 Hey twin, I am currently driving an Apple car. I thought you were driving a Chevy Malibu. Okay it's not an Apple car, but it does have Apple Car Play, which means I can plug my iPhone into the dashboard and get access to all of my apps and iMessages and Siri and it's all powered by the phone. It's funny that you say that because the Honda Civic that I'm driving has both Apple Car Play and Android Auto, except unlike you, I'm using Android Auto, which is similar in that I plug my Android phone into the dashboard and I have access to all kinds of Android functions. But I think there's still some differences we should probably tell people about. Based on my experience so far, using Apple Car Play is basically like having a giant iPhone on your dashboard. The app icons look exactly the same. The only difference is this status bar on the side here which shows you time of day, has a home button and it shows you your cell signal strength. So Android Auto doesn't have that grid-like app format. Instead what you're going to see are a bunch of notifications or if you're familiar with Android, cards that pop up as you need them. And then below that there are some action icons for things that you would want quick access to in your car. But to be clear, it's not like you download apps directly to your car dashboard. Right, you're still downloading apps onto your smartphone and then that's what's powering the dashboard. Also, not all of the apps that are on your iPhone are going to show up on Car Play. So there are some third-party audio apps you can access like Spotify or Pandora or a podcasting app, but it's not like you're going to run a third-party photo app from your Car Play dashboard. Same with Android Auto. There are some third-party apps that you can access through this, but it's not like you're going to be able to access all of the apps on your smartphone. Let's talk about maps. Yes, let's talk about maps. One of the more obvious benefits of having something like a Car Play or an Android Auto is having your smartphone's maps app directly on your dashboard instead of using your car's navigation system, which in some cases might not get live updates. Yeah, but with Apple Car Play, you have to use Apple Maps, whereas with Android Auto, you get to use Google Maps. And it's a pretty standard Google Maps interface. Also, with Google Maps and Android Auto, you can pinch to zoom, whereas with Apple Maps, you have to use zoom buttons in order to zoom in on the map. You know, Apple Maps has gotten a lot better. I don't appreciate the shade. Yeah, I hear Apple Maps will be better when the next version of iOS comes out. Also, Apple Car Play has iMessage, which will be read aloud to you and you can respond with your voice. Yeah, but you can't reply to third-party apps with Apple Car Play, whereas with Android Auto, messages from third-party apps like Skype and Kik and WhatsApp will be read aloud to you, and then you can actually reply with your voice as well. Another benefit to Apple Car Play is having Siri directly in your car dashboard. So you just long press a button on your steering wheel, and then you can ask Siri for directions or to open certain apps, and she'll do it for you. Yeah, Android Auto has voice control too. In fact, a lot of the interactions are through voice control. In theory, this is all supposed to be less distracting. Another small difference between the two is that you can still interact with your iPhone when it's plugged in and powering Car Play, but you can't interact with your Android phone while you have it plugged in using Android Auto. Yeah, this goes back to the distraction thing. You can't do that now, but maybe in a future update you'll be able to interact with your Android phone while it's plugged in. And I bet it might be less buggy too. Yeah, I bet that update will be less buggy for you too, because in our experience Android Auto has crashed a little bit more than Car Play has. Well, maybe that's the car's fault. I mean, even when you give your entire dashboard over to the phone, it doesn't mean the car maker can't still screw things up. The bottom line is that Car Play and Android Auto are supposed to let you do some of the things that you do on your smartphone, but directly on your car dashboard, and offer a more familiar interface at the same time. Also, another added benefit is that you get updates to these dashboards when your smartphone gets updated, as opposed to waiting around for car manufacturer updates. All right, that was fun. But what do you need to have this kind of experience in your car? Well, first off, you need a car that actually supports Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, because it's not like you can just plug your smartphone into any vehicle. Right. I mean, overall, are these plug and play solutions better than a lot of the car manufacturer designed smart interfaces? I would say yes, based on my experience. And I really liked Apple CarPlay. But also keep in mind that some of the frustrations you have with apps on your smartphone are also going to translate to the car dashboard. I mean, apps crash, Siri isn't perfect, and stuff like that. Also, we still don't know exactly how distracting it's going to be when people have notifications and a bunch of other stuff popping up on their car dashboard. So stay safe out there, kids. Stay safe. Siri, I can't turn on the air conditioner because audio. It's hot. I'm so hot. I'm like, I can't even tell you how much I'm sweating right now. It's so gross. You're going to be the drippy sweating sister. But I have Siri, so that's all good.
 Hey twin, I am currently driving an Apple car.
 I thought you were driving a Chevy Malibu.
 Okay it's not an Apple car, but it does have Apple Car Play, which means I can plug my
 iPhone into the dashboard and get access to all of my apps and iMessages and Siri and
 it's all powered by the phone.
