Any real world views of paying for an inbuilt satnav or using Android Auto via. the inbuilt touchscreen? I like the idea of inbuilt convenience but baulk at the inevitable pricey map updates etc. Does using your phone plugged in via Android Auto use a lot of data and is it reliable for general navigation or does it dropout in poor coverage areas. I realise you can download maps prior to a journey which is a faff in itself but I assume it still relies on data for route info. and traffic updates. At the moment I use a TomTom go 5100 which is superb in nearly all respects.

If you use Google Maps thgrough Android Auto you can download offline maps via WIFI and it uses the GPS on your phone for navigation  so uses no data. The navigation on Google Maps is excellent i’ve found.

I don’t use my TomTom anymore because the maps are out of date.

but I assume it still relies on data for route info. and traffic updates

No data needed for routes (can use abroad with roaming switched off), but yes for traffic. In terms of the data you do use, its small enough that I’ve never noticed any impact on data usage

Waze and the like are almost always better than any built in device, so if you can have that (not sure Waze would work but Google is very nearly as good) connecting to the car that’s what I’d be doing.

+1 for Android Auto. Never noticed any issues with data usage (and I’m on a very low data cap on my mobile deal). No issues with drop out, no having to pay to update maps, use it in loads of countries, etc. etc. etc.

I’m just using Android Auto direct on the phone (my inbuilt satnav isn’t Android Auto and is antiquated old Honda satnav which isn’t updateable except via very expensive DVD from Honda).

Maps for me are via Waze or Google Maps (can choose and both are integrated with Android Auto now). Data seems pretty minimal to be honest. It’ll cache enough of the map for the journey to cope with signal loss.

However I use Android Auto rather than just the maps apps direct as it provides nice integration with the likes of Spotify and TuneIn Radio etc. These will chomp through data, unless you can do offline downloads (Spotify Premium for example).

Also like using Android Auto for nice simple big buttons, audio commands and big notification of messages and ability to play them via audio.

Once the maps are downloaded, do they stay on the phone or are they time limited before they delete themselves?

I have lifetime maps on TomTom but once support is dropped for my model I assume that will lapse-may be pretty soon too as it’s a few years old

Google Maps (which is what Auto uses) can pre download data. I have the majority of central Scotland downloaded on wifi, then stored.

It then only uses data for the live traffic updates or if I go far afield – but again, I can pre-download a route and it seems to get a ‘corridor’ a few miles around the length of the route (including our jaunt to France last year).

We bought two sat-navs at work. They gather dust while we all use our Android phones, it is easier and better routing IME.

Once the maps are downloaded, do they stay on the phone or are they time limited before they delete themselves?

They stay, unless you do not use them, at which point they delete after a warning.

They stay, unless you do not use them, at which point they delete after a warning.

They auto-update over wi-fi too, so if you use an area a lot it’ll just keep it up to date

Once the maps are downloaded, do they stay on the phone or are they time limited before they delete themselves?

On google they stay on the phone and automatically update over Wifi on a timescale you decide.  They don’t use that much storage on your phone either.

However what I don’t know is whether it still uses 3g if there is a signal, even if an offline map is available.

You would need 3g to do live traffic/re routing.

I never ever use the inbuilt SatNav on my BMW, it is never as good as Google.

Only issue I’ve had is in hire cars where connecting seems to be a bit slow first couple of times for set up but after that woks well, voice stuff is good, just asking for the nearest supermarket etc or a specific business for nav.

Have plenty of data but don’t notice it at all

On google they stay on the phone and automatically update over Wifi on a timescale you decide.  They don’t use that much storage on your phone either.

Really? I’ll admit I haven’t really looked into it, but I can’t get mine to hold maps for more than 30 days. (iPhone) I’ve been wondering why it feels the need to be so restrictive, even downloading most of France and all of Switzerland used almost no storage.

I can’t imagine anything worse than a built-in sat nag for navigation.

The thing about using the phone is you can choose the most appropriate app at the time.

