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CarPlay (Google Maps) Gripe

D

DC7222

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 22, 2021
22
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Hey guys, totally random gripe on CarPlay that I'm sure has already been beat to death; Panning and zooming in Google Maps.

From what I can tell it's 2021 and CarPlay is still limited to using tiny directional arrows and plus/minus buttons to pan/zoom in maps. From the company that pretty much popularized gesture controls, how is this still a thing?

I'm an Android user looking to make the switch to iOS for a multitude of reasons, but man, this downright antiquated (and frankly unsafe) means of manipulating map views is a major sticking point. For those not familiar with how Android Auto gestures work in Maps don't try to find out, you'll quickly be blown away by how far behind Apple is on this simple feature set.

That's all I've got, rant over. Apple, if you're reading this, can we please have gestures for panning/zooming on our car displays? It really is a quicker, safer means of control.
 
It frustrates the hell out of me too. I have no idea why it's like this...
 
One of the first things I noticed was how CarPlay takes over Google Maps and doesn't let you manipulate a map on your iPhone. Oh, well…I use a cable and just unplug.
 
My wife uses an iPhone and I use Android. Funny thing we notice in her car (Subaru Ascent); The dash has two USB ports, and no matter which port is used for which phone, or which order the phones are plugged in, CarPlay ALWAYS trumps Android Auto. Even if I'm actively using Android Auto and she plugs in afterwards, CarPlay takes over. Lol. I wonder if this is similar in other cars and if it's part of Apple's agreements with manufacturers.
 
On my Vauxhall, GM in the US, i can move the map around but pinch to zoom doesnt work. Unsure if this is a CarPlay or car software limitation or jus the way its been done. To be honest i use Apple Maps more but how often do people need to zoom in and out whilst driving? In Apple Maps i mainly use the normal view and sometimes flick the full trip view which is a press of the screen to activate the buttons and then one press of a button to change the view. Then repeat to go back. How much other zooming in and out is needed whilst actually driving?
 
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there is actually a technical reason, the touch screen in most cars is resistive and not capacitive so multi-touch doesn't work well (if at all). Whether CarPlay should work better on the few cars that have a capactive touch screen - sure maybe. It is annoying mind, there should just be an overview button which shows a more zoomed out view of the next few roundabouts etc... as part of the navigation. rather than fiddling around zooming and panning whilst driving (I actually don't even try myself).
 
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magicMac said:
there is actually a technical reason, the touch screen in most cars is resistive and not capacitive so multi-touch doesn't work well (if at all). Whether CarPlay should work better on the few cars that have a capactive touch screen - sure maybe. It is annoying mind, there should just be an overview button which shows a more zoomed out view of the next few roundabouts etc... as part of the navigation. rather than fiddling around zooming and panning whilst driving (I actually don't even try myself).
Click to expand...
Do you know why car manufacturers choose resistive screens rather than capacitive? And is this reason better than 'because they're cheaper'?

Also I second your suggestion!
 
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bransoj said:
On my Vauxhall, GM in the US, i can move the map around but pinch to zoom doesnt work. Unsure if this is a CarPlay or car software limitation or jus the way its been done. To be honest i use Apple Maps more but how often do people need to zoom in and out whilst driving? In Apple Maps i mainly use the normal view and sometimes flick the full trip view which is a press of the screen to activate the buttons and then one press of a button to change the view. Then repeat to go back. How much other zooming in and out is needed whilst actually driving?
Click to expand...
Totally agree with this...and yes, the limitation is probably more on the auto manufacturer side as well as Google Maps. I mean, they created the app for use on CarPlay, not Apple.

Apple does force implement SOME restrictions, but this is typically for safety reasons. I've always felt that all of the map providers have had proper zoom levels based on speed or functions like upcoming turns, etc. There are slight differences, and yes, people have their own opinions about which one they prefer, but like the example given above (zooming way out on a longer trip just to see distance or something else), I can't remember the last time I ever felt the need to mess with the standard zoom levels presented to me.

