From the 2018 Owner's Guide:
Note that and is in bold type.Quote:
NOTE: The smartphone must be connected
via Bluetooth and with a USB
cable to the USB port located in the
front storage compartment.
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From the 2018 Owner's Guide:
Note that and is in bold type.Quote:
NOTE: The smartphone must be connected
via Bluetooth and with a USB
cable to the USB port located in the
front storage compartment.
Can you not have Android Auto and Apple Car Play both installed and then it works with both OS's? Aren't most if not all automobiles set up this way? The auto manufactures are not developing their own entertainment electronics systems. They all buy 3rd party units that they plug into their dash. The units might be tailored a bit specifically for each auto manufacture but essentially they are all the same.
Its great that BRP used the Bosch system rather than spend a whole bunch of time developing things themselves but was the Bosch system the best choice? If it was is it the best for the rider or BRP? I'm not saying the Bosch setup is bad but it does appear to be very limiting in what it can do. I mean the "BIG" feature for BRP in 2018 is the new dash and connectivity. On the surface the marketing spin and hype looked great but now that we are seeing whats really there I don't know......is it really a "BIG" feature?
Someone mentioned petitioning certain apps to modify their code to work with MySpin. I don't think that's realistic. When Windows decided to jump into the phone/tablet game developers weren't (and still aren't) jumping to write apps for Windows based systems. Android (Google) and Apple have the market. You either play well with them or you don't play. I'm sure their isn't a developer out there saying, "oh I need to be compatible with MySpin".
I don't remember what the website was but there is a listing of what cars will work with Android auto and Apple CarPlay. A lot of cars work with both but many have chosen to work with one or the other. An infotainment system that works with both has got to have two interfaces between the car's software and the connectivity software. It's a question of which way will reap the best market returns. I got the feeling from the one article I came across that BMW car group has a real disdain for Android Auto because they couldn't integrate it well into their ConnectedDrive system that is a key controller for all the other electronics. Keep in mind these interfaces have to communicate with the car's electronics, and those are all different. Who knows how many variations there are of mySPIN car/connectivity program interface at the car side. But the phone side is the same regardless of what car has it. I bet the folks at mySPIN and MirrorLink have a lot of good support to help the car folks write their software to work with them. The way Google operates I'll bet Android Auto is put out there into the world and every car manufacturer is on his own to make his car software work with it. Stability of code is not a hallmark of Google and Android. Don't count on today's version of Android Auto in the car being able work with an Android Auto app on the phone in 2 or 3 years. Apple is more stable over time. If you think about it I'm sure you can see why you wouldn't want the apps on your motorcycle dash to work exactly the same as they do on your car dash. Bosch has unquestionably, in my mind anyway, recognized this and so have developed a version of mySPIN for motorcycles. MirrorLink looks like it has not. Apple obviously worked with Honda to tweak ApplePlay for the Goldwing. But a version for the Spyder probably would not be the same as the version for Goldwing. Because the vehicle manufacturer can establish criteria for how or what parts of an app will run on their vehicle dash don't expect an app that runs one way in a Honda Civic to run the same way on a Goldwing.
I don't think car electronic systems are quite as much the same between brands as you may think they are. Even among one car company's vehicles there will be differences. The Cadillac infotainment system ain't the same as a Chevrolet I'll bet. Each system has to have its own interface with the connectivity app. That is why you see the apparent lack of apps for the Spyder. The vehicle manufacturer controls what apps they will allow to run on their infotainment system. You can be sure licensing issues come into play. And some apps may be easier to adapt to mySPIN than can other apps. Nav apps Sygic and TomTom are available for the car version of mySPIN but maybe their internal coding won't adapt easily from touch screen to joy stick and they see the motorcycle market as being so small it's not worthwhile for them to make the changes needed. Who knows, maybe BRP had to pay developers of the initial apps to modify their apps to run on the Spyder version of mySPIN. Will they accept anyone who comes along with an app that can be easily modified to run on the Spyder mySPIN. Probably not, but if the app is great and popular I'm sure they'll consider it.
Was Bosch the best choice, you ask? The way I see it it is the only choice, unless you want Spyder ryders to actively use a touch screen while riding. I don't know the details but there is no way software that is written for touch screen control will convert to joy stick control without a lot of rewrite. It might be that the conversion of the control commands is part of the mySPIN function. Much of that is probably done by the mySPIN app on the phone which means the app on the phone has to be modified to accept commands from the mySPIN app. Software interfacing is complicated, and software development is expensive.
Two things I'm willing to stake my bets on. First, there will be more apps available in the next few years as demand for them becomes apparent. And second, I'll bet there will be compatibility between new phones and new versions of apps and 2018 Spyders for a longer time period than there will be in the Android Auto world, especially since Google is rumored to be considering dropping Android development.
What there is is a bunch of icons of apps that are available to work with mySPIN, auto version. Not all of those apps work with every vehicle that uses mySPIN. There is no list of apps specific to the motorcycle version of mySPIN, and I'm not sure that all the apps that have been made to work with the Spyder version of mySPIN are in that list.
You can't find a list of apps compatible with the Spyder because there isn't one, yet. :banghead:
From BRP's website there are 4 apps mentioned. I quote.
Be the first rider on the open road to access different vehicle-optimized smartphone apps with Can-Am Spyder. Get directions with Genius Map†, listen to your favorite songs with Music, check the weather with Accuweather †, share experiences with your community with Rever†, and more — all while enjoying your ride.
What exactly does "share experiences with your community" mean? :dontknow:
I could take a smartphone into an outhouse with me, but I don't think that folks would want me to share THAT experience! :yikes:
Ya, me too!!! Thinking of threatening my dealer that If I get to sit on the new Goldwing I might get that instead. They're waiting also so not much of a threat.