Please, let's not start with personal attacks. The phone and the software go hand in hand, but the hardware in the car won't be updated. That's the sticking point.

What is going to guarantee that? The same people who promise to update Android phones regularly?

Three years is hardly old in car terms. Nobody is going to support 10-year-old display and input hardware in a car and it is unreasonable to assume that such hardware will remain static. What did automotive display/input technology look like in 2004? Do you think that 2024 hardware will be anything like what we have today?

 

Sorry about the personal attack. You are right that at some point the newest cars are going to have superior touch screens, maybe HUDs and gesture-based controls that Android Auto can take advantage, but older cars won't get those features dependent on new hardware.

But the old Android Auto features will still work. The primary features are music and navigation. The related hardware, speaker and GPS technology, has not changed much in decades, so those features should work throughout the lifetime of Android Auto.

Say worst case scenario, there are never any software updates ever, and all we have is version one of Android Auto. It would still be WAAAY better than HondaLink. More realisticly, a car that supports Android Auto should be able to keep up with updates for at least a few years, then future features might only work on newer cars, then eventually after maybe five years they won't be able to get any updates. Five years of updates is still a lot better than zero years of updates with HondaLink.

Even if Android stops getting updates, the support services like Google Now, Google Maps and Google Music can still be updated independent of any hardware or base OS. For example, say one still has iOS 5 version of Google Maps. They are living years in the past with an old OS and map app. But the underlying basemap of Google Maps is continually updated, as is the routing engine, so their navigation and basemap experience are still 100% up to date even though none of their software and hardware has been updated. Google Now continues to add new features, like telling you where you parked your car, this does not require any user updates, it is a cloud-based update on Google's end that provides better information to your old app.

 

This pretty much sums it up. I would rather have Android Auto than Hondalink. I am seriously hoping that it will still come to the Fit and Honda is just holding out on the announcement to try to sell their terrible Nav app. Hell I would be willing to buy EX-L even though I don't like leather. The last thing I want to do is buy a new car, only to be totally outdated the next year (like I did when I bought my 2008 Fit without Bluetooth).

 

You might keep holding off. I have been told that there is an update coming and then not, never a straight answer. Just got a response from Honda in writing 12-08-2014 that contradicts everything I've been told in the past. "The Honda audio system is built to be compatible with i-phones. It is not built to be compatible with android phones. Some functions will work with android phones but it is hit and miss depending on the specific phone"

 

My speculation on this:

We have two methods of connecting a handset -- 1) Bluetooth, using various established bluetooth standards for phone and media device connectivity/streaming; 2) HondaLink, using a cable which includes an HDMI connector.

Honda included the Bluetooth connectivity without specifically building it for any given phone, expecting that it'll either work or not work depending on how a specific handset's bluetooth implementation works and how the weather and phase of the moon happen to be that day. This is what those of us with Android have been relying upon. This is what Honda has referred to at times in stating that they have Android compatibility, and at other times just stating that "your mileage may vary".

As far as HondaLink, that apparently was designed to depend on a software component called "MirrorLink" which (although I'm not certain) probably is built into iPhones and also as of the release date of the current Fit was built into only certain Android phones offered by Sony but was expected to come with many others. Whether that happened, I don't know. I'm thinking Honda *intended* to write a new HondaLink for Android which would work for all of those, promised "future Android HondaLink compatibility" with the expectation of both widespread adoption of MirrorLink AND their own development of the new HondaLink app, and then something happened. Maybe MirrorLink wasn't added to many other handsets and they decided not to bother writing the app, or maybe they decided not to write it for some other reason such as this implementation wasn't quite working as expected and they had trouble writing such an app.

I'm thinking with Android Auto, possibly the desire to support MirrorLink in new handsets eroded quickly in favor of supporting the upcoming Android Auto. Again, I'm speculating here.

Maybe MirrorLink IS more common now and the app is still in the works but they're saying nothing. Maybe they found another way apart from MirrorLink to make this work and they're working on it and saying nothing. I'd guess that either of these "maybe's" is really unlikely, but who knows.

My candidate for "most likely" in my view is that MirrorLink hasn't really taken off in Android phones and Honda has abandoned HondaLink for Android, and has since decided to stop promising "future compatibility" and hope we'll all forget that they ever had promised it. I notice that the mentions of "coming later this year" has disappeared from their website at some point.

Finally, I'm somewhat annoyed that they're going so far as to claim that their system is not built to be compatible with Android phones. Well, as far as HondaLink is concerned, that's true, but the car DOES support Bluetooth standards, and to that end, it IS effectively designed to support Android phones and any and all others which implement Bluetooth in a way that works with Honda's Bluetooth implementation. That's a function of the Bluetooth stack on the phone, not the operating system.