 It's funny that you say that because the Honda Civic that I'm driving has both Apple Car
 Play and Android Auto, except unlike you, I'm using Android Auto, which is similar in
 that I plug my Android phone into the dashboard and I have access to all kinds of Android
 functions.
 But I think there's still some differences we should probably tell people about.
 Based on my experience so far, using Apple Car Play is basically like having a giant
 iPhone on your dashboard.
 The app icons look exactly the same.
 The only difference is this status bar on the side here which shows you time of day,
 has a home button and it shows you your cell signal strength.
 So Android Auto doesn't have that grid-like app format.
 Instead what you're going to see are a bunch of notifications or if you're familiar with
 Android, cards that pop up as you need them.
 And then below that there are some action icons for things that you would want quick
 access to in your car.
 But to be clear, it's not like you download apps directly to your car dashboard.
 Right, you're still downloading apps onto your smartphone and then that's what's powering
 the dashboard.
 Also, not all of the apps that are on your iPhone are going to show up on Car Play.
 So there are some third-party audio apps you can access like Spotify or Pandora or a podcasting
 app, but it's not like you're going to run a third-party photo app from your Car Play
 dashboard.
 Same with Android Auto.
 There are some third-party apps that you can access through this, but it's not like you're
 going to be able to access all of the apps on your smartphone.
 Let's talk about maps.
 Yes, let's talk about maps.
 One of the more obvious benefits of having something like a Car Play or an Android Auto
 is having your smartphone's maps app directly on your dashboard instead of using your car's
 navigation system, which in some cases might not get live updates.
 Yeah, but with Apple Car Play, you have to use Apple Maps, whereas with Android Auto,
 you get to use Google Maps.
 And it's a pretty standard Google Maps interface.
 Also, with Google Maps and Android Auto, you can pinch to zoom, whereas with Apple Maps,
 you have to use zoom buttons in order to zoom in on the map.
 You know, Apple Maps has gotten a lot better.
 I don't appreciate the shade.
 Yeah, I hear Apple Maps will be better when the next version of iOS comes out.
 Also, Apple Car Play has iMessage, which will be read aloud to you and you can respond with
 your voice.
 Yeah, but you can't reply to third-party apps with Apple Car Play, whereas with Android
 Auto, messages from third-party apps like Skype and Kik and WhatsApp will be read aloud
 to you, and then you can actually reply with your voice as well.
 Another benefit to Apple Car Play is having Siri directly in your car dashboard.
 So you just long press a button on your steering wheel, and then you can ask Siri for directions
 or to open certain apps, and she'll do it for you.
 Yeah, Android Auto has voice control too.
 In fact, a lot of the interactions are through voice control.
 In theory, this is all supposed to be less distracting.
 Another small difference between the two is that you can still interact with your iPhone
 when it's plugged in and powering Car Play, but you can't interact with your Android phone
 while you have it plugged in using Android Auto.
 Yeah, this goes back to the distraction thing.
 You can't do that now, but maybe in a future update you'll be able to interact with your
 Android phone while it's plugged in.
 And I bet it might be less buggy too.
 Yeah, I bet that update will be less buggy for you too, because in our experience Android
 Auto has crashed a little bit more than Car Play has.
 Well, maybe that's the car's fault.
 I mean, even when you give your entire dashboard over to the phone, it doesn't mean the car
 maker can't still screw things up.
 The bottom line is that Car Play and Android Auto are supposed to let you do some of the
 things that you do on your smartphone, but directly on your car dashboard, and offer
 a more familiar interface at the same time.
 Also, another added benefit is that you get updates to these dashboards when your smartphone
 gets updated, as opposed to waiting around for car manufacturer updates.
 All right, that was fun.
 But what do you need to have this kind of experience in your car?
 Well, first off, you need a car that actually supports Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, because
 it's not like you can just plug your smartphone into any vehicle.
 Right.
 I mean, overall, are these plug and play solutions better than a lot of the car manufacturer
 designed smart interfaces?
 I would say yes, based on my experience.
 And I really liked Apple CarPlay.
 But also keep in mind that some of the frustrations you have with apps on your smartphone are
 also going to translate to the car dashboard.
 I mean, apps crash, Siri isn't perfect, and stuff like that.
 Also, we still don't know exactly how distracting it's going to be when people have notifications
 and a bunch of other stuff popping up on their car dashboard.
 So stay safe out there, kids.
 Stay safe.
 Siri, I can't turn on the air conditioner because audio.
 It's hot.
 I'm so hot.
 I'm like, I can't even tell you how much I'm sweating right now.
 It's so gross.
 You're going to be the drippy sweating sister.
 But I have Siri, so that's all good.