I prefer Apple's "keep as much of the route in view as possible" positioning of the map. And over on the Apple Maps thread, we have had extensive discussions around zoom levels, why they are the way they are (for Apple Maps at least)...If you are able to record your screen on a trip, it's pretty amazing to see how it all works and WHY they do it the way they do!
 
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magicMac said:
there is actually a technical reason, the touch screen in most cars is resistive and not capacitive so multi-touch doesn't work well (if at all). Whether CarPlay should work better on the few cars that have a capactive touch screen - sure maybe. It is annoying mind, there should just be an overview button which shows a more zoomed out view of the next few roundabouts etc... as part of the navigation. rather than fiddling around zooming and panning whilst driving (I actually don't even try myself).
Click to expand...
This is not correct, the limitation is CarPlay software driven. We're a two platform family, Android for me and iOS for my wife. Google Maps on Android Auto allows full gesture support in both of our cars, CarPlay on iOS does not. This is the way CarPlay is designed, not a limitation of the cars hardware.

Zooming with multi-touch is not "fiddling around", it's the quickest and most intuitive method when driving. Searching for buttons on the screen? Not so much.
 
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DC7222 said:
This is not correct, the limitation is CarPlay software driven. We're a two platform family, Android for me and iOS for my wife. Google Maps on Android Auto allows full gesture support in both of our cars, CarPlay on iOS does not. This is the way CarPlay is designed, not a limitation of the cars hardware.

Zooming with multi-touch is not "fiddling around", it's the quickest and most intuitive method when driving. Searching for buttons on the screen? Not so much.
Click to expand...

as I said, most cars have a resistive touch screen and apple have built the map to support the majority. I even said maybe they should support cars with capactive touch screen better; it's as if you misread my post intentionally !

Personally as my car has a resistive touchscreen, I would just like apple to add an overview button so I don't have to fiddle around with the arrow buttons, again misread.
 
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how do you know that it’s not Google who made their iOS app worse than the Android version?
 
magicMac said:
as I said, most cars have a resistive touch screen and apple have built the map to support the majority. I even said maybe they should support cars with capactive touch screen better; it's as if you misread my post intentionally !

Personally as my car has a resistive touchscreen, I would just like apple to add an overview button so I don't have to fiddle around with the arrow buttons, again misread.
Click to expand...
By Overview do you mean the whole route on screen? If so they already do this on Apple Maps with a button that shows top left\right depending on which side of the road you drive, top left for me in the UK. If you press the screen once you get some buttons show and the top one will switch between showing the whole route or navigating view depending on which view you are in currently.

You can do a similar thing in Google Maps as well but not quite as intuitively but its there.
 
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bransoj said:
By Overview do you mean the whole route on screen? If so they already do this on Apple Maps with a button that shows top left\right depending on which side of the road you drive, top left for me in the UK. If you press the screen once you get some buttons show and the top one will switch between showing the whole route or navigating view depending on which view you are in currently.

You can do a similar thing in Google Maps as well but not quite as intuitively but its there.
Click to expand...

yeah this is what i mean, at least for the next 2-3 steps anyway, or for the whole journey (might be zoomed out too much then though). I thought i'd seen it before on Apple Maps exactly as you describe - seems to be on the phone but (at least for me) it's not appearing on CarPlay like that :(
 
magicMac said:
yeah this is what i mean, at least for the next 2-3 steps anyway, or for the whole journey (might be zoomed out too much then though). I thought i'd seen it before on Apple Maps exactly as you describe - seems to be on the phone but (at least for me) it's not appearing on CarPlay like that :(
Click to expand...
Its definitely there on CarPlay as i use it on a daily basis, i use Apple Maps to commute to work (about 30miles) and as i know the 3 or 4 ways i can go i dont need the directions so use the overview to keep an eye on traffic etc.

When you are navigating it will show your direction of travel (N, S, E or W) top right or left depending on which side of the road you drive on. If you tap anywhere on the screen that is not a button it will change this to another icon that changes the view between overview and navigation view plus you get the zoom in\out icons. I sometimes go to overview and then zoom in a bit to show a bit more detail.

If you just want to see a bit more of the immediate route then in the navigating view tap the screen and the just zoom out a couple of presses on the "-" button.
 
