Benz does this with many feature upgrades by model year. I have a 2018 S560 which is hardware identical to the 2019's. Yet, only the 2019's get the "new" Mercedes Me Connect app which can include map updates via wifi, car data, new POI downloads, etc. They don't even allow for an upgrade purchase of the software. It's all to protect the upgrade path to each new model year, but is a bit short-sighted IMO - at least a paid upgrade to new compatible features would make sense and provide more profit, making both customer and company happy.

 

This is an issue on Mercedes side. They are hardcoding the AA logo and only presenting a smaller viewport (i.e. the video window layer) to AA running on the phone.

AA just sends a video output from the phone and the head unit decides how/where to render this. Unless MB fixes their software to allow advertising the full screen area to AA on the phone, this will not be fixed.

For CarPlay, MB did this already and that's the only reason it works there.

 

Very short-sighted I software design. They must be using the same software developers who designed the Boeing-Max MCAS (May Crash in A Second).

 

Where is the best place for all of us to complain and get more attention so this can be addressed?

 

While I'd like to see the display optimized and move the nav directions to where the AA logo is now - I do like the new updated Android Auto interface. Also, I like that the HUD in my car displays the Nav info from Android Auto as well - I didn't realize it could do that until recently. That allows me to move the Benz nav map to the small screen on the right of the speedo and keep AA on the main screen. Once (if) they allow widescreen, best of both worlds, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Based on my research in the Google product forums, Google is suggesting owners to give this feedback to the car manufacturers to give them a data point to take action (to update the software). If you're in the US, I think mbusa / MB corporate is where I think we should report this issue. I already did this for my C63S, but I feel more the voices higher the likelihood of change.

 

It is indeed unbelievable that the Widescreen possibility is disabled by MB.

Are there people who have access to the Engineering mode? There are many Android Auto and Carplay settings available, and mght be the Widescreen option there. Pity that even my dealer can (or will?) not access this Engineering mode (not to be confused with the Dealer menu, that easily can be accessed). Here a video of this engineering mode: Could people with Xentry or other systems be able to do this?

 

Everything I've seen on Engineering Mode suggests that it needs to be specifically enabled by Star Diag or Xentry, etc BEFORE any of these "shortcuts" work to turn it on. Videos abound showing E Mode is possible, but none of them address the issue that the specified button presses only work once the mode is enabled - and that is very hard to do. I've seen many instances of AndroidAuto/Carplay being enabled via OBD2 modules, so that makes me wonder if there is a similar activation via OBD2 to enable engineering mode or even to enable the full screen resolution. I also wonder how the OBD2 activators work - do they simply check a box to "turn on" the AAuto feature or do they actually install something? If they are actually writing something new, possibly this version of AAuto can support full screen. I have an iCarsoft OBD device that is MBenz specific, but don't believe it can program or write features. More research may be needed. Mercedes crippling these features bugs me, so I would love to figure out enabling Engineering Mode.

 

If you are able to figure this out, please share the details. I am so sick of these half *** solutions from Mercedes.

 

The best reason for blocking engineering mode (even from dealers) is that changing a setting has the ability to cause a great deal of irreversible damage and/or brick the vehicle.

How to enable engineering mode is well documented but it requires software that is tightly controlled. US dealers do not have access to it. AFAIK it is limited to the regional level and higher.

 

I was not referring to blocking access to engineering mode as that is understandable. I meant crippling features like Android Auto full screen support and mirrorlink that already exist but are arbitrarily blocked. These are not paid add-ons that we are trying to get for free, merely full feature enhancements of already existing software.

 

I don't believe that MB is blocking Android Auto full screen. The original implementation was not capable of fully using the 1920 x 720 screen resolution. Mirrorlink is offered/available in some markets. Conversely AA and CP are not offered/available in other markets. The bottom line is that all electronic features are market dependent.

