Although our car’s console is compatible with Android Auto and Carplay, I always opt for Android Auto because there are four important things that make Apple’s infotainment system better. And the choices do not end here: although I can use Android Auto with or without cables, I always choose to connect our Android phone to the car to use Android Auto via cable. These are my reasons.
What type of driver are you?
First of all, the introductions. If your car has Android Auto and is compatible with wireless mode, you may have wondered what is better and the reality is that There is no universal answer that works for everyone.. It depends on both your tastes and your needs.
In my case, I normally live in Madrid and here I always take public transport, so the car is parked for weeks in the same place. When do I use the car then? Most of the time, to travel from Madrid to Pamplona and vice versa week yes – week no, as well as for the occasional vacation getaway. When I am in Pamplona, it is normal for me to move on foot, with few exceptions.
Bearing this in mind, it could be considered that I am an occasional long-haul driver. There will be people who, on the contrary, practically most of their car trips are for short routes and other people who take the car for everything.
Wired Android Auto? Yes please
This point is important to explain why I prefer wired Android Auto. The first reason has to do with the battery, but I can tell you in advance that it is by no means the most important: when I get in the car I know that my journey will last at least four hours, so if I opted for the wireless connection, my mobile would reach the end of the route very tight battery… if it comes. Connecting it with cable, the phone is charging while it projects Android Auto and reaches the destination at 100%.
The next reason has to do with reliability and errors. Along the way I cross rural areas, mountain passes and tunnels, moments in which telephone coverage suffers and in which changing the reliability of the cable for over-the-air transmission is buying more ballots so that that little dot on the map of the screen and the milestones that are happening get stuck or even lag behind. Thus, it may happen that the radar warning arrives too late.
And it is not necessary to go that far: even in the occasional underpass of the M-30 the progress of the route stops. I’m not going to avoid coverage problems, but yes I considerably reduce interference and connection failures.
The toll to pay in any case is having a cable swarming around the front of my car, in the area of the gear lever, which in addition to being a nuisance can pose a risk. In my case I have solved it with a short cable and find a place for the phone so that it does not move, is not in the way or is in view. In our case, under the controls of the air conditioner. And if we want to carry out any management on the mobile, it is yours to do it before starting, let the co-driver do it or if it is an emergency, stop.
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