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I have a question that I haven't found the answer to yet, that is: Can I install Apple Carplay and Android Auto at the same time on a vehicle

Jaimeteddy wrote:

I have a question that I haven't found the answer to yet, that is: Can I install Apple Carplay and Android Auto at the same time on a vehicle?

Hmmm... I think you can "install" them both, but I'm not sure both can be active at the same time. Never tried it. Imagine it would create a communication conflict.

Aren't they typically pre-installed factory options?

just brew it! wrote:

Aren't they typically pre-installed factory options?

Yeah, we've only owned the one vehicle with Carplay/Auto (and we've only used Apple Carplay), but they weren't things we had to "install". We basically just did the pairing to the vehicle plus enabling Carplay.

just brew it! wrote:

Aren't they typically pre-installed factory options?

Well, you can install an aftermarket audio unit. They will have more available options. Pre-installed ones depend on which ecosystem they support. AFAICT factory units that support both are still in the minority.

Or, the OP just had weird wording as the question may be suspect.

Flying Fox wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

Aren't they typically pre-installed factory options?

Well, you can install an aftermarket audio unit. They will have more available options. Pre-installed ones depend on which ecosystem they support. AFAICT factory units that support both are still in the minority.

Or, the OP just had weird wording as the question may be suspect.

Yeah, my point was, it's generally not something you "install" per se. It's a feature of the firmware of whatever system you have. So unless OP actually meant "can I install an aftermarket audio system that supports both", the question doesn't make much sense.

Flying Fox wrote:

AFAICT factory units that support both are still in the minority.

I think that's changing. I've rented a handful of cars over the last 6 months and any time I got a car with one, it supported both. That includes factory units from Kia, Nissan, and Chevy. Presumably all 2019 model years, but I don't know for sure.

The bigger problem is that Apple Music on Android apparently doesn't work with Android Auto, even though it was advertised. The only apps that I ever got to show up for music were Google Play Music and the Podcasts app.

FWIW our new Subaru supports both.

As JBI finally upgrades to a 21st Century ride.

Captain Ned wrote:

As JBI finally upgrades to a 21st Century ride.

Hey, the previous one was 21st century (barely). This is the first one from the current decade though!

I will say this, though - first vehicle I've owned that didn't have a cassette player in it! (Why were they still producing those into the 21st century, anyway?)

Android Auto and Carplay support are determined by the stereo/head unit. Some have support for only one or the other, some support both.

just brew it! wrote:

Captain Ned wrote:

As JBI finally upgrades to a 21st Century ride.

Hey, the previous one was 21st century (barely). This is the first one from the current decade though!

I will say this, though - first vehicle I've owned that didn't have a cassette player in it! (Why were they still producing those into the 21st century, anyway?)

The Ford Crown Vic was the last one, IIRC. RIP car casette deck, 1968-2011.

Jaimeteddy wrote:

I have a question that I haven't found the answer to yet, that is: Can I install Apple Carplay and Android Auto at the same time on a vehicle?

You don't install them - they're either supported or not by your head unit. You can generally find out which will be supported with some searching - car forums are a great source.

A lot of the pre-installed units will favor one over the other - and in many cases only support one or the other.

My 2019 Challenger supports both - but Carplay works far better than Auto. I don't believe you can use both at the same time; with mine it seems to stick with whichever device it finds first - that is, if it sees the iPhone first I get the CarPlay menus and stuff but nothing related to Auto. I haven't tried starting an app on the second device - not sure if that would make it switch, or just make it crash :b - I'm guessing the latter.

ludi wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

Captain Ned wrote:

As JBI finally upgrades to a 21st Century ride.

Hey, the previous one was 21st century (barely). This is the first one from the current decade though!

I will say this, though - first vehicle I've owned that didn't have a cassette player in it! (Why were they still producing those into the 21st century, anyway?)

The Ford Crown Vic was the last one, IIRC. RIP car casette deck, 1968-2011.

I know some of our heavy-duty work/utility trucks have incredibly barebones interiors; sometimes laughably so. I can remember seeing some with cassette decks, but can't remember the specific timeframe. It wouldn't surprise me if there was something a couple years newer than 2011 with cassette.

In any case, now that backup cameras are mandatory (as of 2018 I believe), every vehicle needs a screen. The result is that even said work vehicles have barebones iPod/USB playback (though the cheapest, slowest, clunkiest implementation possible). Hopefully in 5 years, Android Auto and Carplay will become ubiquitous and near-standard equipment.

