It gets terrible reviews; 1.6 on iTunes and 1.9 on Goggle Play. Seems universally disliked. As a rule I never install any app with a rating below 4. Have you found Enform useful? Worth installing? Worth paying for? Can you add apps other than the four they list?

 

There is one app that is included in the Enform App Suite that, to me, makes it worth having. That is the Destination Search app. The Destination Search app significantly improves the capabilities of the navigation system. First, it uses a data base that is more expansive than that on the SD card inside the car, and that data base is continuously updated and, thus, more current than the data base on the SD card. It also works much better with voice commands than does the navigation system's voice command feature.

A few years ago, when the Destination Search app became available, I quickly came to the conclusion that anyone who is not using it to enhance the capabilities of the navigation system is not taking the fullest advantage of the navigation system.

 

How does it impact your phone battery? I installed the app a few years ago and used it to run Pandora. It killed my phone battery within like a hour.

 

The updated system in the ES does NOT use an SD card.

 

Battery usage is minimal. You are only using the app to search for and set the destination.

Regardless of what is used to store navigation data, the Destination Search app is still going to be using a more expansive data base and one that is more up-to-date. And, even if the Generation 10 navigation system has improved voice command capability, I am confident in guessing that using voice commands with the Destination Search app will still be better because doing so is using the superior voice command capability of your phone, instead of the car's less capable system.

 

I have Pandora installed on my phone and it plays through the Mark Levinson through the bluetooth audio connection. Seems the normal usage I'd see with my headphones. And the album shows on the nav screen.

 

I've never used the destination search app, really never have the need to but I'm amazed at how well the voice recognition works in the updated system. It's yet to misunderstand one single command. And the hands free text capability is even more terrific.

 

The Generation 9 navigation system, which was introduced on some Lexus models in 2017 and others in 2018, is vastly superior to the older Generation 7 and Generation 8 systems with regard to the range of voice commands that it is capable of understanding. I'm sure that the Generation 10 system is even better, but I'm also confident that the range of commands that it is capable of understanding still falls short of the voice command capabilities of a modern Android phone or I Phone.

 

Could be - I honestly never use voice commands on my Android. But the few I now use in the car work perfectly and the difference from our 2017 RX to this is night and day.

 

Do you have to have Pandora open on your phone before getting in the car? Or open Pandora once you are in the car? My Corvette would open it through the screen on it's own, but my old GS needed the app open on the phone first.

Still, without Android auto I might give this a try.

 

Yes, the app must be running on the phone for the bluetooth to pick it up. I usually have it on when I get into the car because I listen on my headphones. When I unplug the headphones, the bluetooth connects automatically. But, I usually open google Maps in the car. They both work simultaneously, although the music fades a bit when Google Maps announces a turn. Just like with your phone.

 

LESZ: Are you using the Enform 2.0 version of the app on your phone. I have a 2018 LS500 and it uses Enform 2.0 -- and there is no destination search available. That was the only feature that I ever used on Lexus Enform.

 

No, my ES is a 2017, and that was before Enform 2.0.

I didn't realize that Enform 2.0 doesn't include the Destination Assist app. If that is the case, it is unfortunate because I've found it to be particularly useful. Regardless of how good a car's navigation system is, the in-car data base quickly becomes out-of-date, and, if nothing else, it is nice to have access to the more current data base used by the Destination Assist app.

 

The original Enform suite is not compatible with 7th Gen. We're stuck with the 2.0 which has no destination search and many of the other options of the original. Only iHeart Radio, NPR One, Slacker, Remote, Financial services and roadside assistance. I prefer the standalone apps for remote and roadside assistance. Don't need the others.

 

There is a destination search feature built into the updated Nav system - not sure if its comparable as its not something I use.