Once you download the maps over Wifi (and update over WiFi) data use is minimal.  My “car sat nav” converts to bike sat nav… plays music etc. no fees to update etc.  Its loaded up with France, UK and half the continent.. and I can find a very specific place then transfer the route to say google maps… but then say decide to use Waze etc. and then move over to trailforks  or even OS maps once I arrive (removing expensive item from car) or share a updatable route when I’m meeting friends at a trail.

The choice includes commercial solutions if you want … and I’ve previously paid for a year on a couple…but if/when you decide that google/waze etc. end up being better (either sometimes or overall) you haven’t got an expensive device you bought into.

Don’t waste any money on built satnav, it’s obsolete/redundant/dead tech compared to Android Auto – the ability to seamlessly control Spotify by voice is brilliant too. I haven’t noticed any impact on data either and I use it every day of the week for 1.30 hours.

For me, using a phone for navigation just works so well that I would be unlikely to use anything else.

Phone is usually connected via bluetooth anyway, and mounted in a safe but visible spot to allow calls and music control (usually using Google Assitant)

Maps via Waze, Google Maps etc are just so intuitive and so up to date that the likes of Garmin/TomTom just do not compare.

They have real time traffic (from multiple sources as well as their own network analysis), road closure (data seems to be sourced form Council Streetworks info), show routes/closures around temporary events (marathons, closed road races etc), have the most up to date list of businesses possible ( including closing times etc, most businesses naturally want to have their info up to date on Google) and allow simple feedback/updates by users to further improve the service.

My parents have recently bought a new Garmin Satnav, when I asked why they didn’t just use their phone:

1/ it costs them money to use mobile data although a lifetime of data use will be less expensive than what they spent on the new Satnav.

2/ They don’t like having the phone out whilst driving, although the user interface and voice control on the Garmin is less well developed than Google Maps

Ok not an Android user but have used apple maps via car play and also have a modern touch screen sat nav to compare.

When we got our new car  (Skoda kodiaq) we had decided on SE spec which doesn’t have built in sat nav and I think it was something like £750 extra to spec it.

However ended up with an SE-L version as it was available with a good discount at the time which does have built in sat nav. Basically in stock and same price as lower spec car we would have to wait  for. Leather too!

anyway…

Have used both and prefer the one that’s built in. It’s faster. It doesn’t go off when your passenger picks up the phone to change the music, leaving you with a blank screen.

On hols this summer we happened to have another Skoda- this had the infotainment system that we would have had in the SE. No sat nav. Used Apple maps. Was ok. However on one spot driving up a hillside into Taormina in Sicily, there’s loops of road winding up from the motorway to town. They are suspended in mid air and you cross cross over the same spot several times. This foxed the phone sat nav every time. It froze for 5 minutes until it could work out where we were. Not helpful. Obviously I didn’t have the opportunity to compare with a built in sat nav but suspect it would cope better. I may be wrong but it seemed iPhone with Apple maps was just aware of the latitude and longitude and not height above sea level.

But still I wouldn’t pay £750 to overcome that issue.

Have used both and prefer the one that’s built in. It’s faster. It doesn’t go off when your passenger picks up the phone to change the music, leaving you with a blank screen.

Not sure android does, it has simplified controls on the phone (or normal screen) but drives the car system through the app with the screen as an output. Could be a difference in implementation.

 Obviously I didn’t have the opportunity to compare with a built in sat nav but suspect it would cope better. I may be wrong but it seemed iPhone with Apple maps was just aware of the latitude and longitude and not height above sea level.

I’ve seen built in systems not cope with that too, how many actually have altitude built in? Phones do have GPS and will work with altitude data but become more unreliable on steep sided hillsides/valleys as they can’t see enough satellites. Barometric altitude has big issues with changing weather conditions as the variation on the bike ones show.

I should add that the built in sat nav has real time traffic as the car has its own SIM card. For instance yesterday it knew not to come off the M56 at the M53 interchange to go to my in laws due to all the people queuing to get to Cheshire oaks. Showed on the screen and rerouted to the next junction along.

If the alternative to using the phone is out of date maps with no online access the use the phone every time.