The Egg wrote:

In any case, now that backup cameras are mandatory (as of 2018 I believe), every vehicle needs a screen.

Not entirely true. It is possible to put the camera output into the mirror. But since touchscreens are great at packaging content, and Android/Apple are doing car integration, AND the backup camera is a requirement...it makes sense to equip every new vehicle with a screen.

The Egg wrote:

Hopefully in 5 years, Android Auto and Carplay will become ubiquitous and near-standard equipment.

It's mostly there, from what I can tell. ONe roadblock is probably pricing, and manufacturers can charge a premium, therefore they do, even if it's mostly a software change. If any vehicle is lacking, I suspect it's just an interior refresh away from getting it.

Cassette players are much more reliable as an input than Early BT implementations. The cd-only that had not cassette or line-in were a dark period in personal audio.

Usacomp2k3 wrote:

Cassette players are much more reliable as an input than Early BT implementations.

The adapters ranged incredibly widely in quality though, even though the prices didn't vary by all that much. Turned out the best sounding ones were the generic ones that seemed to be exclusive to Radio Shack (go figure, and may they RIP). Many of the name-brand ones sounded like a cheap AM radio playing from under a sofa cushion, or made annoying grinding/scraping noises (from the internal gearing required to fool the cassette deck's auto-reverse mechanism).

Usacomp2k3 wrote:

The cd-only that had not cassette or line-in were a dark period in personal audio.

I managed to avoid that issue by not buying a new car over the entire 2002-2019 time period!

My '07 WRX was my first car with an Aux jack in the dash, while the '10 Legacy GT was the first one with USB.

Looks like the OP went AWOL, but no matter, I feel like rambling anyhow....

I have an '11 Nissan and ordered it with the special Rockford Fosgate sound package. It came with a nice scrolling display (non-touch) which worked nicely with my iPod Classic, but had a few annoying quicks. For instance, while playing an album\song you can simply go up one level to the list of other albums by the same artist (as-is normal behavior for an iPod). If you happen to power-cycle the unit it will continue playing where it left off, but attempting to navigate again will put you all the way back in the root folder at the letter A. Not the end of the world, but annoying if you have an extensive collection as I do (especially if you were playing an artist in the letter T). My previous 2008 aftermarket unit had no such issue.

I later came to find that the "Rockford Fosgate" aspect of the sound system only encompassed the amp and physical speakers. The head unit --while carrying the Rockford Fosgate badge-- was made by some unknown 3rd party, and had virtually no information available. Multiple inquiries about a possible firmware update (both in person and over the phone, multiple dealerships) yielded nothing; generally a look as though I was speaking a foreign language. While I'm sure there's something in the fine print, they're pushing it pretty far to sell a "Rockford Fosgate Sound System" and then give people a rando 3rd party head unit. Not just that, but with a false label on the headunit to boot.

In any case, I eventually replaced the head unit in mid-2017. While I'm sure high-end luxury cars are probably worse, it was still an exceptionally difficult install.

• Regular wiring harness (in this case, mostly just power connections, dimmer, and a few misc)
• Standard RCA amp connections (easy enough)
• Had to tap my own ground into the frame. (For reasons I can't explain, this wasn't in the standard wiring harness. Not sure how the factory radio grounds itself)
• Wire from new unit to power antenna (signal boosting, not physical movement), same wire also to amp as power-on signal
• Parking brake monitoring wire, need to access firmware update and additional settings (Yes, there are defeat devices, but each new radio revision breaks them; it's a constant game of cat and mouse)
• USB to proprietary adapter, needed to utilize the factory USB connection in center console
• Steering wheel controls. Requires it's own interface module with unique wiring and programming for each setup. Probably the most difficult step, and still not working quite right. Likely needs a specific standalone resistor installed in-line
• Removal of standalone bluetooth transceiver from underneath driver seat. Bridge 8-10 wire connections from the bluetooth harness under the seat based on arcane instructions (cannot be done from stereo side)
• Install and run wire for standalone mic included with radio (couldn't figure out how to use stock mic in vehicle)
• Physically make everything fit behind the head unit, along with the dismantling and reassembly of half the dash

So yeah, safe to say it was a bit of a rough time. Sorry for the rant.