rich2parry

I installed Android Auto months before I got my 2018 Q7 Prestige thinking it would be useful. Now that I have my Q7, I feel I have everything I need and more built into the car. Before I delete the app, is there something I am missing, is Android Auto useful for something on a Q7 Prestige?

Rich

hayde_bre

It has lower resolution compared to Audi MMI, so it looks like you just put a cheap in-dash screen on your dash.
You cannot scroll past 10 lines or so when you are driving, so forget about being able to pick songs/playlists/channels/etc.. unless you stop the car.
It's clunky, it sometimes freezes and will not reboot even if you go back to MMI.
Main menu is limited, it doesn't let you go into weather to see weather forecast, for example, or get news, etc from it's own Home screen. Maybe I'm missing something but when you click on Weather, it does nothing.
Requires USB connection, probably because it drains large amount of battery, and may cause overheating.
It renders your phone useless, you can't just pick up and look at a text message or reply unless you disconnect USB connection first.
You can't keep android auto google maps on screen and use MMI to play music at the same time, for example. You need to use Android Auto music app, which to be fair has a lot of options like Spotify, Tune In, Amazon, Play Music, etc..
Sound is better compared to Bluetooth connection.
Google maps is much easier to use than MMI maps.
Voice recognition is near flawless compared to MMI, but I didn't do the voice training yet, so that might be one reason.
You can easily control google commands by pressing and holding the voice button on your steering wheel. (Short press, MMI, long press Google) but this also works without Android Auto. With AA, it helps seeing the results on screen.
Incoming calls look much nicer with Android Auto with large contact screen.

I just hooked up the other day and used it for 2 days. It's a great idea, but it feels like a demo run for a possibly pay service with more features in the future.
Give it a try, it's interesting, but limited in where it can be useful.

PS: If you want most accurate traffic information, use Google Maps. Even though we have Google Earth/Satellite imagery on our dash & VC, traffic data, directions, navigational calculation, and other information is not supplied by google. While I sit in slow traffic, my VC map is showing me green traffic condition, while Google Maps is clearly showing light red/dark orange indicating stop & go. I wish we could choose traffic provider on MMI.

rich2parry

Hayde,

Thank you for the detailed reply. While there may be some benefit to AA most of your comments seem pretty negative; so for now I've deleted AA from my cell phone and will concentrate on learning and mastering the features I have. Of the items you mentioned, "Traffic Info" is the one that is important, so I may look at AA again, but right now I'm a little overwhelmed with all the Audi features.

Thanks again,
Rich

Jeffrey Cutter

Little hasty on the delete there IMO, I'd reinstall it and give it a fair shake.

It seems like a matter of time to me before Android Auto and Apple CarPlay take over. I don't see how car manufacturers stand a chance at making better long term, plus you already pay for your phone. The prices Audi wants for their services are unwarranted.

I use Android Auto regularly for Google Maps, which is solid for navigation and traffic, already knowing where you're going based on calendar, e-mail, and recent searches making destination selection very easy, and finding POI's along your route, knowing when things close, usually cost of gas, etc.
I sometimes use Waze which is still pretty new and a little buggy, but nice to have when you want crowd sourced data on issues down the road.
I also like using Android Auto for texting, hangouts messaging, and calls.
Lastly, there are lots of audio options that work with Android Auto, like PocketCasts, NPR One, Spotify, etc.

Another thought, if you travel, more and more rental cars have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay in them, so once you learn how to use one of these, the same experience can follow you to any car.

-Jeff

nokfromapp

While I don't own a Q7 yet, I use Android Auto on my other car every day and will not get a car that does not support AA. That is one of the reasons I eliminated Lexus from the list of cars I was considering.
Having said that, considering the fact that Q7 does not have a touchscreen, and AA is created primarily for touchscreens, the experience on the Q7 may not be optimal. I will find out next week
My primary use of AA is Google maps and Waze,v which is almost a necessity in Atlanta
And on my car, long pressing the voice button activates Google Assistant, which is also very useful.

Jeffrey Cutter

I've used Android Auto on both the Audi and other cars with touch screen. The touch screen is probably more intuitive and maybe faster to get to what you want if what you want is already on the screen. If it's not, I've found the scrolling kind of clunky on the touch screen. Also, I feel like the touch screen requires me to look more carefully at the screen and be more coordinated with my arm/finger on the touch screen vs. the dial which I can just count the clicks etc. to what I use most often. So, I'd say it depends, each have their pros and cons.

noxqzs

Turn on Widescreen option in developer settings on android auto to use the full screen.

hayde_bre

I am getting full screen, I believe, never really paid attention since it seems to fill the screen.
Does that actually improve the resolution and colors?

Brimstone

I haven't tried android auto yet (iphone user) but I greatly prefer NOT using carplay for some similar reasons.

However I'm likely to move to an android phone whenever I upgrade so I can use Waze in the car. (few other reasons too)

The important thing to remember is even if you like the Audi Connect features more, do you like them $30/month more? (as there is a decent amount of feature overlap, but not everything).

You'll have 6 months to figure it out (and its possible Android Auto gets updates in that timeframe) I think the main things to consider is google voice search and navigation (particularly traffic aware navigation).

My confidence in how most companies are approaching this space is pretty low, but keeping options open would be generally advised.

hayde_bre

The biggest benefit of Audi Connect would be the remote lock/unlock (after getting on the train, you realize you didn't lock, or you simply forgot if you locked or not...) Traffic Light information (Very cool feature but sadly not widely available), Car Finder (I realized google started implementing this too), and possibly geofencing if you are letting others drive your car. PS: I thought it was $20/mo or $40/mo with hotspot? So, it's actually $28 + $20 for hotspot? $58 (possibly plus tax) over $60/mo for all this? That's way too much for all these services. You can go a level up on your car if you were leasing by paying $60/mo per month. As long as we don't get nag messages on our screen, we should be OK.

Do we have anyone here who has their Audi but no Audi Connect? I don't see Weather or News listed in the AC website, does this mean we would still get weather/NPR updates?