The only thing I did with my Mazda infotainment system was update the firmware and the retrofit kit to support CarPlay. I find the commander knob not that hard to use with some experience, but with the AIO tweaks you can enable the touchscreen while driving. To each their own I guess.
I haven't actually driven a Mazda, I just heard that they were getting rid of touchscreens and it honestly didn't occur to me that they'd try to shoehorn full Android Auto or CarPlay into that. I just assumed that they would have a minimal interface and let your phone do the work, and then have "next track" and "previous track" buttons and a volume knob, plus climate control and stuff, and the screen would just have various car information; tire pressure and fuel efficiency and various camera systems for parking.
It might still work for me (I'm definitely going to test drive a Mazda when my current car needs replacing), but this is me; I disable CarPlay because I can't stand it; I prefer to just put my phone on a mount and use it directly; I just need the car systems as a speaker for the phone.
Second this, I am extremely happy with CarPlay on my Mazda. There are lots of physical controls that just work naturally with CarPlay. No need to use touch controls!
As far as i'm aware, there are no Mazda's directly that support android auto at this point in time.
They keep claiming they will, but they haven't made it happen yet.
(I looked at various 2018 models just last week, and if you go to various mazda forums on the internet, it's a constant topic of discussion)
The only way i'm aware of to get Android Auto on a Mazda would be to replace the head unit.
In its defense, the Mazda Connect system is pretty nice. It's solely focused on entertainment, navigation, and some secondary car management functions (maintenance intervals, explanation of trouble lights, long-term MPG charts).
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but the touchscreen/command knob is the way things are now. You can't do terrestrial radio, satellite radio, bluetooth, USB music playback, etc with a single knob and 20-character display. All of these features have worked their way into being standard now. Nobody ships an AM/FM radio.
And now that backup cameras are mandatory in the USA as of the 2018 model year, you're going to need that LCD display anyway. So it's easier to throw all the HMI/IVI on that board and be done with it.
The Mazda Connect is run off an NXP iMX6 SoC, which is very powerful yet affordable enough to put in Mazda's base models for no upgrade charge. It's also highly hackable. =)
Oh, and HVAC is still done with physical knobs in a convenient location.
Same here. Really disappointed in the lack of communication from Mazda. There is some open source software for the Mazda head unit that runs Android Auto, but nothing on the CarPlay front yet.
Most of the CarPlay specifications are locked behind the MFi program which makes it difficult for an open source solution to exist for it.
My knee-jerk reaction was "I'm not going to buy a car if it does not support CarPlay"[1], but Mazda isn't eliminating CarPlay functionality as part of this process.
On-screen selections will involve tactile controls and I find that diable.
Why? CarPlay is a reasonably good UI unlike virtually anything pretty much any car manufacturer can create, Maps, Podcasts/music interface, etc.
For Mazda, Linux is used in the infotainment system. There is an entire community built around tweaking that infotainment system, and somebody has bundled those into a package called Mazda All In One Tweaks. They've done some pretty impressive stuff, such as adding Android Auto support before Mazda officially did. https://github.com/Trevelopment/MZD-AIO/
I have a MY2013 CX-5 and that's the only model CX-5 that cannot get Android Auto/CarPlay, which saddens me a bit. The infotainment system is actually completely useless.
It's a shame, because I can see the usefulness of the input controls.
I only use the back-up camera. It's super cool that Mazda actually managed to retrofit this in all the other old models though. I don't think many car manufacturers would bother with that.
It'd be a bit expensive to replace the head unit with an Android-based aftermarket one, so I'm not sure it's worth doing. Depends on how long I'll keep the car.
This is really not true at all anymore. Mazda definitely does update their infotainment system. I actually upgraded my wife's 3 year old Mazda with CarPlay.
I have a 2014 Mazda CX-5 and a 2017 Subaru Outback. I have replaced the head units in both with 3rd party units which support CarPlay/AA. Both installations were easy and took about 2-3 hours. Both support changing the car settings through the 3rd party headhunt, integrate with the steering wheel controls, factory backup camera and the factory installed amplifiers (Bose and Harmon Kardon). The key to these integrations were iDatalink Maestro units. I ordered mine through Crutchfield but most decent car audio websites will generate an installation package including the appropriate wire harnesses, iDatalink unit, 2-DIN adapter and trim pieces once you select a head unit to purchase.
Mazda owner here. Still waiting for they mythical CarPlay/Android auto update that will supposedly come to 2014 and up models. They are using the same infotainment system in 2017 models so I'm still holding out hope.
This was the primary reason I bought my 2024 Mazda3, instead of alternatives in market. The Mazda was the only option that had physical controls for everything. In fact it disables the touch screen altogether when you exceed 10mph, forcing the use of physical controls. It works flawlessly with wireless carplay
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