It’s increasingly common for new vehicles to come equipped with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, the in-car smartphone screen mirroring technology that lets you control your phone from your car’s dashboard. But Mazda doesn’t want owners of slightly older cars to feel left out. The car manufacturer is offering owners of vehicles dating back to 2014 to upgrade their infotainment systems to ones that are compatible with both Apple and Google’s car offerings.
If you own an older model of Mazda, you might be able to get the upgrade to the Mazda Connect infotainment system for $199 plus labor. Mazda did not provide a full list of eligible cars, so contact your dealer to find out if you qualify. According to the company, the upgrade process will take about two hours to complete. Depending on what your dealership charges for labor, it could end up costing you as much as $500 to complete the upgrade. But if you find yourself in your car a lot, it might be worth paying for. It’s about the cost of a phone to have access to your phone right on your dashboard.
The swap to the Mazda Connect infotainment system will require a hardware swap within your car, including a change to 2.1-amp USB ports. That’s an upgrade over the 1-amp USB ports found in most older Mazdas, which isn’t powerful enough to both charge a phone and offer mirroring features like showing directions from the Maps app. The higher power USB ports are needed to facilitate Apple CarPlay and Android Auto features.
If you’re unfamiliar with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, systems effectively put your smartphone’s home screen right on your car’s infotainment system. Many apps are available through the system, which allows you to go hands-free and continue to stay connected. Apple just recently upgraded CarPlay with iOS 12 so that users are able to mirror Google Maps or Waze within their vehicles, opening up the option to use third-party navigation apps other than the company’s own Maps app. Both Google and Apple regularly update the system to expand support, especially as they become more common in modern vehicles.
Related Posts
Tesla Model 3 got outsold by an EV from a Chinese smartphone brand
The Chinese smartphone maker delivered 258,164 units of its first EV. Meanwhile, Tesla sold only 200,361 Model 3s, marking the first time since Tesla's Chinese launch that another brand has overtaken it in the world's largest EV market.
Your future BMW electric M3 will still sound like a real M car
Instead of trying to invent a new "sound of the future" filled with abstract spaceship hums and digital warbles, BMW’s Motorsport division is digging into its own history books. New videos from the development team reveal that the upcoming electric M3 will feature a synthetic audio system built from high-fidelity recordings of the brand’s most iconic internal combustion engines. We aren't talking about generic engine noises here; BMW is literally sampling the legends.
This is the tech that makes Volvo’s latest EV a major step forward
The 2027 Volvo EX60 boasts engineering improvements in a package that’s likely to have mass appeal. It’s based on a new architecture that offers improved range and charging performance, backed by software with now-obligatory AI integration. And as a five-seat SUV similar in size to the current Volvo XC60 — the automaker’s bestselling model — it’s exactly the type of car most people are looking for.