Issue link: https://imageup.uberflip.com/i/1029539
16 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | OCTOBER 2018 By Steve Benoff Make sure your next car has Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto. I owned my 2007 Lexus for ten years. When I would take it in for service, the dealer would give me a loaner that would show real-time traffic on the map display. I vowed then that my next car would have that feature. Last year I bought a new car, and it came with traffic information provided by Sirius XM. I'm used to seeing traffic on my phone so I looked forward to the same information displayed in my car. It didn't take me long to realize that the traffic info I was used to seeing on my phone was not appearing in my car. I could see traffic on the 10 Freeway but not on local streets. I could see freeway traffic within a radius of about 40 miles but not beyond. One day I was driving to Redlands and hit a slow down which wasn't displayed in my car. But if I changed the screen to enlarge my immediate location, the slow down appeared. The kicker is that after a trial period I had to start paying for traffic from Sirius XM. Sirius XM also provided music channels including a dozen hip- hop choices but only one classical music and one real jazz channel. Again, after a trial period, I had to pay to continue using Sirius XM music. But I don't pay for lousy traffic and limited music in my car because my car is equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. If I plug my phone into my car's USB port and select CarPlay from the menu, my phone appears on the display in my car. (I understand that some cars can use CarPlay wirelessly. That's a nice advantage.) I can select Apple Maps and see traffic anywhere I choose – on freeways and city streets including smaller streets in Beaumont. IPhones with IOS 12 can also display Google Maps. While I'm looking at traffic on my car's display, I can listen to music from my phone as well. This includes music I've purchased and stored on my phone as well as music from my Spotify app that I can select on my car's display. And if I get a text message, I can choose to hear it and send a voice reply. I can listen to podcasts on my podcasts app as well. I can ask Siri to find a destination and have it displayed in my car. All of this for free because my car came with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In my case, I pay for Spotify on a monthly basis because I prefer to subscribe to its premium service, but I could listen to the free version just as easily. That amount is less than Sirius XM charges for its lowest music tier and half the cost of its premium tier. Sirius XM traffic is a different charge I avoid completely because I can use the traffic provided for free on my phone. So make sure your next car comes with Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto. I'm sure that when you take your test drive and see traffic from Sirius XM displayed in the car and you listen to one of their music channels, you'll be very impressed. Just remember you'll soon be paying for those features when you can let your phone provide better services for less. Do you use an app you'd like to share with others. Let me know at steve.benoff@verizon.net. Apple CarPlay & Android Auto THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT!