# Tesla steering wheel counterweight argument



## Eric

I know there's a lot of pushback against this out there but hear me out. First of all, for those who don't know what a counterweight does on the Tesla is puts a couple of pounds of lean on the wheel so it won't nag you to touch it every 30 seconds to a minute, which is a built-in safety feature for most cars that have an auto steering feature. In the BMW it was capacitive, meaning you it knows the human touch (like an iPhone senses your finger) and much harder to trick, in the case of Tesla, it uses the feel of weight.

Prior to Tesla I owned the BMW and it had CarPlay which made using the iPhone seamless on road trips, texts were easy to dictate with voice and notifications were all super clear and easy to use. The Tesla does not allow CarPlay and has a crappy messaging system that's so cumbersome to use that I pretty much ignore texts until I am off the road or manually type on the iPhone, for longer trips it's hard to ignore for a couple of hours.

Additionally, the inside cabin camera catches you looking down with no hands on the wheel it immediately sounds an alarm and threatens to disengage, yet another safety feature and one could see why they do this as well. So what I've found myself doing is trying to keep the tension on the wheel while texting with the other hand. Also not safe, I get it but the reality is people text and drive all the time, just look at any car driving beside you, so why not make this work safely?

Me and my buddy devised a counterweight using some wire and fishing weights to gently hang off the side and it works like a charm, I rarely use it but if I'm on a long straight stretch (usually longer than an hour) with minimal traffic it allows me to bring my phone up just above the wheel so I can watch both the road and type in a quick message. 

This is far safer than their way of screaming alarms at you and cutting it off and my hands are never more than an inch away from the wheel with my eyes trained forward through the windshield.

After testing with this for a while I've decided that I'm going to buy one designed for the car.


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## Apple fanboy

Eric said:


> I know there's a lot of pushback against this out there but hear me out. First of all, for those who don't know what a counterweight does on the Tesla is puts a couple of pounds of lean on the wheel so it won't nag you to touch it every 30 seconds to a minute, which is a built-in safety feature for most cars that have an auto steering feature. In the BMW it was capacitive, meaning you it knows the human touch (like an iPhone senses your finger) and much harder to trick, in the case of Tesla, it uses the feel of weight.
> 
> Prior to Tesla I owned the BMW and it had CarPlay which made using the iPhone seamless on road trips, texts were easy to dictate with voice and notifications were all super clear and easy to use. The Tesla does not allow CarPlay and has a crappy messaging system that's so cumbersome to use that I pretty much ignore texts until I am off the road or manually type on the iPhone, for longer trips it's hard to ignore for a couple of hours.
> 
> Additionally, the inside cabin camera catches you looking down with no hands on the wheel it immediately sounds an alarm and threatens to disengage, yet another safety feature and one could see why they do this as well. So what I've found myself doing is trying to keep the tension on the wheel while texting with the other hand. Also not safe, I get it but the reality is people text and drive all the time, just look at any car driving beside you, so why not make this work safely?
> 
> Me and my buddy devised a counterweight using some wire and fishing weights to gently hang off the side and it works like a charm, I rarely use it but if I'm on a long straight stretch (usually longer than an hour) with minimal traffic it allows me to bring my phone up just above the wheel so I can watch both the road and type in a quick message.
> 
> This is far safer than their way of screaming alarms at you and cutting it off and my hands are never more than an inch away from the wheel with my eyes trained forward through the windshield.
> 
> After testing with this for a while I've decided that I'm going to buy one designed for the car.



Wow that sounds like a nightmare. How does the insurance deal with a modification like that? I could imagine they would certainly frown upon it.


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## Eric

Apple fanboy said:


> Wow that sounds like a nightmare. How does the insurance deal with a modification like that? I could imagine they would certainly frown upon it.



My guess is if they could show you were using it that they could make an argument. But it's far safer than trying to keep a hand on the wheel while texting, which is what everyone has to do now. If they don't want people to circumvent it they should simplify the system.


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## Apple fanboy

Eric said:


> My guess is if they could show you were using it that they could make an argument. But it's far safer than trying to keep a hand on the wheel while texting, which is what everyone has to do now. If they don't want people to circumvent it they should simplify the system.



Can't you just dictate a text?


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## Eric

Apple fanboy said:


> Can't you just dictate a text?



Yes, but not easily. Their system is cumbersome and hard to use, I'll reiterate though that if it had Apple CarPlay it would be no problem as that makes life in a care seamless with your iPhone. It's a shame these billionaires play stupid games like this, make your shit compatible with all cars and all devices.


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## Apple fanboy

Eric said:


> Yes, but not easily. Their system is cumbersome and hard to use, I'll reiterate though that if it had Apple CarPlay it would be no problem as that makes life in a care seamless with your iPhone. It's a shame these billionaires play stupid games like this, make your shit compatible with all cars and all devices.



Looking forward to having Apple CarPlay on my new BMW!


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## diamond.g

Eric said:


> My guess is if they could show you were using it that they could make an argument. But it's far safer than trying to keep a hand on the wheel while texting, which is what everyone has to do now. If they don't want people to circumvent it they should simplify the system.



<back in my day>. Lol there used to be a simple system, then a couple folks died and others got up in arms about how lax the simple system was on a Tesla and here we now are.


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## fischersd

Does the Tesla allow Android Auto?  Or neither?  Not surprised that Elon's still acting like the spoiled child he is and keeping CarPlay from being in his cars.

Going to be interesting to see how the market shapes up in about 5 years when the other car makers have competitive offerings.

And, per the topic at hand - yeah, I see that.  Also, if you need to pee on a long road trip, you need one hand to hold the bottle and another to aim.  

My fiancee would hate a Tesla then - she drives with her knees A LOT!


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## Cmaier

fischersd said:


> Does the Tesla allow Android Auto?  Or neither?  Not surprised that Elon's still acting like the spoiled child he is and keeping CarPlay from being in his cars.
> 
> Going to be interesting to see how the market shapes up in about 5 years when the other car makers have competitive offerings.
> 
> And, per the topic at hand - yeah, I see that.  Also, if you need to pee on a long road trip, you need one hand to hold the bottle and another to aim.
> 
> My fiancee would hate a Tesla then - she drives with her knees A LOT!



No android auto, no CarPlay.


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## Eric

Anyone tried a third party display for this? I see a few out there that have carplay and android built in, I'm tempted to try it.


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## DT

fischersd said:


> Does the Tesla allow Android Auto? Or neither?




Neither, and I don't miss CP in the Tesla.  I had it in a number of cars, including right now, our other vehicle (Wrangler 4xe), which is nice, since the uConnect lacks a few things (though the wife doesn't care, she just flips on XM/Sirius ... done).

With the Tesla, native OS phone, messaging, works great.   The native nav is much better for the following reasons:



DT said:


> I was reading some conversation elsewhere, and I don't think people are aware of how nicely integrated the Tesla nav (or Lucid, or any of the ground up EV companies) is with the battery and charging management and planning systems.
> 
> Not only does the native nav provide directions, real time traffic, full location info  (restaurants, hotels, with full web display/phone/etc), all through the vehicles GPS/cellular system, on a nice large display - it also shows information that is really integral to the EV ownership experience.  3rd party nav systems don't, and that's a major deficit.
> 
> I can see L2 and DCFC/Superchargers on the map, and for the SuCs, the actual chargers available, in real time, I can see the cost for the specific location.  My battery level is estimated (now with overall temp/weather conditions factored in), and adding stops/waypoints refactors that in real time.
> 
> Additionally, and this is pretty significant, when selecting a DCFC (SuC) as a nav point, the car prepares the battery (aka, pre-conditions) for maximum charging speed upon arrival.
> 
> Until car APIs provide an interface for tightly coupled nav integration, the primary mechanism for me will be the native system, with <other_maps_nav_here> as a sort of backup being used by my trusty 1st officer




The biggest thing is music (and to a slightly lesser degree for me, podcasts). Though, some people aren't aware there's a native, on-demand/streaming service that's not bad (after a few rounds of curations, it's decent at selections, and the "Tesla faves" is shockingly good), and you can of course stream from your phone.  I tend to queue up music and not f*** with the audio other than volume/pause/mute.