 

It is indeed not difficult/complex to enable it, if you have the right tools and the required passcode. Local dealers indeed have no access, but I was wondering of for instance some MB tuning companies can enable this Engineering Mode. Of course it is not recommended to change all kind of settings, so it becomes a brick, but some evident settings like MirrorLink, hi-res Android Auto, wireless(!) CarPlay and AA, bluetooth tethering (was there in pre-facelifted cars, and it still there, but locked out!) , et cetera.

 

Mirrorlink is not market dependent. It is vehicle dependent, as it is available on A Class and also available in the Engineering Mode. Nor or "all electronic features" market dependent. Some features, such as the auto summon parking are market dependent, but that is usually based on local regulations. As for Benz and the AAuto screen, opinions here may vary, but with so many manufacturers supporting this software update, Benz is behind the curve. And (given the earlier-quoted canned response) not interested in helping. If the screen is capable of mirrorlink, Carplay and other full screen support, then it is capable of AAuto support. They simply do not choose to implement or allow it arbitrarily.

 

Somewhere on this forum I posted an engineering mode menu image. I don't recall ever seeing a hi-res AA menu item on NTG 5.5. Keep in mind that the menus are different for each NTG version.
W213 = NTG 5.5
W212 = NTG 4.5 or NTG 5.1 depending on model year

 

I'm not saying there is one in the Engineering Mode and I only mentioned it as having potential for a work-around and don't suggest digging around in there even if you can get in. AFAIK, that menu simply allows AAuto to run on systems where it hasn't been enabled already. Mirrorlink is in there as well and that supports full screen. Carplay supports full screen. So, the only reason AAuto does not is that Benz has chosen to not support it for some reason. All other functions of the new AAuto seem to work (in my 2018 S Class anyway). I can even see the Google Map satellite view while navigating. It would be so much nicer if the map expanded across the screen and wasn't partly obstructed by nav/directions panels bcz the screen is squeezed. Bottom line is that these programs are generally treated as pass-through so that when updated, the new features are there. They are not limited by the display or the Carplay and Mirrorlink screens wouldn't work either. It is obviously a limitation on AAuto specifically that Benz has and will not fix and I find this shortsighted. The updated AAuto includes high res/widescreen options that could be passed through for use.

It is a relatively minor annoyance, but one that should be easily fixed if Benz had any real interest in helping customers. We are not asking for a free upgrade to a paid feature. Simply allow these 3rd party apps to implement their own upgrades and pass them along as they already do with Carplay and others.

 

AA is NOT a MB product. Here is the disclaimer from the E class product info.

 

Who said it was? I'm not sure what your continuing argument is here. I'm just saying the screen implementation could be improved and it is MB that is in the way, not AAuto. The disclaimer merely talks about date usage and connection. In a previous post, a quote from MB said "Presently widescreen support is not an approved application in our units" and goes on to say they could pass the request to MB R&D. That also suggests that it's a Benz issue and not Android. As an example of why I'd like to see the screen fully implemented, here are a few photos from my S560 showing the updated AAuto screen in various configs. I have moved the Benz nav screen to my center cluster and am using AAuto in the normal nav screen. When no nav directions are needed, the screen is reasonably clear, but add some directions and the squeezed interface blocks much of the map. I also included shots of using Google Maps - satellite view. In any event, we are now talking past each other so I will leave it as it is. I want a simple improvement to screen implementation by Benz and you seem to believe it's an issue only Android can solve. Let's agree to disagree and move on

 

You seem to be fixated on MB. I'm a retired software guy and redesigning software with a 1440 pixel display to a 1920 pixel display is not a trivial exercise. The COMAND system is an off the shelf product from Bosch that has been replaced in newer model MB vehicles. Why should they spend millions of dollars to upgrade an obsolete system? The COMAND system in the W213 was known to be the very last iteration before being replaced.

