[droid42]

Hi All,

I think this might be my first post here (but can't be sure due to having been active on many car forums over the years).

I've just swapped my F80 M3 for a MY21 M340d. Trackdays etc. are out of my system now so I decided to go for something slightly more "sensible" before the M3 started to rack up big bills. Love the car so far (and the G20 in general). It's not an M3 but I didn't want it to be ;-)

I was curious about others' experiences with CarPlay. I can see its benefits and the tech is cool, but the constant interruptions (especially to audio) are becoming annoying.

Has anyone ever used CarPlay for a while and then eventually disabled it completely? If so, did you find that all the default BMW stuff works just as well? What did you miss the most, if anything?

Ian.

[Talisman77]

Not quite what you're after as I'm not an Apple user, but before my M340i I would swear by Android Auto - however, I found the screen to be lacklustre on the display and consequently decided to run without AA; using just the BMW maps and Spotify directly for music. Messages still come through bluetooth.

The net result is I'm very happy not relying on phone integrations. I actually really enjoy the clean minimalist look of the map on the HUD when it comes to junctions/roundabouts etc. Makes it very clear to navigate, which was my primary concern with Android Auto as up til the M340i I'd been using Google Maps religiously.

HTH

[Axeman15]

I've dabbled with CarPlay but use the default car apps for nav and Spotify 99% of the time. I think HUD works best with the built in nav.

Quite often on short local trips I don't take a phone with me so CarPlay is of no use.

[droid42]

Originally Posted by Talisman77

The net result is I'm very happy not relying on phone integrations. I actually really enjoy the clean minimalist look of the map on the HUD when it comes to junctions/roundabouts etc. Makes it very clear to navigate, which was my primary concern with Android Auto as up til the M340i I'd been using Google Maps religiously.

HTH

Totally agree about the HUD. Much clearer (and bigger) than previous F80 and much better when using the integrated SatNav.

Ian.

[ifr]

What iPhone are you using?

I have an 11 Pro Max on 14.5.1 and i-step 03/2021.550 and have zero audio issues.

I did used to experience the occasional bass drop out, but that seems to have been fixed either by Apple or BMW at some point. Probably the latter.

I'm not a big fan of the BMW nav, the routing isn't on par with the google maps, tomtom offerings. It's better than it used to be, but rerouting in particular is still really bad. HUD map is nice, though Id never trust it to give me the best possible route.

I flit between 3 use cases and these are my order of preference:
1) CarPlay only - YouTube for music, Google maps and Apple Maps for nav (in HUD). Telephone and messages in CP. Siri works better than BMW or the current Alexa integration

2) CarPlay and iDrive integration - YT for music, idrive nav and CP TomTom for nav, Siri for voice, telephone and messages in CP

3) iDrive only - for when I go to the lake and dont have my phone with me. Everything, music, telephone, messages, nav, are just average. OK but dont work as well as CP for me

[Keith_C]

Tried AA when it came in the OTA update, managed about 5 miles on Waze so tried Google Maps, just look so cheap on the screen and the integration with HUD etc and never used it since. As Talisman said, prefer everything about the iDrive 7 over phone, combined with Spotify and Alexa now, it does everything I need and more and looks so much better the=an the phone equivalents.

[droid42]

Thanks all for the comments so far.

My BMW app says "not supported" for Alexa, which I assume is because I'm still on 2020.7 software. I tried getting the car to search for software upgrades today and, after a long time, it said none available. That's weird. I thought there was a Feb 2021 upgrade (?)

Ian.

[willougs]

Originally Posted by droid42

Thanks all for the comments so far.

My BMW app says "not supported" for Alexa, which I assume is because I'm still on 2020.7 software. I tried getting the car to search for software upgrades today and, after a long time, it said none available. That's weird. I thought there was a Feb 2021 upgrade (?)

Ian.

There is a Mar 2021 kicking around, but afaik 2020.11 is the one thats being sent out OTA. Think it's being offered in batches so you may need to just sit tight and wait.

[Keith_C]

Originally Posted by droid42

Thanks all for the comments so far.

My BMW app says "not supported" for Alexa, which I assume is because I'm still on 2020.7 software. I tried getting the car to search for software upgrades today and, after a long time, it said none available. That's weird. I thought there was a Feb 2021 upgrade (?)

Ian.

There's no rhyme or reason as to who gets the OTA updates, some early builds, some late builds and some not at all. Unfortunately you're just going to have to wait it out till you get the notification or you can try and persuade your dealer to update it for you.