There are a couple of native streaming apps, and that's exactly what I'm using now, Spotify Premium.  I asked the little G if she had a preference, since all our Apple Music freebies had run out, without a bit of hesitation, she said Spotify, so I picked up a Premium Duo service (so she can have her own account), and it works fantastically well in the Tesla for both music and podcasts, it sounds stellar, and I'm using it at home on a local Mac app, on my iPhone, and both of those have integration into our Sonos system, so I've got great in home music too.  





fischersd said:


> My fiancee would hate a Tesla then - she drives with her knees A LOT!




I put on TACC (vs. AP) and drive with knees all the time


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## Eric

DT said:


> Neither, and I don't miss CP in the Tesla.  I had it in a number of cars, including right now, our other vehicle (Wrangler 4xe), which is nice, since the uConnect lacks a few things (though the wife doesn't care, she just flips on XM/Sirius ... done).
> 
> With the Tesla, native OS phone, messaging, works great.   The native nav is much better for the following reasons:
> 
> 
> 
> The biggest thing is music (and to a slightly lesser degree for me, podcasts). Though, some people aren't aware there's a native, on-demand/streaming service that's not bad (after a few rounds of curations, it's decent at selections, and the "Tesla faves" is shockingly good), and you can of course stream from your phone.  I tend to queue up music and not f*** with the audio other than volume/pause/mute.
> 
> There are a couple of native streaming apps, and that's exactly what I'm using now, Spotify Premium.  I asked the little G if she had a preference, since all our Apple Music freebies had run out, without a bit of hesitation, she said Spotify, so I picked up a Premium Duo service (so she can have her own account), and it works fantastically well in the Tesla for both music and podcasts, it sounds stellar, and I'm using it at home on a local Mac app, on my iPhone, and both of those have integration into our Sonos system, so I've got great in home music too.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I put on TACC (vs. AP) and drive with knees all the time



I continue to try and work with the native messaging and still just can't get used to it, IMO it's worlds behind CarPlay when it comes to ease of use, undoing, canceling/resending and integration with the iPhone. I'm not giving up on it entirely but TBH it's easier (and safer for me) to text and drive than to navigate that awful system they've designed.


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## Cmaier

Eric said:


> I continue to try and work with the native messaging and still just can't get used to it, IMO it's worlds behind CarPlay when it comes to ease of use, undoing, canceling/resending and integration with the iPhone. I'm not giving up on it entirely but TBH it's easier (and safer for me) to text and drive than to navigate that awful system they've designed.



Agreed. And without CarPlay i have to fiddle with my phone to listen to baseball games, listen to Apple Music, etc.  My wife’s BMW has wireless CarPlay and its worlds ahead of what my Tesla has.   Even the GPS is much better.


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## Eric

Cmaier said:


> Agreed. And without CarPlay i have to fiddle with my phone to listen to baseball games, listen to Apple Music, etc.  My wife’s BMW has wireless CarPlay and its worlds ahead of what my Tesla has.   Even the GPS is much better.



I came from the same setup with my previous 2020 BMW (lease). I still enjoy the Tesla much more as a whole but really miss CarPlay because you got used to the ease of use, also mostly used Apple Maps for navigation since it was so well integrated.


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## DT

Eric said:


> I continue to try and work with the native messaging and still just can't get used to it, IMO it's worlds behind CarPlay when it comes to ease of use, undoing, canceling/resending and integration with the iPhone. I'm not giving up on it entirely but TBH it's easier (and safer for me) to text and drive than to navigate that awful system they've designed.




It's about the same for me, it works as expected:  click, "Send message ...", double/cancel, single/send, tap messages bring up the messages history (tap reply from there if desired).  I sent a message from the Jeep via CP just the last day or so, it was the same process, same accuracy, etc.  I've had the Tesla for almost a year and I had CP in vehicles for about 4 years (GT #1, GT #2, DD/RT and now the Wrangler), and I just don't feel much difference, for me it's sort of an occasional thing anyway (sending a message from the car).

The music thing is a little more complicated if you're already an Apple Music subscriber, we did a few freebies, including a 6 month that came with our phone accounts, I liked it, but at the end of the day, I'm just looking for on demand music, with a huge catalog, the ability to stream to various devices, and with the little G giving the nod to Spotify (she engaged with her friends through it), I'm just as happy, I've lost nothing really, but I was in a position to choose.  Hahaha, and of course, I can use Spotify in the Jeep through CP  

If there was a really well integrated version of CP, that worked well with the huge Tesla display, and it provided charging data through the nav, I would most probably use it, but I just don't feel like it's a loss for me.  YMMV.


