Imagine you're already running late and suddenly realize you forgot how to get there. Thankfully, you have Apple CarPlay running, so you can simply ask Siri to pull up directions.
The set-tup as it was left much to be desired and was rudimentary at best. Siri was way off base when it responded to voice commands, and the app offering is limited. A few more apps are due down the road, including Spotify and Podcasts, but for now CarPlay is stuck with Maps, Phone, Messages and Music - the barest infotainment essentials.
It's cool to ask your car to pull up directions to some unfamiliar destination, but CarPlay neither felt absolutely necessary or the best option I could have turned to for my navigation, music or communicating needs.
Too Simple plugins
CarPlay requires users to plug their iPhones into the car. It's as simple as that; you're basically tethering your iPhone and accessing a few of its (very basic) apps through your car's system.
My demo involved an iPhone 5S standing up in a disc-shaped port near the cup holders, but, a manager of embedded software at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development, said one day users will likely connect their iPhone via a Lightening cable coming from inside the car's center console. That way, you could store your iPhone in the console without worrying about it falling on the car floor or spilling a drink on it.
Once your iPhone is hooked up, CarPlay boots up and is ready to rumble. Sound channels through your car's speakers and its interior microphones relay your voice commands.
Siri is not a good co-pilot
One of CarPlay's selling points is that drivers have a co-pilot(!) in voice-controlled Siri. Let's just say that in my time with the digital companion, I would have kicked it to the curb.To be fair, tech demos on location can often be hindered by poor connectivity and other environmental factors, so sometimes miscues can be forgiven.
Still, Siri was laughably inept at understanding basic voice commands.
A request to find coffee initiated a response of, "I couldn't find a place called 'Call me.'" This was just one of several potholes Siri found itself stepping in.
Knob improvements to come
The plan is to eventually optimize when voice commands are used and eliminate touch as much as possible. They told me that Mercedes plans to implement touchscreen controls in the main control knob you use to control CarPlay, but that feature isn't available yet.Mercedes' dashboard CarPlay display doesn't support touch either, and they explained that at least in its case, the company felt it was too distracting to be gazing at and leaning forward to fiddle with a screen at eye-level. Instead, the car maker wants drivers to have a screen they can glance at comfortably while controlling it from a "lean back and drive" position.
The knob itself is sleek and shiny. Twisting and pressing the dial makes selections, and differently timed presses do different things. For example, if you're deep in the Music app, a short press will take you back one step while a long press will take you back to the main menu.
Calls, texts and the Maps
I found CarPlay's call and text capabilities to be fair, but there's a lot of interaction and a little too much lag time to send a text.Messages can be read aloud, and then you have the option to reply or leave it alone. I suppose CarPlay got the communications job done, but it all felt slightly cumbersome and as though Apple didn't put much effort into optimizing the exchange for the car.
We never hit the road with Maps, but with Siri's inability to decipher vocal commands and Apple Maps' shoddy reputation, I wouldn't trust the system to get me where I needed to go, at least not to start.
One nice feature is that a thumbnail image of your Maps route stays fixed to the upper left-hand corner of the tablet screen if you move into other apps. It's a pleasant reminder CarPlay hasn't forgotten it's directing you where you're steering to.
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