If you're going with the onboard satnav, assuming your main phone has a good size data allowance, I'd still recommend RSAP over that just so you're not wasting ~£10pcm with a risk of going seriously over data limits (if the kids start streaming Netflix in the back or a tablet starts doing a major update over your pay-per-Gb SIM card).
Regarding the annual subscription: I don't know if this is to "Audi's credit" or if they just knew the product was too minimalist and outdated to actually be charging for it, but they gave me a 2yr extension on my subscription for free, but I had stopped using that WAY before the final free Audi Connect subscription ran out...
Recommendation: Mobile phone on the side, with Spotify+Waze+Bluetooth.
Regrets? I miss the Google Earth view not having the detailed aerial photos on the big SatNav screen in the centre... to show off for the kids sometimes, but other than that...