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bransoj said:
On my Vauxhall, GM in the US, i can move the map around but pinch to zoom doesnt work. Unsure if this is a CarPlay or car software limitation or jus the way its been done. To be honest i use Apple Maps more but how often do people need to zoom in and out whilst driving? In Apple Maps i mainly use the normal view and sometimes flick the full trip view which is a press of the screen to activate the buttons and then one press of a button to change the view. Then repeat to go back. How much other zooming in and out is needed whilst actually drivin
Click to expand...

magicMac said:
as I said, most cars have a resistive touch screen and apple have built the map to support the majority. I even said maybe they should support cars with capactive touch screen better; it's as if you misread my post intentionally !

Personally as my car has a resistive touchscreen, I would just like apple to add an overview button so I don't have to fiddle around with the arrow buttons, again misread.
Click to expand...
Do you believe this is actually the case and Apple isn't capable of supporting both screen types?
 
magicMac said:
I'm confused, who is saying apple isn't capable of supporting both screen types ?
Click to expand...
I can't think of a single reason CarPlay wouldn't support capacitive touch screens unless Apple simply wasn't capable of doing it.

Of course that's ridiculous though, we know they are completely capable. So then why don't they? My thought is they simply don't care. CarPlay is half-baked but it's one of their products they're content with staying that way.

The fact is using Google Maps through Android Auto is a much nicer experience than doing so with CarPlay. Is that Google's fault? Apple's? No idea, I just wish they'd catch up on this one thing sooner than later.
 
DC7222 said:
I can't think of a single reason CarPlay wouldn't support capacitive touch screens unless Apple simply wasn't capable of doing it.

Of course that's ridiculous though, we know they are completely capable. So then why don't they? My thought is they simply don't care. CarPlay is half-baked but it's one of their products they're content with staying that way.

The fact is using Google Maps through Android Auto is a much nicer experience than doing so with CarPlay. Is that Google's fault? Apple's? No idea, I just wish they'd catch up on this one thing sooner than later.
Click to expand...
CarPlay does support it.

CarPlay is nothing more than a tool kit for OEM car manufaturers to utilize. They need to take the features available and allow them to work in their vehicles. Yes, Apple does have certain restrictions around certain apps and safety features they see as part of the overall experience, but if you go to the CarPlay developer videos and see what CarPlay CAN do, you'll find that most car manufacturers are the ones to blame for any limitations applied to it, not Apple.
 
MozMan68 said:
CarPlay does support it.

CarPlay is nothing more than a tool kit for OEM car manufaturers to utilize. They need to take the features available and allow them to work in their vehicles. Yes, Apple does have certain restrictions around certain apps and safety features they see as part of the overall experience, but if you go to the CarPlay developer videos and see what CarPlay CAN do, you'll find that most car manufacturers are the ones to blame for any limitations applied to it, not Apple.
Click to expand...
Where do pan and zoom features fit into this? Who has set the requirement that +/- and directional buttons are used for CarPlay instead of multi-touch controls that work so well on our phones and also on Android Auto?
 
DC7222 said:
Where do pan and zoom features fit into this? Who has set the requirement that +/- and directional buttons are used for CarPlay instead of multi-touch controls that work so well on our phones and also on Android Auto?
Click to expand...

Pinch to zoom works on my screen…again, it’s available. The car manufacturer has to provide the screen that allows it.
 
MozMan68 said:
Pinch to zoom works on my screen…again, it’s available. The car manufacturer has to provide the screen that allows it.
Click to expand...
What year/model car do you have? Are you talking about Google or Apple maps? We've got a late model Subaru and Honda, pinch to zoom works for Android Auto, but not CarPlay.
 
DC7222 said:
What year/model car do you have? Are you talking about Google or Apple maps? We've got a late model Subaru and Honda, pinch to zoom works for Android Auto, but not CarPlay.
Click to expand...
I lied...I can drag the map around with touch, but no two-finger pinch. True for all CarPlay maps I have installed. Must use + or - to zoom.
 
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Is there a way to get the report traffic/accident/police function in Google Maps on CarPlay? I can't figure out how to do it and I haven't been able to find anything online about it.
 
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