 

I'm a software developer myself who has worked on AOSP (Android Open Source Platform) stack in the past with audio/video playback and rendering. Android Auto merely renders a video output from the phone with the touch events on the screen are relayed back to your phone. This keeps happening back and forth. The headunit advertises supported resolutions to the phone during the initial handshake, and both parties finally agree on the resolution. Where the video gets rendered on the display is up to the headunit. How MB has currently implemented AA is that they have a hardcoded AA logo on the left hand side (for LHD vehicles I believe) and the AA output on the right hand side. The video window/layer is called a viewport. MB needs to make changes to change the viewport resolution, its rendered position as well as remove the hardcoded AA logo to allow the phone to use the full screen resolution. Only HD resolutions (1280x720, 1920x1080, etc.) will cause AA on the phone to render the widescreen UI to the headunit.

For CarPlay however, headunit advertises the fullscreen resolution and hence you get widescreen resolution with the ability to utilize the full screen area.

Given how CarPlay is able to use the full screen area and both AA/CarPlay are phone driven with the headunit having to do basically nothing (other than passthrough audio/video/touch-events) this is not a huge change from MB side. If MB really wants to do it, they would. However, I feel MB will not bother updating the software and support the widescreen AA only with the future models (may be 2021??) since it's a relatively bigger change, need to spend QA cycles, may be even re-certify this software version for AA and all of this with less or no returns.

I am however not confident that this is possible using Engineering mode (unless they have some knobs in there to control all of these settings, very highly unlikely IMO).

 

Android Auto was updated again today. No change to wide-screen limitations noted herein. However, it doesn't feel like it is MB's issue. I again contend that Google hasn't enabled it yet. Indeed, has anyone seen ultra wide screen support in another vehicle for AA?

And this screen shot from developer settings reinforces my hypothesis.



Thoughts?

 

Here's an article on the new Lexus system that supposedly has widescreen support:

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/w...2020-lexus-rx/

It specifically mentions 2.66 aspect ratio as being available, and I believe I have heard that the MB 12.3" display is 1920 x 720, or 2.6667 aspect ratio. All of the pics shown, though, show a somewhat smaller map (maybe taking up 2/3 of the screen, not that dissimilar to the MB), with the other 1/3 having other, apparently AA information, like song being played, rather than the AA logo.

This is supposedly an article with a picture from a Lamborghini that has a wider map mode I've not seen elsewhere:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidAuto...escreen_modes/

I believe what is currently shown on the MB screen is at least the 1080 x 720 resolution, possibly more. Funny the AA screen capture above doesn't mention resolutions over 1080, as I'm /sure/ we're getting at least that. Perhaps the Allow Negotiate setting could set a higher resolution, I don't know.

 

Widescreen Android Auto has been enabled in phones for quite some time. I have an Android tablet tablet that runs HeadUnit reloaded, which allows my tablet to act as a headunit for AA projected from my phone and I can use the widescreen UI on this. It's all in the headunit software.

More evidence:
- Look at this reddit thread from Mar-2019.
- 2019 Mazda 3 with widescreen AA in Jul-2019.
- 2020 Lexus RX with widescreen AA.

There is no developer settings in Android Auto app which explicitly enables/disables widescreen UI. 720p and 1080p output modes automatically render the widescreen UI instead of the SD Android Auto UI.

 

Only 1280x720 is 720p. Similarly only 1920x1080 is 1080p. The aspect ratio needs to be (at least) 16:9 for widescreen.

Not sure about E-Class, but 2019 C-Class 10.25" screen has a native resolution of 1920x720. However with the overlay, the real video viewport resolution used by AA is 2/3rd of that roughly I would guess. It is also possible that MB advertises a standard SD resolution like 720x480 (i.e. 480p) and then stretches this in the viewport. I'm not entirely sure if there are other intermediate resolutions that the headunit can advertise other than 480p, 720p and 1080p, and if so MB might be taking that route.

 

You're right, my mind wasn't in gear there. But that does seem to indicate that while the scan lines are limited, the width is subject to change. Meaning that there does not appear to be an Android-specified limit of 16:9 (1200 x 720), but could support what I think the MB 12.3" screen is, 1920 x 720.