Mike I get what you are saying completely. The road from the autostrada to central Taormina really would be a test for any sat nav! Felt like we were driving in thin air!

I’ve got Android Auto linked to the car.

It gives you a heads-up with the options of navigation, phone and audio.  Nav as far as I can tell is Google Maps only (though I don’t think I’ve got Waze installed), phone is what you’d expect and audio gives you a list of whatever supported music apps you have installed (Spotify etc).

Linking it originally was a PITA but I think that was down to the crappy Samsung S5 phone I was using, my new Nokia was seamless.  Anecdotally it felt like you’d need a half decent device to run it or it’ll be really sluggish.  Of note here also is it requires a USB connection, it doesn’t work over Bluetooth or anything like that.

Google Maps is, well, Google Maps.  The touch-screen interface is heavily pared down compared to the regular desktop version, but voice activation works really well.  So you can go “ok Google, navigate to the Rose & Crown” or “navigate to Dave’s” and it just works.  It’s far slicker in this regard than any OEM system I’ve used.  It does, however, use data as others have said; you can cache routes and the like but I’ve never bothered, might be an issue if you’ve got poor network coverage though I suppose (or you’re overseas with awful roaming charges).

I find myself using the in-car system the majority of the time just because it’s there and doesn’t need anything plugging in (it’s much quicker to start up as well), then switching to GM as for things it’s better at like locating POIs.  If I had to have one over the other I’d probably stick with the in-car system, but it’s fantastic to have as a fallback for when the built-in unit is being pissy over pinpointing something.

I’m the bloke that uses both…. the bigger screen on my built in Sat nav system is far better but the navigation is worse and so i use google maps as well. I follow the turn guidance on the screen, but use the route plan on the phone, which seems to react to live updates far better.

eg: coming home from Devon yesterday, the car’s satnav was just insisting A303 was fastest, while google was telling me to head north at Mere and cut out the Stonehenge bit. So i did, the car realised and replotted the route and within a minute or two both are back in agreement. It does mean you need to occasionally compare two opinions, which makes it less useful for town based route finding.

I should in theory be able to use android auto and get google maps projected onto the screen…… but that would involve RTFM, and where’s the fun in that!

I should in theory be able to use android auto and get google maps projected onto the screen…… but that would involve RTFM, and where’s the fun in that!

For me it was a case of plugging it in and pressing the “app” button on the head unit.  That gives me the option of Android Auto, Mirror Link (which is presumably just screen duplication, I’ve not tried it) and when I had the S5 there was also some proprietary Samsung thing as well.

Selecting Android Auto, it launches a one-time setup sequence where you’ve to promise not to use it while asleep or whatever, then you get the main menu with Nav / Phone etc options.  (You need to be stationary to do this, if it detects you’re moving then it aborts the setup until you stop again.)

Used Apple maps

There’s your problem right there, its rubbish compared to Google and Waze

 (You need to be stationary to do this, if it detects you’re moving then it aborts the setup until you stop again.)

That explains a lot…..

2 weeks experience with Apple CarPlay and the feeling varies between “wow this is smooth” and “what the hell just happened, where is the map” daily . There are some gaps between cars own controls (Audi MMI without satnav) and Apple Carplay which makes the system occasionally feel like beta product.

Apparently next iOS version allows Waze and others nav apps on CarPlay.

, its rubbish compared to Google and Waze

indeed. I had to reinstall Apple maps on my phone  to use it. Apple CarPlay doesn’t work with the others of course

Google maps via android auto on the cars inbuilt system.

Best of both worlds a large screen and constantly up to date maps.

Works on my golf a treat.