The erratic reliability from handset to handset speaks not so much about Android as it does about Bluetooth's inherent screwiness as a standard. It's really, really squirrely, and the standards are difficult to follow and really loose, and even when both sides of the transaction implement it to the best of their ability in accordance with the written specs, there is a good chance their devices aren't going to quite work well together. Many Bluetooth implementations have worked with other devices because they've taken the reference code and just written around that, without much modification. That is problematic in some ways too (security issues in that code are replicated all over the place) but at least it increases the odds of compatibility.

I believe Google wrote their own Bluetooth stack rather than just pulling in the reference code, and each version of Android has further tweaked this code, and moreover, each handset maker has possibly tinkered with it as well, creating a heap of variations which will work to varying degrees. I'd also guess you get some added variation from the many different Bluetooth radios in use in these devices. I happen to have one of the handsets that works really well, but another unfortunate user might have one that won't even connect to the car.

And as far as Bluetooth goes, maybe there is an ounce of truth in the "we designed it to work with iPhones" line -- maybe they DID go through the trouble of tweaking their Bluetooth implementation so that it has no issue whatsoever with any iPhones, but left the sea of Android devices to work with varying degrees depending on how good that device's bluetooth stack and radio happen to be.

 

iPhone user here, but continuing to follow with much interest Honda's in-car integration efforts (and still not-so-patiently waiting on CarPlay)…

I saw this a few days ago - looks like Honda is indeed actively working on Andriod Auto and associated apps:

https://developer.hondasvl.com

es

 

I agree with you on the points you are making. The operation system on my Apple iPhone 3G is no longer updated. Not only that, but I was recently informed by my Credit Union that I could no longer deposit funds using my phone to take pictures of checks, for deposits. I needed to update to the newer Apple OS in order to continue that feature (the same OS Apple no longer sends to iPhone 3G models).

Pretend my phone is my car.....

Microsoft used to try and carry along all the legacy stuff for years. As a result, their OS was so bloated, it became a beast feeding on itself. Finally, Microsoft had to let go the older standards and devices, which is also of course what enables all the supporting industries to continue to grow and develop newer technologies.

I wish I could still buy a dot-matrix printer. Do you know how cheap the paper was for a dot-matrix printer?

Thinking any electronic device will last/be supported forever is pure fantasy. Call intel and tell them you need support for an old 8086 microprocessor, or try and find the companion math co-processor (I have one, new in the box, if anyone is interested in purchasing it).

For those wanting an Android based solution in their car, to replace Hondalink, don't hold your breath waiting for the 2015 Fit to become compatible. Perhaps in the 2016 model?

 

I’ve been an IT professional for longer than some here have been alive. My son is a software engineer. Both fields depend heavily upon processes for success. Selection of an operating system and hardware to support it is the last part of an extensive process beginning with defining the task(s) to be accomplished.

Fanbois run this process in reverse, and usually wind up trying to blame someone else, certainly not themselves or their sacred OS/hardware, for their inability to accomplish tasks and get work done. I’ve seen this over and over for decades, long before smartphones.

It's this simple. If you really want integration of a smartphone with your 2015 (and probably 2016) Honda Fit, you'll need an Apple iPhone. Period. That's indisputable. If you'd prefer to whine that Honda doesn't support your precious OS over actually having that capability and getting the job done, you won't.

If you don't yet own a Honda Fit, you can wait for a 2016, or more likely a 2017, for Honda to at least support the one and only Android Phone, the Google Nexus. Although my developer son's company could easily support the Nexus, they don't support ANY Android because of the expectation if it works with one it should work with all. That's clearly not and never will be the case.

Either way, if you now own an Android-semicompatible (my son calls them Android-incompatibles), and care in the least for just a chance of compatibility of a particular smartphone with a future Honda product, you'll eventually replace it with a Nexus. If you want smartphone integration now and in the future, you'll replace that semi-Android phone with an Apple iPhone.

The chance of an existing Android-semicompatible ever integrating with a Honda approaches zero. You can put your pipe dream up as an argument against this reality, but that won't change it. You're either a doer or a whiner (but you can be both ).

Edit: I have no dog in this fight. I use a prepaid flip phone.

 

Because looking for texters, honking your horn and writing down license plates isn't distracting you at all. SMH

 

I respect your experience and your opinions. These forums are to share and gain knowledge of the particular topic. I think prospective buyers who use the "Android-semicompatibles" need to know Android phones are not compatible with the 2015 Honda Fit's audio system. That is per Honda 12-8-2015. It is "hit or miss" with Android in spite of what Honda's very own phone compatibility website claims. A very real problem is, that Honda has been misleading prospective car buyers into believing that their new audio system is compatible with Android. They do this on their own websites, and by the salespeople at their dealerships.

 

This Android Phone is largely compatible with the 2015 Honda Fit's audio system, if not with HondaLink. It will likely be the first to actually work with HondaLink apps, such as the Nav. In fact, I strongly suspect Honda developers have that phone working with HondaLink now, but won't release the apps because of the huge number of problems that will be found on semi-compatibles.

 

Android compatibility can mean several things. Android does have standard Bluetooth calls and music support. iPhones have further integration. Without specifying what type of integration you are referring too, confusion arises.

