Why Hasn't Lexus Embraced Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
 

We just posed this question on the blog, and we're not really sure why. You can read the post here. This seems to be the future—why haven't we seen Lexus embrace this tech?

Alpine and Pioneer are starting to roll out their aftermarket versions with a double din and Volvo and the 2016 XC90 are the first to really integrate OEM CarPlay wise. Let them all work out the bugs then Lexus will take a good idea and refine it even more :thumbup:

lexus has never been fast or quick to adapt anyway. just look at how long it took lexus to have factory ipod integration -- 2010!!!!!!!! that's at least 3 years behind other competitors. good and bad, it gives them and competitors more time to work out bugs, but it does make them slow to the market which is not a good reputation (especially in this trendy era where people want stuff now).

with the culture inside toyota / lexus, i don't see this being changed any time soon. i can't say too much, but even on some other protocol and standard inside cars, toyota is also very hesitant and slow in response as well.

Toyota has agreed to eventually adopt the system. The problem with doing it now is there are so many bugs to work out and the costs have to be figured out. I would love car play in my car but I don't think I would want to pay a premium or be locked into just IOS for the life of the car.

I assume because Lexus/Toyota doesn't want any quality hiccups in the implementation. They'll have it eventually but not until it works perfectly.

IMO, I would rather not have apple nor android anywhere near my Lexus, period, but that's just me.

but XC90 first models dont have CarPlay, right? I dont think it is actually shipping yet.

As to Toyota being slow, usually yes... but it also needs to be said that Toyota currently probably sells most cars worldwide with infotainment systems, with their "display audio/entune" system that is standard now in many vehicles. And probably one of the best rated systems as well, according to reviews from tech sites like cnet.

So while they were really slow up to 2011 (my 2009 IS does not even have USB), from 2012 they introduced standard systems in vehicles worldwide, so now you could say they are the leader there. Here in Europe, we have touch screen systems on every vehicle, only fleet models dont have it. So even Aygo and Yaris have affordable touch screen system, let alone Auris or Avensis. I am not aware of any other manufacturer doing the same, VW has introduced standard screen in base Golf VII, but it is 5" and far less advanced than the base 6.1" system in Auris.

but their first nav system (on about '96 LS i think? i know it was on '98 2GS) BLEW everyone else away.

since then they seem to have become much more cautious, perhaps because the whole tech world is changing so rapidly it makes it hard to make decisions YEARS in advance where the system is no longer stand alone, needing to connect to devices and wireless services.

i'm pretty impressed with the uconnect system in my new jeep. the voice recognition is quite good, an area where lexus seems to have lagged for years. i don't how it is in the latest lexus models though.

Both CarPlay and Android Auto require that the underlying hardware be running Blackberry QNX (as does Ford's Sync). I'm pretty sure Toyota is still on their own proprietary in-house platform.

The Gen8 nav in my GS is pretty good in regards to voice recognition. I use it to switch to different albums/artists on my iPod quite frequently and it has only missed a handful of times. The system lag is unacceptable though. Regardless of how long the car has been on, if I raise or lower the volume with quick button presses on the steering wheel, the count on the screen can't always keep up. Not a big issue, but my 07 IS had no issues keeping up.

Edit: it also lags if I switch songs on my iPod quickly too. That one is doubly annoying

good point. yes lexus used to be really attacking the edge of technology, but no more. but then again, mb is going at the latest and greatest all the time and that's not necessarily a good thing either. i surely don't want lexus to be the first (given how complex systems are these days), but i do think lexus is on the slow side

the real tech world (r&d) is always years (more than 5 years) ahead of what people see anyway. yes there are still gambling, but hey, some companies gamble better.

yes, the gen8 system lag is very bad. but it's already improved slightly from the very first ones in the 2014 IS -- that thing was even slower.

the ipod integration is better now but i still think it can be better (not just speed). not to mention so far i already have more than 5 times where i start the car and the ipod simply isn't recognized and played. i have to shut off my car and start it again

oh and also the story that i managed to froze / crashed the system the first day i got the car

Some would question as to why BlackBerry is still alive......especially when BBM is not exclusive to BB phones anymore.

I do like the BlackBerry Z30 though.....

P.S
Is there a platform conflict for automakers when they have to choose between Apple or Google?

how do you mean they require QNX? That does not make sense. They require anything that supports their specifications.

Toyota is using QNX, probably the biggest user of it in automotive world.

Ford has only moved to QNX in most recent systems, not sure if they are shipping yet or just announced... otherwise they used Windows Automotive.

underlying OS is independent of Apple or Google.

and Blackberry purchased QNX few years back, they did not create the system. So Blackberry part of QNX name matters not at all.

QNX, as a company and as the operating system existed before Research in Motion (Blackberry) bought it in 2010, and even if Blackberry is no longer around, the QNX operating system will live on, because it is a proven operating system. It was in car telematics systems before it was bought by Blackberry.

CarPlay and Android Auto are merely applications that currently run on the QNX operating system. I do not know if it is available for Windows Automotive but I would think that it will soon.