https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/15/audi-and-volvo-go-all-in-on-android-auto/
Interesting, wonder how this will turn out...
Interesting, wonder how this will turn out...
Android Auto to run all infotainment in next-gen Audis
- Thread starter cemerson
- Start date
Without getting into details this is absolutely fantastic news for Audi and owners of future gen models. I can't say for certain whether I will be one, but this is certainly a massive tick in the box!
I don't want a touch screen. I prefer the current interface.
Flying Scotsman
Registered User
As long as it works.....Android Auto on all Canadian and US FL A3 and S3 models malfunctions on Google maps. The map direction arrow faces the wrong way and therefore is useless for navigation. Audi North America have been aware of this issue since September and keep on stating they are working on a fix, but no release of this date. One enterprising owner figured out the problem and released a software program a few months ago to fix this via VAG/COM to resolve this issue on the AudiWorld forum.
Audi have not even informed their dealers of this software glitch, so I would be wary of this Audi/Google partnership. As Audi did a lot of finger pointing that the issue with Android Auto on the FL was not their problem but Google's and that is not the case.
There are plenty of bugs in the Audi software too. At least with OTA updates they will get fixed quickly (and automatically) when this platform comes in.
No thanks. Touch screens should be banished from cars, and so far - Audi seem to agree. I hope they stay that way. Way too distracting, and much harder to use.
Any touch screen should be used to set up things that can be set up whilst the car is stopped not whilst it is moving. Even with switches drivers stll look down to find the switch and look at the screen to see if what they have changed has worked.
The latest Audi prototype model has all it's switches incorporate in a single large touch screen.
My wifes Polo has a combination of switches and a touch screen and personally I find it works much better that the Audi MMI.
The latest Audi prototype model has all it's switches incorporate in a single large touch screen.
My wifes Polo has a combination of switches and a touch screen and personally I find it works much better that the Audi MMI.
I just hope it loads faster... I find this latest MMI dog slow... particularly at start up.
It takes me a while before I'm able to cycle through the drive modes - which I have to do every time as it doesn't stay in dynamic!!!
It takes me a while before I'm able to cycle through the drive modes - which I have to do every time as it doesn't stay in dynamic!!!
Sounds great, hopefully it comes with a good touch screen so we can properly use it instead of these archaic controls in the current cars. The touch screens in the Teslas or new Volvos are way easier to use compared to the clunky spinning wheels of Audi and BMW.
I agree. In my A3 when I select the Radio it takes ages before the radio starts playing. My wife's Polo has a switch next to the touch screen. Press the switch and the radio is instantly there. I don't know what the set-up on the new Golf is like but it must be better than the Audi MMI.
Android Auto being used via your phone is a very different thing to what is being proposed here though, I wouldn't base your opinions of one on the other.
As above - I don't agree. Touch screens can't be navigated by touch alone, and force you to look at the screen, interpret the information on it, move your hands to the right place and then operate the control. Looking at the screen to verify button inputs just requires you to glance at it, and then you can look back at the road while your brain processes what it saw on there, and the buttons can easily be used by touch because they are always in the same place and don't move around depending on which interface the programmers have decided to give you on any particular screen. Whenever I've had a touch screen in a hire car or similar I've hated it - especially the one in the Tesla, which is so much worse because the screen is so big you usually have to move your hands much further to get to the right bit. I test drove a Model S and while it's a fantastic car, I won't get one with a touch screen as long as I can help it.
There are a few studies that show similar things too, though it needs more study overall. I think they are dangerous and can see them being banned one day tbh.
Agree, the MMI in the latest gen A3 is much slower than the PFL one. It might offer a bit more functionality (and give them 1 system to maintain rather than 2) but they need to sort out the speed. Even using voice commands is much slower, and involves lots of 'Please wait' pauses etc. It's frustrating they've made a system worse for an upgraded car.
The Virtual Cockpit at least is pretty snappy still for me, so I tend to use that more than the main MMI system.
I agree for the first 2-3 days perhaps, after that you have seen every screen and thus already have the layout in your head and already know where the buttons are on each screen. The good thing about touch screens is just that, once you seen it you have seen it, everything is in the same place every time that screen is up. Which means that after just a few uses you know it by heart and could do it blind. All these wheels and such for the MMI means that it is all dependant on where you start with the "selector", doing what I want could be either left or right from the start and so on.
If we want to be able to do things without looking at all it is touch screens we need.
Well whatever we prefer it looks like Audi are moving to an all touch screen system. Have a look at the latest Q6 e-tron Concept Preview on this You Tube video. It shows their latest thinking.
paradigital
Registered User
Looks like I'll be switching to BMW then when it's time for the S3 to go.
Touch screen in cars can f*** right off, and Android Auto is garbage.
The MMI interface was one of the main reasons I preferred Audi over a lot of other marques, with that gone I might as well go get a car with better driving dynamics.
Touch screen in cars can f*** right off, and Android Auto is garbage.
The MMI interface was one of the main reasons I preferred Audi over a lot of other marques, with that gone I might as well go get a car with better driving dynamics.
I have a touch screen in the current car and it's dreadful. I can't wait to get proper controls back. For example, you click the phone button on the steering wheel, the phone menu comes up on the screen, you can't navigate via the steering wheel even though you used it to initiate the thing you want, click saved contacts on the screen, then comes up the list of names, go to click the one you want to call and usually there's a bounce in the road and you click one 3 names up or down. Really frustrating. There are many examples of why it's crap, certainly a lot more than why it's good.
I'm not an apple fan boy, but I find android really tosh. So it's not something I'm getting excited about. I feel it's going the same way as Microsoft, shockingly bad in most cases but it's what's been adopted and we're now stuck with it.
I'm not an apple fan boy, but I find android really tosh. So it's not something I'm getting excited about. I feel it's going the same way as Microsoft, shockingly bad in most cases but it's what's been adopted and we're now stuck with it.
Even the top of the range (7 series) BMWs are starting to use some touch control. No doubt that will move down to the other ranges in time.
Even the top of the range (7 series) BMWs are starting to use some
I have a touch screen in the current car and it's dreadful. I can't wait to get proper controls back. For example, you click the phone button on the steering wheel, the phone menu comes up on the screen, you can't navigate via the steering wheel even though you used it to initiate the thing you want, click saved contacts on the screen, then comes up the list of names, go to click the one you want to call and usually there's a bounce in the road and you click one 3 names up or down. Really frustrating. There are many examples of why it's ****, certainly a lot more than why it's good.
I'm not an apple fan boy, but I find android really tosh. So it's not something I'm getting excited about. I feel it's going the same way as Microsoft, shockingly bad in most cases but it's what's been adopted and we're now stuck with it.
Perhaps you should not be tring to make phone calls whilst you're driving. Using a phone 'hands free' is almost as dangerous as hand held as the mind tends to concentrate more on the one to one conversation on the phone and less on the driving. Make phone calls when you are stopped.
I'd hate a touch screen - the car is bad enough to keep clean never mind having to clean fingermarks from a popup screen!
If they went down the touch screen route; would this not be on top of the controls on the steering wheel and the ones behind the gear stick? How would they fill the space if removed!?
If they went down the touch screen route; would this not be on top of the controls on the steering wheel and the ones behind the gear stick? How would they fill the space if removed!?
paradigital
Registered User
Hence the "I might as well get a car with better driving dyamics". The reason I'm in an S3 rather than a 2-series is that I prefer MMI over iDrive, if that goes away then I go away from the four rings.
Touchscreens are fine for devices close to your eyeline, and when you can watch the inputs are correct, they are ****** awful for automotive installations. Driving requires tactile feedback in order to operate anything without looking at what you are doing, and the ergonomics of the MMI control layout beats having all the controls on the dash (one of the reasons I'm in an S3 over a Golf R).
Companies really need to stop assuming that our tech needs to mimic our "smart" phones. If I wanted a touchscreen and android apps, I'd be buying a phone or a tablet, not a car.
eh? My MMI wheel doesn't move depending on which screen it's on, and I can find it by feel. Not so with buttons on a touch screen.
I've had cars with touch screens before, and you still have to divert your attention away from the road far more than regular controls in order to use them.
Even ignoring your assumptions as to my ability to multitask in a safe and controllable manner, what the hell has that to do with whether there is a place for touchscreens and android operating systems in a car?
It was just an example as to how crap they are and how they can possibly distract more than proper controls. Would you like me to use navigation, radio or media as examples instead (obviously while I'm safely parked at the side of a road in a suitable lay by just like everyone does)?
This is obviously going the way of the Manual vs S-tronic or Diesel vs Petrol debates. But with one major difference. With the other two the customer can make the choice which they want. With the Touch screen/MMI debate it is Audi who will decide which they think is best for themselves and for the majority of their customers. The only choice we will be given is to purchase an Audi with whatever they decide is best or to purchase another car that has the different method of control. Personally I suspect Audi will go the way of the Q6 e-tron Concept and move move to the touch screen. It will be interesting to see what the next A3, probably due around 2019/2020, comes fitted with.
From a pure safety point of view, touch screens that shut down when the car is moving would probably be best but I cannot see that happening. Even it if it did I sure someone who find a way around it in the same way as the TV type picture on the MMI screen when the car is moving. Audi build in a cut out and people find a way around it. Perhaps cars that driver themselves is the answer, but I hope not in my lifetime.
From a pure safety point of view, touch screens that shut down when the car is moving would probably be best but I cannot see that happening. Even it if it did I sure someone who find a way around it in the same way as the TV type picture on the MMI screen when the car is moving. Audi build in a cut out and people find a way around it. Perhaps cars that driver themselves is the answer, but I hope not in my lifetime.
czappa
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This is great news. I just hope it plays well with other platforms. If there's one thing car makers don't do well, that's User interfaces, if there's one thing Google does well, that's a good UI.
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Just remembered the system in my current car, that I really don't like, is some form of android already. When you drop out of the menus it looks like a cheap £50 tablet from Argos, so admittedly may be an old version (the car isn't even a year old yet by the way). I knew there was a reason why this news didn't excite me.
Some more info here: https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/18/audi-android-custom-car-interface/
Looks pretty good but all those touch screens just seem like a pain to deal with when driving. If Audi want to copy anything from smartphones, they should start doing pre-order bonuses. For example, Samsung giving free wireless chargers 'worth' £100 if you pre-order Galaxy S8. Audi could have done it for the A3/S3 facelift, pre-order it and get free tech pack advanced.
paradigital
Registered User
That looks like a cheap Chinese tablet interface.
Eurgh.
Also, a weather widget? If you need a weather widget to tell you what the weather is like then you probably shouldn't be allowed to drive.
As is the way with all "smart" technology, fluff for fluff's sake.
Alex jb
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THIS/!\
I really hope they don't screw up the new UP! GTI with all this milenial tech that does nothing real for you carp.
You can get banned from driving for looking at your phone/tablet while driving... just because Audi sold it to you with the car, doesn't make it less distracting than your Samsung
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I find I am using Android Auto more than the Audi MMI, it understands my voice better, it seems to recognise any destination I want.
eg. I asked it the other day to drive me to the Halfords in my local town, picked it up straight away and told me the traffic conditions.
I had given up with the Audi MMI after about 10 attempts.
You can Google anything, like football results, news, weather, when driving and it just reads back the results.
It is still in Beta and early days for it but looking forward to a full implementation.
eg. I asked it the other day to drive me to the Halfords in my local town, picked it up straight away and told me the traffic conditions.
I had given up with the Audi MMI after about 10 attempts.
You can Google anything, like football results, news, weather, when driving and it just reads back the results.
It is still in Beta and early days for it but looking forward to a full implementation.
Alex jb
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Maybe old fart over 40's like me want a car to drive nicely and the other stuff is just fluff.
I appreciate active cruise control and emergency braking, these are actual 'driving features', voice commands to change radio stations etc are a waste of time for me.
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I appreciate active cruise control and emergency braking, these are actual 'driving features', voice commands to change radio stations etc are a waste of time for me.
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I like the voice commands. I don't use all of them, but they are a great safety feature because they allow you to operate these systems without taking your eyes off the road.
CHCCubs
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Hopefully it's of more use than the Andriod Auto currently available, which I've found rather pointless in my car. Also hope they don't go the touch screen route, Or at least offer the option for both touchscreen or a controller like Mazda currently does.
From what I have read and seen so far the Android Auto system works using a touch screen and voice commands.
