BernerDad

Picking up a 2017 A4 Premium with Navigation System today.

Wife loves to play audiobooks -- I am looking for some quick help to get started.
For her first drive.

We have iPhone 6. I get that MMI and CarPlay have duplicative features AND I can connect either via bluetooth or CarPlay. Alrright now if I tell her to switch back and forth between MMI and CarPlay it isn't going to work.

Already this is too much data for my wife.

What is the simplest way for me to set her up ---

Also she likes Navigation --- so for the first couple of weeks should I go with MMI or CarPlay?

thanks for any quick help

Strife1013

Maybe put her audiobooks on an SD card?

unashamedgeek

I think Apple CarPlay is easy to use and while I like the MMI, I know I won't like it as much once my free 6 months of the service ends as I won't be paying for it. Once that happens, I'll probably switch fully to CarPlay.
You don't say how your wife is using Audio Books. Is it through iTunes, Audible app, or something else?

I use Audible so if that is it, I'd go with CarPlay and have her always plug her phone in when she gets in the car. Then teach her how to use Apple Maps and Audible.

David Shaw

CarPlay is the easiest solution, and there is the built in Apple Audio Books app, so it's super easy to use. I use CarPlay most of the time.

BernerDad

Thanks unashamedgeek - we got our A4 two days ago and I a finally had some to just sit in it and experiment. Wife is used to plugging her iTouch into a port and gets her iBook going and only touches it when she needs to pause book. She is currently using Ibooks not Audible. Unfortunately she hates Siri --

1) In helping her transition SAFELY (i.e. not driving and fiddling with controls on the center console) to me the most low tech way and idiot proof way is her plugging her iTouch into the aux report... leaves you with manual control on her Itouch, as she is used to.

2)What I don't like about CarPlay in my initial experience is that there is little or no control of CarPlay from the steering wheel -- everything is done from the center console OR you tell Siri to do things. Wife's experience is that Siri always listens wrong and comes back with crazy results... when requesting information....So I have a bit of user negative experience with SIRI to overcome first.

3) There are two other options with her iTouch Bluetooth or Apple Cable via USB. These give you screen with the cable via USB giving you some functionality from the steering wheel.

4) I can try to get her to abandon the iTouch and only use her Iphone and move all her media over.

5) what I haven't figured out is Navigation -- we live in a region of CT where cell service is very spotty -- at my home there is none and surrounding area there is none --so Apple Maps is lacking - when we are starting off on a trip. Also I think in my initial impression MMI is superior to Apple Maps for directions.

Oh well work in progress -- I didn't think the tech would be this complicated -- I can tell you one thing -- my wife in NOT going to want to fiddle around when a connection gets dropped and you have to go into connection manager from settings.

thanks for any other thoughts

6) iOS 10 and Car Play -- be aware that iOS 10 and music list ALL your purchases including singles showing them in the albums sections -- the option to make iOS only show DOWNLOADED media is eliminated. This can depending on your library create a mess --- I have so much purchased music on my laptop and tend to keep my iPhone with the my favorites and newer music I don't want everything. I wound up this weekend dialing our phones back to iOS 9.3.5 -- it looks much cleaner on CarPlay when you can say ONLY show media on the phone.