QOTD: How Important is Smartphone Mirroring to You?

by Tim Healey

Published: June 20th, 2024

qotd how important is smartphone mirroring to you

Earlier this week we reported about a study that showed approximately a third of car buyers would not buy a new car without smartphone mirroring -- meaning with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

The study came from controversial firm McKinsey and Company -- a consulting firm that has often found itself embroiled in scandals and criticized for being, uh, morally casual* with its ethics and ideas. If you've ever read about the Enron failure you'll see McKinsey played a starring role in that debacle.

But I digress. Let's put McKinsey's reputation aside and assume that this study is reliable. We found it reliable enough to report on, after all. The numbers make sense -- my purely anecdotal experience seems to back the findings. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are nice features that have a broad appeal.

*Thanks "Animal House" for that great phrase.

Some of you are in the market for a new car. So I ask of you -- how important is it for you that automakers offer these features? Remember, GM is saying it will take the option away on EVs soon. Would that make you less likely to buy a GM EV?

What say you?

Sound off below.

[Image: Infiniti]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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2 of 75 comments

Bof65705611 on Jun 24, 2024
CarPlay is awesome. Nav and music have been mentioned but it’s also amazing for texting, WhatsApp, my calendar, Zoom calls, FaceTime calls, and phone calls. I don’t like touchscreens in the car but both my cars (BMW, Mazda) use a rotary knob, which isn’t great, but doable with minimal time with eyes off the road.

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Spookiness on Jun 24, 2024
Don't have it but want it. The most useful reasons for having a smartphone are: navigation, podcasts, recorded music. Those functions should integrate as seamlessly as possible in my next vehicle.

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