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## diamond.g

Cmaier said:


> Agreed. And without CarPlay i have to fiddle with my phone to listen to baseball games, listen to Apple Music, etc.  My wife’s BMW has wireless CarPlay and its worlds ahead of what my Tesla has.   Even the GPS is much better.



You looking to trade your Model S for the i4 M50? It should get 300 miles (I know it says 270 EPA but everyone else is beating EPA but Tesla).


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## Cmaier

diamond.g said:


> You looking to trade your Model S for the i4 M50? It should get 300 miles (I know it says 270 EPA but everyone else is beating EPA but Tesla).



I’m hoping to somehow keep the Model S running another 5 years and then move to NYC so I’ll never have to buy another car, but we’ll see. 

If i had to replace my car today, I’d go with something electric, as cheap as I could get, as long as the range is over 120 miles, and with CarPlay.  I guess.


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## diamond.g

Cmaier said:


> I’m hoping to somehow keep the Model S running another 5 years and then move to NYC so I’ll never have to buy another car, but we’ll see.
> 
> If i had to replace my car today, I’d go with something electric, as cheap as I could get, as long as the range is over 120 miles, and with CarPlay.  I guess.



Why not go back to a gas powered car?


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## Cmaier

diamond.g said:


> Why not go back to a gas powered car?



because electric is better in pretty much every way?


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## DT

diamond.g said:


> You looking to trade your Model S for the i4 M50? It should get 300 miles (I know it says 270 EPA but everyone else is beating EPA but Tesla).




Heck, I wouldn't straight trade my M3P for an i4 M50 right now, even configured to my spec (which would be about $10K more than the MSRP on my car).


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## diamond.g

DT said:


> Heck, I wouldn't straight trade my M3P for an i4 M50 right now, even configured to my spec (which would be about $10K more than the MSRP on my car).



Why not?


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## DT

diamond.g said:


> Why not?




Just not really any interest.  We've owned 4 BMWs, the Tesla is something totally different.  The i4 design looks like all the other ICE 3/4 series (including weirdly unnecessary ICE design elements), the interior isn't nearly as spacious - whether that's measured or perceived it's the same to me - as our TM3 (the BMW interior retained some ICE-ish-ness, it lacks that super open canopy ratio).  I find the Tesla way more interesting, some mix of the car, performance, tech and company pushes my buttons more.   A buddy if mine, who is the in the position to get an i4 if he desired, has the same perspective.

Then the real deal killer: the (DCFC) charging network, it's not even close (at least in the US).

I definitely would consider a BMW EV in the future, like about 2 year out - which will also be a good point to determine how the charging infrastructure has developed - it's just not what I'd want right now.


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## Eric

Not that it's unheard of but I've never known anyone to go electric and return to the ICE, it's more of a step backwards as everything is moving the opposite way.


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## Cmaier

Eric said:


> Not that it's unheard of but I've never known anyone to go electric and return to the ICE, it's more of a step backwards as everything is moving the opposite way.




Who wants to buy a car that requires stops at gas stations, has all sorts of complicated parts that can break, has a low cargo/passenger-space-per-volume ratio, and belches stinky stuff out its tail pipe once you’re used to the alternative?

I still recall seeing the Tesla “sled” with just the battery, motor, and suspension. It’s so elegantly simple. ICE is such a kludge.


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## DT

Eric said:


> Not that it's unheard of but I've never known anyone to go electric and return to the ICE, it's more of a step backwards as everything is moving the opposite way.




Heck, I can't wait to replace our 2nd ride which is a PHEV with a BEV 

Don't get me wrong, it's been pretty solid, and it has done a good job of being a very competitive EV, and having an ICE system that's greatly improved by the hybrid tech.


