Hi there,

My folks (in their late 60's) just bought a new Fit. They've currently got Android smartphones (Galaxy S4). The sales critter at their local dealer told them that the infotainment system on the Fit only works with iPhones and that he'd be happy to sell them the correct cable and they should go buy iPhones. Is this true?

I'm an Audi guy so I know nothing at all about the Fit (until I see theirs at Thanksgiving), but I get dragged into every technology issue in their lives. Anyone know how to get a bog standard bluetooth connection to work so they can get handsfree calling and get the audio from google maps navigation to play over their system?

Thanks in advance,

Familyguy

 

Us old folks are distracted enough without screwing around with a phone while driving. I leave mine turned off if I remember to bring it with me.

I do use my Garmin when lost though.

Sorry but I am of the opinion phones and cars do not mix and should never be used at the same time.

72 and still Fitting -)

 

Just set the phone as a Bluetooth audio device via the infotainment system. Well the dealer is wrong and right, he's wrong since you can pretty much use any Android or IOS smarthphone to do handsfree calling and output the audio from google maps via Bluetooth. He's right since you won't be able to use Hondalink or Apple Car play

 

Hi familyguy!

Thank you (and parents) for purchasing a brand new '15 Fit. Regarding any in-car technology issues/questions please contact our In-Car Technology Support desk at (888) 528-7876 so a representative can assist you.


Thank you,

Jonathan
Social Media Team
Honda Automobile Customer Service
Twitter: @HondaCustSvc

 

I will respectfully take issue with that. Tying quickly changing technology to a car seems foolhardy. Only a couple of years ago, Blackberry phones were dominant and now they're practically dead (maybe less than 5% penetration in the world). A car, as a durable piece of gear that might be around for tens of years, ought to offer the most generic interface possible and let folks buy/upgrade their electronics on a whim.

Apple devices currently represent 11.9% (and falling) of smartphone devices in the world compared to Android's 84.6%. So I'm a bit confused about why Honda would fund (because you know Apple isn't funding it) an application to tie a phone to the car's infotainment system when it represents a relatively tiny share of the market. Seems like a ham handed decision to me.

As for the utility of a phone. I currently have about 10,000 songs on the cheap 64GB SDcard in my phone. That gives me access to 10,000 or so songs that are in my CD library wherever I go. I spend a good deal of time commuting in my car and being able to play whatever I want WHEN I want is valuable to me. And my phone automagically cuts in when I have a call and Google maps automagically cuts in with turn-by-turn directions. No car manufacturer can keep up with that pace of development and the ones that try are trying to charge car owners $100 or more per "update" to try. No thanks. Google updates are FREE.

Hope that clarifies things.

Best,

 

The Fit I drove worked with my S4 without any issue. Its all Bluetooth in theirs correct?

 

It might have something to do with attracting a group of customers so hungry for the bleeding edge that they will line up outside the Apple Boutique a day in advance to get their new phone a few hours before their peers. If Honda is lucky these customers might become as addicted to having every new automotive innovation as well.

Bluetooth will work fine with an Android phone.

 

Some other stuff coming into play is the government is at war with each other on who owns control over cell phones. The FCC has it now. But might be handing it over to NHTSA in the future. They want full control over anything that interfaces with a car. And soon as they win. It will all be forced off by them in the name of safety.

 

Thank you for the support number. I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 and have the same question about connecting.

 

Thanks for all the replies. So it seems they're just fine with Android and bluetooth connectivity. I'll help them get that integrated so they can skip the iPhone and "special cable" purchase.

They're otherwise quite happy with the car.

Best,

 

In the US, iPhone still has a large market share even compared to Android - 40% or so I checked. Still, being able to link my phone to the car is useful for hands free calling and music. People have always suggested car manufacturers stop developing there own OS for cars and just display exactly what's on your phone and seems like the Fit is in the right direction with the iPhone at least, with that HDMI display.

 

That is incorrect:

Android loses some US market share but remains top dog - CNET

Android is #1 in the USA. Granted now that iPhone 6 is out, they might catch up some but overall it is a moot point. Honda is an international company.


Edit: oooops I thought you said larger....not large.

 

Oh Crud, that 20'ish number was for SAMSUNG's market share in the US lol. Deleted that part to be more clear. Is Honda only offering iPhone HDMI support in other countries as well, though? Then again, maybe it's just simpler to develop for the iphone, like how it is for games/apps.

 

Ha. Now I get it. Overall it is still silly, Honda should at least make sure 90% of all smartphone users are satisfied (iOS and Android). Sorry Win Phones/Blackberry users. Give us Android Auto and Carplay! =P

 

The salesperson would seem to either be one with a very strong personal iPhone preference, some inexplicable hatred of Android, or most likely, inadequate training.

Both platforms work perfectly well in a Fit. As the poster above mentioned, pairing Android will allow calls to be made and received through the car's system (hands-free) and any audio content on the phone will stream through the car's system. Most apps that are remote capable (podcast players, music players, etc) can be controlled through the steering wheel.

The only significant piece that is missing on Android (for now, and perhaps forever unless Honda is actually still working on it) is "HondaLink" which gives an even tighter integration to iPhones by allowing a navigation app on the phone to be usable on the 7" screen, along with a handful of other apps that become operable that way. This would be the feature that requires the special cable. We had also been under the impression that Honda is developing this for Android, but we haven't heard anything for a while and I'm starting to wonder if it ever will happen. But unless the navigation-on-large-screen is a big deal, quite a bit can be done through simple Bluetooth pairing.

 

Bluetooth-only integration is just fine. Having a proprietary app that only works with devices from a single vendor to get "full functionality" strikes me as being a rather short-sighted business decision.

But then again, maybe one of the previous posters was on to something. Perhaps they're after folks who are willing to stand outside a store in line for days in order to get the latest gadget. *shrug*

 

its true. Honda(link) only works for iPhones. use the bluetooth as a way around it

 

One has to remember that so many Android devices and versions are out there it takes more time to create stable applications.