Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

Dear Mazda,

Please offer current Mazda owners an early adopter discount. This way you get our money with a good faith gesture, we get AA & ACP, and everyone is happy! I also bet you’ll get faster adoption and happier customers!

K thnx bai
 
But I think you are oversimplifying. To your point, if "all else is equal", then let that be the deciding factor. It is never the case where all else is equal--but between CX-9, Highlander, Pilot, Santa Fe, Sorento, and whatever other competitor you want to plug in, a buyer is going to get a very good or great vehicle, especially in top of the line trim, and it may be something minor that pushes them from one car to another--including the availability of a certain color.

And a small company like Mazda has to realize and appreciate this fact.


I do fully agree with this. Even with my praise of the CX-9, right up to the week that I bought it, I was still 50/50 with the Highlander. I had narrowed it to those after a year of thinking about my next vehicle. A vehicle purchase decision, if done with thought and research, is decided by the sum of its qualities. I'll concede that if you have choices that are tied, then the one that has AA/CP could break that tie. I just hope one wouldn't place more importance on that factor than whether they're comfortable in the car or something fundamental like that.

The Highlander/ CX-9 battle went like this in the end. I loved them both. The Highlander tugged at my sensible, long term side. The CX-9 ignited my passionate car loving side. I decided what I WANTED to own was the CX-9 knowing that resale wouldn't be as high (keeping at least 8 years anyway) or that the turbo would likely need more maintenance down the road than the Toyota V6.
 
I have yet to experience any of those symptoms or issues in my 2017 Mazda 6 (same system as your CX-9).
I don't know what your problems are, but my phone connects in a matter of seconds after I get in the car.
The Nav system boots up quickly, and has never let me down. I used it every day during my trip to Florida and back (from Canada), and it worked flawlessly.
Maybe I'm naive, or just lucky, but I like the info system in the Mazda, and it has done everything it's supposed to do.
As for AA/APC.....I could care less.

Well,
I assure you this is a big problem experienced by many. Reboots, blanking, etc. in previous threads people that didnt have the issue, started having the issues at a later time. In my case, I needed a new CMU and a year later, problems are crippling back up again.
 
If one wonders why the American and Korean brands were the first to get these systems implemented, just think about who makes most of the phones. The Japanese fell behind in this area years ago. Sony used to be such a prominent brand and now the one big thing they still have is PlayStation. They even lost the TV business that they once had a stronghold on.

iOS and Android are American platforms. S. Korea makes most Android devices. Of course the car brands from these countries have an edge in infotainment.
 
If one wonders why the American and Korean brands were the first to get these systems implemented, just think about who makes most of the phones. The Japanese fell behind in this area years ago. Sony used to be such a prominent brand and now the one big thing they still have is PlayStation. They even lost the TV business that they once had a stronghold on.

iOS and Android are American platforms. S. Korea makes most Android devices. Of course the car brands from these countries have an edge in infotainment.

But it's not like Mazda makes its own infotainment system. Who is Mazda's supplier? It's not like Mazda can't find a new supplier if the system isn't up to Mazda's QC standards.
 
But it's not like Mazda makes its own infotainment system. Who is Mazda's supplier? It's not like Mazda can't find a new supplier if the system isn't up to Mazda's QC standards.

Who's to say they don't? While they likely don't make it from the ground up, I'm pretty sure they, and other automakers create the coding in house for their own UI's/skins/layouts/features, etc. These things are tied into many of the cars systems, after all.
 
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But it's not like Mazda makes its own infotainment system. Who is Mazda's supplier? It's not like Mazda can't find a new supplier if the system isn't up to Mazda's QC standards.

I was fascinated a month or so ago when I rented a car in Florida. It was a 2018 Toyota Yaris iA, but it had the EXACT same infotainment system, down to the controls between the seats and on the steering wheel. I got out of the car a couple times to check the badging to make sure I wasn't really in a Mazda. Took me by surprise, but was later glad since I knew exactly how to use it. :D
 
I was fascinated a month or so ago when I rented a car in Florida. It was a 2018 Toyota Yaris iA, but it had the EXACT same infotainment system, down to the controls between the seats and on the steering wheel. I got out of the car a couple times to check the badging to make sure I wasn't really in a Mazda. Took me by surprise, but was later glad since I knew exactly how to use it. :D

That's because the Yaris iA is actually just a rebadged (and slightly restyled) Mazda2. Mazda and Toyota are cooperating a lot more these days, this is one example.

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CarPlay

A couple of years ago, the ceo (according to Mac rumors) stated that CP/AA would be available as a retrofit back to 2014. At least CP requires that the USB ports be replaced and the software needs to be added to the SD drive. CP will most likely have a license fee while google gives things away like your privacy.

Speaking only for myself, if I had the option to buy the upgrade for $200-300, I would, gladly. Its about $20 in hardware, .5 hrs of tech time and a $60 license fee plus profit. $20+$45+$60+$125= $250.
 
I emailed Mazda to ask if CarPlay/AA will be available to prior models when the 2019 comes out, if it requires any hardware upgrades, and how much it will cost. Here is the response:

At this time Mazda hasn't released any other information on the cost of this feature for previous CX-9 models (2016-2018) or if software/hardware replacement would be needed. We will have more information once the feature comes out sometime this summer.
 
I emailed Mazda to ask if CarPlay/AA will be available to prior models when the 2019 comes out, if it requires any hardware upgrades, and how much it will cost. Here is the response:

At this time Mazda hasn't released any other information on the cost of this feature for previous CX-9 models (2016-2018) or if software/hardware replacement would be needed. We will have more information once the feature comes out sometime this summer.

That's not the best reply I've ever seen.
 
Right? How could they not know? Ugh.

Whoever wrote that obviously wasn't writing in an official capacity. Someone just responding to an individual question.

It largely doesn't make sense. They're saying they'll only know how this works AFTER it comes out? Does car company only know how the car is going to function after it hits dealers?
 
Whoever wrote that obviously wasn't writing in an official capacity. Someone just responding to an individual question.

It largely doesn't make sense. They're saying they'll only know how this works AFTER it comes out? Does car company only know how the car is going to function after it hits dealers?

Again, goes back to my comment about execution. You get the sense that Mazda's corporate system is still disjointed especially in North America.
 
I emailed Mazda to ask if CarPlay/AA will be available to prior models when the 2019 comes out, if it requires any hardware upgrades, and how much it will cost. Here is the response:

At this time Mazda hasn't released any other information on the cost of this feature for previous CX-9 models (2016-2018) or if software/hardware replacement would be needed. We will have more information once the feature comes out sometime this summer.

Given that AA was up and running on existing 2016/17/18 entertainment systems until Mazda killed it, there are no additional requirements for AA to run in these vehicles.
 
Not sure what's so compelling about Apple Car Play that would make me want to pay after the fact to have it installed? Maybe if it mirrored Waze or Google Maps (which I didn't even think Android Auto did).

I use Android auto with my mazda cx9 2016 awd GT Turbo and I use waze and google maps without any problem. every day.
 
Well,
I assure you this is a big problem experienced by many. Reboots, blanking, etc. in previous threads people that didnt have the issue, started having the issues at a later time. In my case, I needed a new CMU and a year later, problems are crippling back up again.

my original GPS hangs from time to time. But I just use android auto and my android phone with Waze with the mazda big screen. I believe I have 6 months without using the mazda gps app. I turn it 3 weeks ago and after 3 days, hangs...
 
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