voip1

I know what Carplay does as I've played with it plenty and am getting ready to retrofit an older vehicle with a Pioneer deck that has Carplay.

As to the demographics of how affluent iOS users vs Android users are, that's just a fact, even if you don't like the fact.

BlankProc

Easy pal. Interface.

amp512

Agreed, the touch pad, little mouse shaped piece of **** is useless even when it works, i think mine has worked about 3-5% of the time out of all time I have spent inside my C300 since March. I have little over 2300 miles. I want to bring my car to a dealer to have them look at touch pad but virtually it has never worked so my hand never touches the touch pad. I would definitely use it if it was working for things like looking up phone book by typing/swiping a letter or something. But there are more pressing quality issues with this vehicle, and non working touch pad is not one of them. Airplay with dialer/jogger would be nice to have if I can physically remove the touch interface thingy.

hans007

i'm actually an android dev. and yes iphones skew much higher wealth demographics wise.

that said basically anyone can "afford" an iphone , just the wealthy tend to have them.

most people do not buy used phones, or even shop very wisely, so if you are talking "sticker price" of a phone at say verizon or some retailer, there are infinitely more cheap android phones than iphones (there are $50 android phones out there... and most of the $100-150 ones are honestly not decent).


apple makes some decent technology, but they are also a "lifestyle" brand for the affluent as is mercedes, bmw, etc, so there is obviously going to be a lot of overlap. the interesting thing is the weird market share skew .

japan is about 45% iphone vs 55% android. france weirdly is only something like 18-20% iphone. same with germany. america is in the low 40s with basically the rest going to android. the UK and australia i believe are similar iphone use. spain something like 10-15% iphone. in latin america / south america believe it or not windows phone outsells iphone (as the otheres have posted much larger selection of android phones for less money).

i actually once repaired an iphone 3GS to send to my moms niece in the philippines. she was so happy to get this luxury american product over say a galaxy. so yeah in asia, it sort of is a lifestyle brand (all the chinese with brand new ferraris and mercedes have to get what the american rich have)

voip1

Note that I never said I personally believe that iOS is better than Android. As you summarized though the demographics skew towards more affluent people being more likely to be using Macs and iOS products than MS Windows and Android.

In any event, I'm quite happy with my Mac(s), iPhone(s), iPad(s), etc and am miffed that Mercedes is putting the new tech in the A class before the C class, S class, E class, etc.

floridadriver

Yea, I read it. You didn't read, or able to understand my point.

Several, similar, more credible articles about a year and a half ago announced it would be in the 2015 C Class. It's not.

The more credible ones gone, included Apple's site, and MB site. Here's some still active...
http://www.torquenews.com/1084/apple...s-benz-c-class
http://www.autobytel.com/mercedes-be...arplay-122994/
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/ho...deo-78071.html


In other words, I will believe it when I see it in a production MB. Seems Apple and MB both my way or highway companies. Cool that Carplay going wireless in iOS 9.0 , announced this afternoon by Apple...not sure if that delays more.

Sol01

agreed. just an overhyped apple product

Sol01

I also agree with idrive being more intuitive than command. most comparison tests also found it to be the case

floridadriver

That said, no matter if a fan or not, a 4 year old can run an iPad or iPhone with ease, my friends who are computer programmers get lost in submenus and flustered with Comand.

I know I'm no programmer or guru, but how cool if could run the screen off your android/apple/what the heck ever that can run an app for the car's systems. That would help things not get so obsolete so quickly. And though Comand doable for me, and clear screen, the apps and much of what it 'could' do I just don't try and muck with.

joshg1001

Nowhere in the article does it say the C class will not get it until 2017. That was early speculation as the earliest model to get Carplay but it seems like they are able to integrate it faster. Chances are it will come with most if not all 2016 models

getto

I like your attitude. Can't wait for Carplay in the C-Class.

MASSC450

I have a Samsung S5...so I could care less.

