Yeah, the simplest solution is often the best. That's the problem with digital keys and digital wallets in general. They are lacking real compelling use cases and are a solution to a non-existing problem for most people, and not really better or more convenient than the current solution or something as simple as a keypad. Mobile payments that started it all is the best example. Apple Pay, Google Pay etc. have been struggling for years to get real adoption, because for most people reaching for their credit card isn't really an issue and you still have to carry at least one physical credit card anyway, because not every place accepts mobile payments. The technology got a bit of a boost when chip cards were rolled out, because suddenly credit card transactions took a lot longer compared to swiping, and tap & pay was much faster. Then the pandemic hit and suddenly we had a killer use case. Everybody wanted to make touchless payments, but a new problem arose. One couldn't unlock their phone anymore with their face while wearing a mask, so another bust. Then the credit card companies responded and started to add NFC chips to their cards, and now you can make touchless payments with a physical credit card that doesn't need to be unlocked first. I fully understand MB not jumping on the digital keys bandwagon right away. There just isn't a compelling use case for most, especially if it doesn't fully replace the key fob.

 

BMW's will be the first one to support digital key v3. This means with an iPhone 11+ you have a full car key replacement, including proximity locking/unlocking and starting the car with ever having to take out the phone out of your pocket. This was supposed to be introduced with the iX and i4 but with the chip shortage, who knows. They call this BMW Digital Key Plus...
https://www.bmw.com/en/innovation/bm...-wideband.html

 

I truly miss that keypad from my old Explorer and my Dad's Lincoln

 

We have an iX on order it will support digital key v3. We always have our iPhones with us when we travel anyway so it will be interesting to head out with only our iPhone in hand.

 

Look forward to your feedback when the time comes. This is the first time the phone is a option in lieu of the key and like others I would love to get rid of the physical key in my pocket...

 

Yeah, definitely interested in how well it works. So far BMW is the only one supporting Apple CarKey at all. They developed it together with Apple and nobody else seems to be interested. I wonder why. Licensing fees must be unattractive or something.

 

Finally got my EQS580 delivered and can confirm that having both the EQS navigation *and* Apple CarPlay navigation enabled at the same time does not work (see picture). As others have said, using the built-in navigation and just having Waze (or any other CarPlay app) active works great.

 

Not to be annoying, but why use an app other than the MB system is really beyond me. The MB nav provides charging info directly correlated to the vehicles state of charge and routing, plus it has wonderful graphics that also work with the HUD. Finally, if music is the issue, it can be streamed by bluetooth as an aux connection. Finally, I have all my music collection of thousands of FLAC files on a USB, which I plug directly and is thus fully searchable by voice using Hey Mercedes. I simply don't get the addiction people have to their iPhone when the car has much better, easier to use, seamless integrated tech. Everywhere I read, everyone complains about what cars can or cannot do with their I phones when the stuff that comes bundled with the car is much better than the IOS system.

 

The primary reason are the police reports in Waze from other users, especially when doing road trips. Plus, podcasts using Overcast is obviously much easier to use using the big MBUX screen vs picking up my phone to change episode etc.

This is my first Mercedes (my recent cars have all been Teslas) and I'm positively surprised with MBUX.

 

I use a radar detector.... A much safer bet than Waze.​​​​​​​

 

Where did you mount it and did you hardwire? I've been thinking about getting one...

 

+1 on the radar detector. I never understood the obsession with the police reports in Waze. In my experience, the cops have long left by the time I pass those spots, and you can't rely on others actually reporting the police. A long range radar detector is far superior. I just mount mine with a suction cup holder below the rearview mirror. My current car has a convenient 12V socket below the glove compartment, so I just plug it in there. I actually only use it on longer trips outside my home area. Around here, I know where the cops are typically hiding, so I don't need anything to tell me, and I just tuck it away. The only caveat is LIDAR, but in my experience, LIDAR is mostly used in dense metropolitan areas like around here, so they can pick out individual cars. Once on the open interstate they mostly still use radar and I avoid the LIDAR traps by knowing where they are around here. There's one often sitting in a particular spot on a route I often take. Cops are too predictable. They seek out spots where they can hide, such as overpasses, so once you have developed an eye for those hiding spots, it's just a matter of slowing down near them.

 

It's best to have as many tools as possible. Radar detector, laser shifter, Escort Live, PCAS, Waze. Those are the things I used to use when I used to drive very fast cars.

 

There is only one place to mount if you have heat rejecting glass, lower middle winshield. There is also a spot on the right side of the rearwiew mirror and camera. But thats where I put my Ipass. I do not hardwire. There are plenty of USBs to plut it in. All you need is a USB to 12V plug. Some cars (according to manual) also include a 12V plug underneath the dash on the passenger side.

 

Agree. Escorts also use the same waze type reporting system when running it with the app on the phone. Beware the app is a phone battery killer. Im using an escort redline 360c. It's expensive, but it hardly falses, and it sniffs then out like a bloodhound. Incredible range. Worth the dough.

 

Because the navigation apps are just better, the routing is better, they are more updated. I used to make the same sort of comments about Apple CarPlay before I had a car with Apple CarPlay. I have literally never even used my MB GPS, not even once.

