Why would I want Android Auto?

22 million. Wow. I can't even imagine. My metro area is 2....

cubanomx said:

I have AA in my Mazda CX9 2016 AWD since more than a year now via AIO and the best feature for me is the ability to put WAZE into the SUV big screen. The original GPS in the Mazda still hangs so I mostly use Waze. And because I live in Mexico City, a city with more than 22 million inhabitants, lot of people here have Waze so I can enjoy real time traffic.

The bad thing is the AA with AIO requires the USB connection and I hate to use cables so I don't use AA since about 4 months now

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current version of AA from AIO supports wireless AA. I tried it when it first came out and was able to get it working a few times but it was buggy and did not work 100% of the time (or even 50%) for that matter. Also, it requires you to turn on headunit wifi each time you start the car so that it will connect to the AA server that you have to run on your phone. I could see it being okay if you set it up when you know you have a long trip of several hours and will not be turning the car off but it was too much hassle for day to day use when the cable connection works just fine.

I think it's late and of silly to hate cables that much . . .

7eregrine said:

I think it's late and of silly to hate cables that much . . .

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I think the cars/systems designed for wireless AA also have wireless charging, so you just place your phone on the built-in charging pad/console area. It would be nice to just place the phone down and have everything work wireless but wireless charging doesn't seem to be widely supported by car manufacturers or Android phone makers.

greggmischenko said:

I think the cars/systems designed for wireless AA also have wireless charging, so you just place your phone on the built-in charging pad/console area. It would be nice to just place the phone down and have everything work wireless but wireless charging doesn't seem to be widely supported by car manufacturers or Android phone makers.

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"Nokia first adopted Qi in its Lumia 920 phone in 2012, and the Google/LG Nexus 4 followed later that year. Toyota began offering a Qi charging cradle as a factory option on its 2013 Avalon Limited, with Ssangyong the second car manufacturer to offer a Qi option, also in 2013.

In 2015, a survey found that 76% of people surveyed in the United States, United Kingdom, and China were aware of wireless charging (an increase from 36% the previous year), and 20% were using it * however only 16% of those using it were using it daily. Furniture retailer IKEA introduced lamps and tables with integrated wireless chargers for sale in 2015, and the Lexus NX gained an optional Qi charging pad in the center console. An estimated 120 million wirelessly charging phones were sold that year, notably the Samsung Galaxy S6, which supported both Qi and the competing Power Matters Alliance standards. However, the existence of several competing wireless charging standards was still seen as a barrier to adoption.

By early 2017, Qi had displaced the competing standards, with no new products featuring Rezence. On September 12, 2017, Apple Inc. announced that their new smartphones, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X, will support the Qi standard. Apple also announced plans to expand the standard with a new protocol called AirPower."

Sounds like Android phone makers and Toyota/Lexus were early adopters. Wireless charging for this specific purpose just hasn't been a priority for most people.

I wonder if a case for Near-Field Communication (NFC) could be made to enable wireless AA/ACP.

I don't think NFC is really designed to hold a connection nor is it high bandwidth.

7eregrine said:

I don't think NFCis really designed to hold a connection nor is it high bandwidth.

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My bad, you're right.