I switched from iPhone to Android, and CarPlay is the one thing I miss most
I will say upfront that I don’t like iPhones. Although I’m a Mac and iPad enthusiast, my three-year dalliance with iPhones has come to an end and I couldn’t be happier. Going back to an Android phone (an S25 Ultra) is like going wild, but it’s not all fireworks and celebrations.
You see, I now have a car that supports CarPlay and Android Auto, and switching back to Android Auto (which seems barely better than it did three years ago) became my only regret after moving back.
Android Auto sounds great, until you actually use it every day
It’s just a little flaky
There is no doubt that, like Android itself, Android Auto is by far the most flexible solution. Google Gemini is much better than Siri for hands-free operation. You have a lot more control over the look, feel, and presentation of Android Auto, and it supports more apps than CarPlay.
Perhaps most importantly, if you’re a power user and willing to brave developer mode, you can push past Android Auto’s limitations and truly make it your own.
These are wonderful options and a nice set of principles, but in practice I’ve found that even completely untouched by customization, Android Auto is “fragile”, for lack of a better word. It’s a level of fragility that I wouldn’t mind for normal phone use, but when driving I expect my phone to perform critical tasks like navigation and hands-free communication perfectly.
On my own S25 Ultra and my wife’s Z-Flip 6, we experienced random app crashes when using Android Auto, which wouldn’t be the end of the world, but for some reason the phones refuse to connect if the car is already running. So if my navigation fails and Android Auto disconnects, I have to park my car somewhere, turn it off, then turn it back on.
Of course, this is just anecdotal, and you could say that it’s my car that is the common point here. However, Android Auto worked reliably on my 2020 KIA and there were no firmware updates for my infotainment system. This leads me to believe that whatever broke Android Auto for us must have happened on the Google side of the equation.
CarPlay just works (and that matters more than features)
Ready to use
In the same car, using the same infotainment system, our iPhones with CarPlay just work. In the combined 5 years we’ve had iPhones between us, CarPlay has never failed, nor has Android Auto.
For what? Well, I’m not a software engineer, but as with all things iPhone, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that there just isn’t a lot of variation in hardware when it comes to iPhones. With Android, there are millions of combinations of cables, phones, versions and distributions of Android that can be connected. We use some of the more common Android phones, so I can only imagine the problem is worse the darker the handset.
Yes, Siri is currently not in the same league as Gemini, but honestly, for the basic commands I need to issue while driving, I’m pretty much covered. It’s not like I’m going to look up Wikipedia entries or have a long conversation with an AI robot while driving.
Despite the relative lack of customization options and apps compared to Android Auto, I’ve never needed to change anything in CarPlay in all the years I’ve used it. So ultimately the switch to Android Auto was a net negative for me.
Why Android Auto Struggles (And Why It’s Hard to Fix)
Too many moving parts
The fragmentation problem of Android Auto and Android as a whole is no laughing matter. In fact, it fills me with a slight sense of dread when I know I have to take a trip somewhere. In fact, I have a feeling that the automakers who insist on their own software solution might be right!
The worst part is that I have empathy for everyone involved. App developers, Google, phone makers, and automakers all have to coordinate things somehow to make it work when you plug your phone into your car or enable Android Auto wirelessly. Honestly, it’s actually a miracle that it works this often.
Changing platforms taught me one thing
There is no perfect solution
My car will be coming back for its annual service soon, and once again I will ask the dealer if there has been a firmware update, but I expect the answer to be the same as the previous five years. I plan to keep my car for at least ten more years, so I’m hoping that Android Auto will simply get better with time.
Otherwise, maybe I should consider getting a used iPhone that works but is otherwise in poor condition and installing it as a permanent part of my infotainment system.