Why would I want to manipulate my phone when driving when I can access and choose my music through CarPlay? NO carmaker has a better UI than Apple or Android...

Now, with an EV I think there is a valid argument about the charging stops etc, but for just navigation its not even close.

And Google Maps has a satellite map view which looks way better than an OEM Nav map.

 

I don't use Waze, but I can confirm that google maps and/or apple maps will NOT run at the same time with the integrated MBUX navigation system on my EQS450+. When you try to run Carplay nav if the MBUX system is currently navigating for you, Carplay nav will stop and vice versa.

 

I pretty much have to disagree with this general statement. The phone apps have major flaws. Have you ever tried using Google Maps etc. outside population centers and off the beaten path where cell coverage is spotty? Try starting a new route w/o cell coverage. These apps quickly become useless. Google Maps' offline support is baroque and requires stitching together a large enough area using smaller rectangles. Completely unusable. There are a couple of apps with proper offline support. Ironically, one of them is HERE Maps from the same guys that supply the tech behind the MB nav system. You can download entire states and countries for offline use.

Another major flaw is they get lost if the GPS signal drops out, for example in tunnels. I did European Delivery and was using Google Maps over CarPlay exclusively as I didn't have live traffic in the MB system at the time. Google Maps was completely useless in a large tunnel system in Switzerland for example. I missed all the exits and forks inside of the tunnels, because GM had no clue where I was. Even here, GM often freaks out in downtown areas where tall buildings block or reflect the GPS signal.

The in-car systems rely on other sensors if the GPS signal drops out. They use the wheel speed, steering angle, compass and accelerometer to continue tracking the car's position for an extended period, so you don't get lost in tunnels or downtown areas with spotty GPS. As for the map updates, that's also no longer true. The MB maps get updated at least twice a year, which is more than enough given that road constructions take years. When I took delivery of my current car, a road construction near my house was finished around the same time. The maps that were preloaded from the factory still had the old layout on it, but shortly after activating the Mercedes me services I received two consecutive OTA updates which included the new road layout. A similar thing happened more recently with new express lanes that opened on several of our interstates. I now even get lane guidance in and out of the express lanes. Google Maps barely even is aware of HOA lanes.

As I said, I started out using CarPlay for the first two months in Europe, but I switched to the MB system once the car was here in the USA and everything was activated and the maps had been updated. The integration with the rest of the vehicle is also simply superior and I can conveniently send navigation destinations from my phone to the car, so I can still use my phone to find stuff, but then use the MB navigation to get me there. Lastly, as far as the routes go, maybe that's an artifact of the data quality in your area, but I regularly check Google Maps first for a route, and it rarely has a materially different route than the MB system.

 

The issue with cell service is legitimate, BUT, I hardly ever travel anywhere that gives me that problem, including in rural PA and southern WV where I travel a good bit. 98% of the time Google Maps operates flawlessly. No large tunnel systems here to deal with, and the tunnels I do drive through I have no issue with Google Maps keeping its way.

And OEM systems are going to be trending towards a internet based navigation, Toyota/Lexus has already adopted this so same issue with cell coverage.

 

Yes, goes to show that these are regional and individual issues, so you simply can't make a general statement that one is better than the other. While it works well for you, my road trips regularly take me to places with spotty cell coverage. We have mountains up north, canyons and forests where cell signals simply don't reach. National parks etc. rarely have cell coverage other than around visitor centers maybe. The USA has vast areas of nothing where cell coverage quickly drops off once you leave the interstate corridors. Car manufacturers going in this direction will have the same issues. Tesla is a good example where navigation doesn't work in many areas. I'm not surprised Toyota is doing this, because Japan is a small country and very well covered. I have family there. But making their design decision based on their home market is a bad idea.

 

BTW, on a similar note, cell coverage or lack thereof is an even bigger problem for EVs in the near term as carriers in the USA start shutting down their 3G networks. Apparently plenty of chargers that rely on 3G to communicate with their motherships. Also limits where chargers can be built since they need connectivity.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/44138/...-out-of-action

 

Thats the beauty of it, if I am in an area where I have no cell reception, I can always use the built in nav. That doesn't mean the built in nav is the best system for all situations.

 

Same here minus the laser shifter which are highly illegal in MN.
I like that Apple Maps now also feature the report police feature.

The more the better

 

Not sure about that. I find that the Google Maps displayed on CarPlay looks very antiquated compared to the vibrant MBUX 3D projection on the large central display. The implementation of augmented reality helps in the cities - don't have to keep glancing which turn I should take, it has the arrows on top of the live camera view. Also current generation of Nav gets updated information on weather, which is important in projecting the range. Overall, I prefer the MBUX version. With the Taycan, it was the other ways around - preferred the CarPlay, as the Porsche Nav was quite poor (tiny fonts, bland color scheme, no weather info incorporated). I was considering getting a subscription for ABetterRoutePlanner, but I find that MBUX is actually outstanding for routing / charging.

And just to clarify, Apple CarPlay works while using MB Navigation - for all other phone functions.

 

When discussing the Augmented reality that may be a different story, I don't have that. Just the ordinary MB navigation though, I see no reason to use it over Google Maps