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## fischersd

I'm sure you guys will see this eventually, but if I was a Tesla owner, I'd be getting it  









						Apple CarPlay Workaround for Tesla Vehicles Now Available to Download
					

Apple CarPlay is now available for Tesla vehicles – but only for owners willing to resort to a workaround that uses a connected Raspberry Pi.   In...




					www.macrumors.com
				




Non-MR site with the info:








						Tesla Apple CarPlay Hack Now Available for Download • iPhone in Canada Blog
					

"Tesla Android," Polish developer Michał Gapiński's workaround for running Apple CarPlay on a Tesla, is now available to download on Github.




					www.iphoneincanada.ca
				




Project website:




__





						Home - Tesla Android Project
					






					tesla-android.gapinski.eu


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## Eric

fischersd said:


> I'm sure you guys will see this eventually, but if I was a Tesla owner, I'd be getting it
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> Apple CarPlay Workaround for Tesla Vehicles Now Available to Download
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> Apple CarPlay is now available for Tesla vehicles – but only for owners willing to resort to a workaround that uses a connected Raspberry Pi.   In...
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> Non-MR site with the info:
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> Tesla Apple CarPlay Hack Now Available for Download • iPhone in Canada Blog
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> "Tesla Android," Polish developer Michał Gapiński's workaround for running Apple CarPlay on a Tesla, is now available to download on Github.
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> www.iphoneincanada.ca
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> Home - Tesla Android Project
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> tesla-android.gapinski.eu



I've never messed with Raspberry Pi before so it looks like there's a learning curve that I'm not sure I'm ready for yet, I'll still keep my eye on it.


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## Cmaier

fischersd said:


> I'm sure you guys will see this eventually, but if I was a Tesla owner, I'd be getting it
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> Apple CarPlay Workaround for Tesla Vehicles Now Available to Download
> 
> 
> Apple CarPlay is now available for Tesla vehicles – but only for owners willing to resort to a workaround that uses a connected Raspberry Pi.   In...
> 
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> www.macrumors.com
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> Non-MR site with the info:
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> 
> Tesla Apple CarPlay Hack Now Available for Download • iPhone in Canada Blog
> 
> 
> "Tesla Android," Polish developer Michał Gapiński's workaround for running Apple CarPlay on a Tesla, is now available to download on Github.
> 
> 
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> www.iphoneincanada.ca
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> Project website:
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> __
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> Home - Tesla Android Project
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> tesla-android.gapinski.eu



Wouldn‘;t work for me. Web browser in my tesla couldn‘t possibly play video.  My car is too old.


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## Runs For Fun

I won't consider a car without CarPlay. It's a shame Tesla doesn't have it and probably never will. I've thought about getting a Tesla at various times but no CarPlay is a huge deal breaker for me.


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## Eric

Runs For Fun said:


> I won't consider a car without CarPlay. It's a shame Tesla doesn't have it and probably never will. I've thought about getting a Tesla at various times but no CarPlay is a huge deal breaker for me.



Last time I tried using their messaging hands free I accidentally sent a text to my mom (who has since passed months ago) while trying to send to someone else. Also, if you don't get the gestures exactly right when you try to cancel it still sends your garbled text anyway. It's flat out a terrible design and pretty much useless. 

Tesla is a great EV in its own right but I have no compunctions about bypassing their shitty systems, whether it's the FSD or hacking in CarPlay, but I'll wait until there is a simpler way to integrate it than buying Raspberry Pi devices.


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## DT

Runs For Fun said:


> I won't consider a car without CarPlay. It's a shame Tesla doesn't have it and probably never will. I've thought about getting a Tesla at various times but no CarPlay is a huge deal breaker for me.




I used to be more into CP back when I had my two Mustangs (and I really just used Music and Nav, no 3rd party apps), now I rarely think about it, and we still have a vehicle that has it.  Like I outlined in another post, I wouldn't use CP nav in the Tesla, I wouldn't want to lose all the really slick real-time battery/range/charging information, and for Music and Podcasts, Spotify (premium) is a solid alternative to Apple Music that works natively on the Tesla, and has apps for iOS, CP, AA, plus a desktop app that integrated nicely with our Sonos gear.

When I look at the incredible Supercharging network in the US - or when I stand on the accelerator - I don't think about not having CarPlay


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## Apple fanboy

If you MUST have CarPlay, don’t bank on it in your BMW. 








						BMW Shipping New Cars Temporarily Without Apple CarPlay
					

BMW is temporarily shipping new cars without Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality due to the automaker changing its chip supplier (via Automotive News Europe).    The new chips built into many BMWs manufactured this year require updated software to be able to run Apple CarPlay and...




					forums.macrumors.com
				



That’s why I’m hunting down a nearly new one. Not having a car I ordered coming with half the bits missing!


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