Hi there,

I'm currently looking into ordering either an S4 or an A6, will be going to a dealer within a week or so.

I've been able to find all kinds of info on the driving characteristics of the two, but I guess the only way to know for sure is to drive both.

What I'm curious about the MMI in the new S4 and couldn't find the details just through searching. In the past I wasn't able to get these sorts of details form sales folks, just the typical marketing stuff.

According to various articles/sites there is an updated MMI in this model, supposedly has google maps, hotspot, etc. Basically a new interface/features.

I was curious whether this is only a software update or there is hardware to go with it?

I'm sure if there is google, there is 3g added. However I'm not sure whether
1. MMI hardware is separate from the telephony/cellular hardware (makes sense that it would be).
2. Whether hardware piece is that runs MMI is itself updated (in the past some automakers have stuck newer software on older hardware which made it significantly less responsive than its intended recipient's).

Also am curious whether it is same/different from what is currently in the A6 (screen aside of course).

Thanks in advance!

 

Software only. B9 A4/S4 will have new Hardware - MMI w/ newest Nvidia chipset.

http://pressroom.nvidia.com/easyir/c...157&xhtml=true

3G is the current iteration of data/phone hardware, yes. Audi is working with a company to get 4G/LTE working. I'm hoping by the time the S3 Sedan is released it will have it. I'm not buying another Audi until it has 4G capability.

http://www.sierrawireless.com/en/New...nt_system.aspx

MMI = Operating System/software that runs everything. There are modules that plug into the main MMI (phone, AMI, Radio (with or without DVD or 6 disc changer), Rear View Camera, etc.

Across the board, as of the refresh all the current cars, except A3, have the newest MMI/Audi Connect available in them. A3 Sedan will be the first car with the newest MMI Touch on the MMI ****.

 

What are you talking about? It's all new hardware. It has new controls (hardware), a different reportedly higher resolution screen (hardware), wi-fi and cellular connectivity (hardware). You can't flash new software on the 2012's modules and get the functionality of the 2013.

 

True, plus interactive Google maps for Navi.

 

Another set of questions on my '14 S4 Premium Plus. Can you record CDs to the HD? So far, I see the capability on the screen, but it's "greyed out". And, some DVD-Audio disks play. Some don't. Anyone tried this? How about DTS music disks. Any luck?

 

Sorry...meant to say 2013 S4.

 

It requires a VAG-COM/VCDS mod to enable it in the US. Reportedly it's slow and you have no control over the compression settings. It's probably better to rip your music on your PC instead.

Does it claim to play either? I don't have my car yet, so I can't try them.

 

I enabled the CD ripping. I tried it out on a store-purchased CD and it took over 20 min. My opinion: don't bother. Use a computer.

As for specific audio DVDs, I have not tried them. I have played live concert DVDs with success though--great sound with them and you can keep the screen active with the Video In Motion change. You can switch the video off easily by choosing NAV or another option if you need to hide the VIM (illegal in some areas). If you don't enable VIM, you can still listen to DVDs but the screen will black out on you. You can skip tracks/chapters like you would on a regular CD.

 

stereodude and zulu....thanks for the answers. I'll forgo the rippping to the HD. I have a couple of 32 gig SD cards that I'll send my music to.

stereodude.....yeah, the B&O system plays DVD-A disks (don't know if it's supposed to or not, given that there's a sparcity of info in the manual about the audio portion of the MMI). But, on different disks, at separate times, sometimes they play fine. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes all I get is a track listing on of the disk, but white noise out of the speakers. Something's amiss, either in my system only, or in the Audi MMI/B&O implementation overall.

 

thank you for the details!

interesting, seeing that i'm not really interested in the whole 3d maps thing i think this Tegra 2 should be fine.

form the site: "Last year, we introduced the first live Google Earth experience in a car. This year, we are shipping vehicles featuring the Tegra 2 mobile processor."

i guess i can infer that 2013 has Tegra 2 vs 2012 doesn't (seeing that it didn't have google earth). i think it also seems that compared to 2012 hardware has been upgraded (assuming that Tegra 2 was necessary to handle the current 3d requirements) and is likely the same as the new A6.

there is nothing solid in there about whether this is the case and seeing that i've not had a chance to look at the 2012 vs 2013 models it is hard to tell. i emailed the sales guy at the local dealership, got nothing more than what's already published on audi's site:
"Audi MMI® Navigation plus features a seven-inch screen, voice control, CD and DVD compatibility, and dual SD memory card slots. New features for 2013 include BLUETOOTH® streaming audio and Audi connect™, which adds Google™ search and Google Earth™ map overlays to help you explore your destination and plan ahead.*"

this is interesting as well, although the way 3g is currently used is of very little interest to me, i personally don't have use for a hotspot and 3g has plenty of bandwidth for the POI (which for me is its only selling point)

ah, thanks for the explanation, i'm pretty new to audi and am not familiar with all the terms (marketing materials don't really make things very clear, at least not to me).

i asked the dealer about this, looked at the photos and searched the forums here - it seems that the currently available 2013 models don't have the touchpad, just have the **** (unless you're referring to the next gen). pic: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....audi-s4-fd.jpg