As long as the C300's Bluetooth links to my phone I'll be happy.

getto

rightly so

CO2010

Whatever happened to the good ole days of a steering wheel, throttle and brake. Let's see how much technology we can jam pack in these cars! The more sh*t you have, the more sh*t that breaks.

getto

I feel you bro

turt

Well it doesn't say much... My 3 year old son can run his Samsung Android tablet (launch his favorite apps, navigate through the menus, ...) since he's 1

voip1

Ya, let's get rid of power windows, power steering, power seats and the automatic transmission while we are at it.

kellens

Yea, but can your tablet addicted kid quickly find a specific option without trying to mis-navigate the dozens of in the oddly placed submenus on Comand? The point was Comand is overly complex and the smart phone makers (Apple especially) pioneered easy user interface.

When Mercedes eventually works a deal with Apple and integrates Carplay, there's really no use for Comand, or it's slow apps which charge monthly. Eventually they'll do it out of need from it's competitors offering it, and will make up the money somewhere else.

One thing is for sure, the likelihood of backwards compatibility is looking pretty low for current MB owners right about now.

kellens

The more tech the more their profit. The more it breaks, even more profit. I agree with you though, there is some benefits to keeping it simple where able.

Amazing not matter what smartphone you like, the TV news top story all day on financial and news channels has been the Apple announcements from yesterday. Wish I would have bought stock in that 20 years ago.

voip1

Cadillac just announced that all 2016 model year cars will have Carplay. The CTS/ATS and other cars with CUE all have touch-screen, so it has the potential to be a slightly better integration than what will be possible for Mercedes with the jog/touch integration.

As you correctly point out, Mercedes/BMW/Audi are going to have to do it at some point simply from a competition standpoint. It is likely that Mercedes plan to launch for the 2015 model year C-class was far too aggressive and that they need new hardware, etc... to make it happen.

Of course they are still going to make buyers upgrade to their "premium" infotainment system to get features like CarPlay or Android Auto... so even if they can't wring out a few bucks in monthly app subscriptions they will continue getting away with charging $3,000 for a slightly better screen and stereo that cost them perhaps $200 more than the base model.

voip1

The size of Kim Kardashian's *** and how much photo-shopping they can do on that jelly can is always bigger news than financial markets OR Apple announcements.

10 years or so ago a friend insisted I buy Apple stuck because it was "only" $80 a share. I laughed my *** off even though I easily could have bought 200 or more shares at the time with money I had laying around doing nothing but earning 1%.

Big, big mistake on my part not taking that plunge.

kellens

As hot as Apple seems as of today, I bet MB offers a $8,500+ "Smartphone Package" option, including carpay, they'd get some bites.

I wouldn't look for carpay until they can make a lot $$ out of it, GM/Ford offers it they lose out on a lot less money than the German brands who really stick it to buyers with cost of tech. And even then, are the carplay units out from last year which require plug in, compatible with the "wireless carpay" coming out this year? These companies (car and smartphone) only exist to make profit.

lowpost

Carplay is great for those with iphones. No need to crap on the OP if it's not for you. After 3 posts its seems to be a big deal for you to emphatically demonstrate how much you could care less lol. Thank you for your outstanding contribution.

ManiacGT

You're welcome.

buckerine

I'm with you on this. iDrive is a lot more cleaner of an interface and it takes fewer steps to accomplish the same thing in COMAND. I'm coming from a 2014 X5 and there was definitely a learning curve with COMAND, and I'm more tech savvy than most.

Although, I do have to say CarPlay is a huge draw for me especially once cars are outfitted with the wireless version. The iOS interface will undoubtedly be way easier to use than anything other car manufacturers can come up with on their own. And really, why shouldn't the infotainment system just be an extension of your phone? No need to learn a new interface and all of the data/apps you use are immediately accessible with no hoops to jump through. Technology when implemented correctly SHOULD be that seamless.