Types of integration:

Phone calls as a Bluetooth headset
[X] iPhone
[X] Android

Music/stereo audio, includes any app/OS audio output, such as Google Maps spoken directions or Google Now

[X] iPhone
[X] Android

Next/previous controls on touchscreen and steering wheel
[X] iPhone
[X] Android

Song title display on touchscreen
[X] iPhone
[X] Android


OS Integration The topic of this thread
[ ] iPhone Carplay
[ ] Android Auto
The 2015 Fit is unlikely to be updated to support these. The 2016 model might and would be worth waiting for.

HDMI video display of official Honda navigation app while driving, with USB cable passing touch screen gestures back to phone
[X] iPhone
[ ] Android

Honda might release an Android app that works with the HDMI input for displaying navigation. This is often the type of Android compatibility dealers refer to when they say an Android update/compatibility is coming, and causes confusion when the type of compatibility is not specified.

HDMI video display while parked
[X] iPhone
[X] Android
[X] Any 720p HDMI video source

HDMI audio while driving
[X] iPhone
[X] Android
[X] Any HDMI audio source

Audio over USB, with track list display and song selection
[X] iPhone (iPod integration)
[X] Android (as USB drive)

HondaLink voice command integration for calls and texting
[X] iPhone
[X] Android

Mobile OS voice command integration
[X] iPhone's Siri Eyes-Free, activated from steering wheel button, calls/texting/music/directions/reminders/etc..., very useful
[ ] Android's Google Now, user would have to activate Google Now on their phone, no steering wheel integration, but audio would pass through car's directional microphone and speakers (if paired as a phone? not sure if smart enough to talk to driver from front-left speaker only, like Siri Eyes-Free does)

Please correct me if I got any of that wrong or I am missing some type of relevant integration.

 

Nice job, Simon!

For lack of a better term, you could label this HondaLink Integration. I predict it will be very problematic except with Nexus, even perhaps so with "Google Play" phones. I agree it might be in 2016 Fits shipping in Sep-Oct 2015. I could be wrong, but I believe it's highly unlikely 2015 Fits will be firmware updated to support it.

 

This is what bothers me the most. Any "Bluetooth Button" on a bluetooth device easily activates Google Now. An aftermarket head unit with the little "phone" button (when pressed) will activate Now. Why on Earth does the Honda unit need to try to "integrate" it with the system? There's no need.

 

The quote in my post "Android phones are not compatible with the 2015 Honda Fit's audio system" is from Honda. I did not just make that statement. To avoid confusion, I bought a new phone but an older model, as it is "compatible with most features" according to automobiles.honda.com/handsfreelink/. I have had multiple problems with compatibility (bluetooth skips, caller ID not accurate, screen display inaccurate etc...) which I addressed with the dealer. The service department found the audio unit faulty and in agreement with Honda Tech decided to replace the unit. Honda Tech then decided against the replacement as it was then disclosed per Honda techline reference number 3643304 that "Honda is aware of some other issues with the audio unit and they are working on either a hardware or software update to fix the issue"11-05-2015. Further correspondence from Honda dated 12-8-2015 "The Honda audio system is built to be compatible with i-phones. It is not built to be compatible with android phones. Some functions will work with android phones but it is hit and miss depending on the specific phone".

 

The fact that Honda refers to the iPhone as an "i-phone" does not give me confidence that Honda understands phones. At least they don't say "Droid" when they mean "Android".

Thanks, Marc. Some of my names for these "types" of integration are verbose because HondaLink seems to be the name of Honda's infotainment platform as a whole but also used to refer to specific components of HondaLink, like the iPhone navigation app.

 

i think pioneer really hit the nail on the head with this one. what it should be is a firmware update. you can choose when you buy your car HONDA LINK, CarPlay, Android. there is no need to make all these different head units. its all software.

 

I suspect most will do like Volvo and support both CarPlay and Android Auto in the same firmware. That way, if one spouse is Google and the other Apple, both phones will work.

 

I have a Moto G LTE Gen1 running KitKat. I am able to pair my phone with my Fit EX (including phonebook sync which I could care less about), make and receive calls and I am also able to stream music. I dislike the fact that in order to hear voice prompt in Google Maps/Nav, you have to have the Bluetooth audio source active. I would rather hear the voice prompts coming directly from my phone speaker so that I could be using any media/audio source. I have asked for that to be added to the Maps/Nav app on the Google Forums. Apparently Waze has that capability but I don't use Waze.

I have not quite got the hang of making calls with the voice prompts yet because of it being a multi-level process, having to hit the talk button multiple times with multiple levels of voice prompts. This system is ridiculous. When I hit the "talk" button, I want direct communication with my phone's voice dialing/command capability and the in-car system should just "get out of the way". Feature Phones from 2006 and older could do this. It sounds like this is what Android Auto is aiming to do. Let's hope so. (Like how I brought that back on topic? )

 

Exactly!!!!! If they followed the Bluetooth standards for headset/handsfree, this should "just work" !