CarPlay

There has been discussion elsewhere about whether the 2017MY car has CarPlay. The local iGenius seems unaware of how it works, so I hope this helps - for a 2014 car.

I have an iPhone 6s, and found that it shows no available cars in the list when I select Settings/General/CarPlay. It also suggests that I should press the voice key on the steering wheel to access CarPlay. But that doesn't work: the car simply asks me what I want to do.

However, if I access Settings/General/CarPlay on the iPhone, and then press the MODE button to the left of the car's volume knob, silence. (MODE seems to switch between the available audio inputs - Radio or Bluetooth - so Bluetooth must be on.)

Then, if I start to play something on the phone, it comes out of the car's speakers!
When I get out of the car and lock it, sometimes the playing is paused and sometimes it reverts to playing on the phone's speakers. If it pauses playing, it resumes when I get into the car again where it left off. If it didn't pause, a message comes up on the lock screen letting me pause it by hand.

Right now, your iPhone is just utilizing the music aspect of CarPlay through traditional means -- your car is capable of accessing the music now on your phone in the same way without explicitly accessing CarPlay.

As CarPlay requires a touchscreen, it's very unlikely the 2017 i3 will include it.

No BMW model currently offers CarPlay. A rumor recently surfaced that BMW might add the option on X5/6 models, based upon a leaked German-language price guide.

http://9to5mac.com/2016/05/20/bmw-apple-carplay-x5-x6-m/

The function described by the OP is Bluetooth Streaming Audio not CarPlay.

Thanks, guys. I stand corrected.

The one thing I did notice, while testing out a 2016 i3, is that there seems to be "Siri eyes free" or whatever Apple was calling it when they were trying to get Siri access in the car (well before CarPlay became a thing).

Pressing the voice button on the steering wheel once initiated the i3's built in voice commands. Pressing and holding it for 2-3 seconds initiated Siri from my phone. This was likely already known and in many BMWs for a while though.

joey003 said:

The one thing I did notice, while testing out a 2016 i3, is that there seems to be "Siri eyes free" or whatever Apple was calling it when they were trying to get Siri access in the car (well before CarPlay became a thing).

Pressing the voice button on the steering wheel once initiated the i3's built in voice commands. Pressing and holding it for 2-3 seconds initiated Siri from my phone. This was likely already known and in many BMWs for a while though.

Click to expand...

Yes, it's possible to access Siri by holding the Voice button for 2-3 seconds. It works pretty well, but unless the phone is unlocked she will not send email, though she will send text messages.

It's better than nothing, but it's not CarPlay.

Boatguy said:

joey003 said:

The one thing I did notice, while testing out a 2016 i3, is that there seems to be "Siri eyes free" or whatever Apple was calling it when they were trying to get Siri access in the car (well before CarPlay became a thing).

Pressing the voice button on the steering wheel once initiated the i3's built in voice commands. Pressing and holding it for 2-3 seconds initiated Siri from my phone. This was likely already known and in many BMWs for a while though.

Click to expand...

Yes, it's possible to access Siri by holding the Voice button for 2-3 seconds. It works pretty well, but unless the phone is unlocked she will not send email, though she will send text messages.

It's better than nothing, but it's not CarPlay.

Click to expand...

Hey Russ- Do you know about the Bay Area i3 meet up happening this Saturday? We're due to assume able at the Marin Headlands parking lot at 10:00 AM this Saturday morning. Would be great to see you there.

Boatguy said:

joey003 said:

The one thing I did notice, while testing out a 2016 i3, is that there seems to be "Siri eyes free" or whatever Apple was calling it when they were trying to get Siri access in the car (well before CarPlay became a thing).

Pressing the voice button on the steering wheel once initiated the i3's built in voice commands. Pressing and holding it for 2-3 seconds initiated Siri from my phone. This was likely already known and in many BMWs for a while though.

Click to expand...

Yes, it's possible to access Siri by holding the Voice button for 2-3 seconds. It works pretty well, but unless the phone is unlocked she will not send email, though she will send text messages.

It's better than nothing, but it's not CarPlay.

Click to expand...

Yup, agreed! BMW was pretty quick at getting iPod integration early on, Siri eyes free, too bad they've been taking so long with CarPlay.

thefuturenow said:

As CarPlay requires a touchscreen, it's very unlikely the 2017 i3 will include it.

Click to expand...

This was true at release but is no longer a requirement.

I had a chance to use CarPlay at a Porsche dealer last week and it was very nice.

The Chevy Bolt supports CarPlay and is moving up the list an option to replace my i3 next year.

Looks like BMW is finally adding CarPlay to some upcoming models. Unfortunately its the M3 and M4.