Built in sat nav ain’t that bad, depends of course but the system in my wife’s bmw is fine and the convenience of it all being integrated into the rest of the car system and multifunction steering wheel is great. Where I find it isn’t as good any my old tom Tom is thingngs like the graphics around lane direction and some of the other finer instructions it gives, but once you’re used to it it seems to work just fine and always seems to choose the same route as google maps whenever we’ve checked it.

i’ve just upgraded the headbunit in my van and though I wasn’t specifically after one with built in nav I got an  OEM head unit with built in sat nav with live traffic updates, again prioritising OEM integration into multifunction steering wheel and the rest of the system over things like Apple play and so far it seems to work fine also. Don’t think i’ll ever be buying a dedicated sat nav unit again – between google and the built in systems i seem to be covered.

i avoided aftermarket head units that ran off the Android ‘operating system’ as my research from people who had them was they were a bit sluggish and overly complicated and didn’t integrate well into the cars systems despite being advertised as being able to. And there can be installation complications too.

Been using AA/Google maps for 2.5 years. Took it to the USA and put it on a hire car. Works very well.

Sometimes the AA/car interface can be a bit flaky but once yourey connected all is good

I still use the built in sat nav when driving. That frees up my phone to watch netflix.

Tried Android Auto and gave up.  In a Kia Sportage with a 2 different Motorola G4’s it proved impossible to keep a connection for more than a minute.

We tried multiple cables all with no joy as you have to connect via USB to use AA on the in car system and if you do some research on the Android forums it’s not uncommon to have these problems and there is no help from Google apart from “try another cable”.  It just seems like a product that’s still in beta.

It’s a shame really because we also have a Mazda CX-3 which AA isn’t available for and the SatNav in that is rubbish.

Given my experience I’d now have to insist on trying the specific phone, cable car combination before agreeing that AA works in any given car no matter what the manufacturer says.

I still use the built in sat nav when driving. That frees up my phone to watch netflix.

Seems daft when you could use a tablet for netflx

Just realised a fatal flaw perhaps. Does google maps have speed limits and safety camera alerts when navigating-my TomTom has these and is a great help.

Does google maps have speed limits and safety camera alerts when navigating-my TomTom has these and is a great help.

One of the other ones you can use has them, a colleges car has it on his inbuilt, not sure how much the speed camera one is as it going off everywhere there was once a speed trap.

Also signs by side of road include speed limit (roadside update v2.43 I think it was 😉 )

Just realised a fatal flaw perhaps. Does google maps have speed limits and safety camera alerts when navigating-my TomTom has these and is a great help.

Waze does …. (free) … and it also does vehicles stopped on hard shoulders etc.

It’s one reason I use it over google maps …. but then switch to google maps for some specific locations.

Much as it sounds annoying having to switch apps I find the flexibility easily outweighs this and its like having a full tool chest as opposed to trying to use some multi-tool.

Yeah, those little round signs are very good but living In Cambridge where the limit can go from 20 to 30 to 40 in a matter of a few hundred metres keeps keeps you on full alert. Perhaps they could get them to wave at you if you happen to stray a bit over the limit!  Travelling through Norfolk and Suffolk to the coast is a nightmare as well, constantly changing limits all the way.

My car has built in sat nav and android auto. The only benefit of the built in is that it has speed limits and uses part of the dash (just ahead of the wheel).

With android auto I tend to – start both waze and google maps.  Route using google.  Then you get audio prompts of speed cameras from waze!

With latest updates you can unlock your phone (ie the passenger) whilst still plugged in – that was the big gripe before the update.

 living In Cambridge where the limit can go from 20 to 30 to 40 in a matter of a few hundred metres keeps keeps you on full alert.

If you’re behind a wheel then you shouldn’t really be on anything else.

If you’re behind a wheel then you shouldn’t really be on anything else.

True in a pedantic way …. but I think reluctant meant you are basically on full alert for speed signs …

Even if they didn’t… this is my gripe.

I want to be able to focus on other road users, pedestrians, real hazards etc. but some places there are so many signs you end up focussed on them.  Not just speed signs but trying to work out the bus lane times or 101 other restrictions.  (Ones that seem to say if the Moon is rising AND it’s a month with 30 days but NOT Tuesday then you can turn right)

I did see a InterNews thingy about a new sign that netted the council hundreds of thousands per week (last week)… they are maintaining it’s legal … even though it might be it’s obviously confusing and not doing the job.

Wot he ^ said was the point of the comment.