Yahoo! Car Navigation Now Supports Apple CarPlay

At last, Yahoo! Car Navigation is compatible with Apple CarPlay. Apple CarPlay lets you use apps like phone calls, music, messages, and navigation from your smartphone directly on your car’s display. Last fall, Google Maps became available first, so I tried it out in our Panamera, but

iOS12のApple Car playで早速、Google mapを使ってみた！

Following Google Maps, it’s great news that Yahoo! Car Navigation is now usable. My husband said,

“Google Maps is good, but when we go touring in the countryside, it’ll confidently guide us down ridiculously narrow roads and forest trails. Google Maps usually finds good shortcuts, but sometimes that backfires. On the other hand, Yahoo! Car Navigation picks standard roads, so it’s easier to use.”

So, yesterday I immediately tried Yahoo! Car Navigation on the Panamera’s CarPlay, and here are my impressions.

Trying Out Yahoo! Car Navigation

After installing the Yahoo! Car Navigation app and connecting my iPhone to the Panamera, this is how Yahoo! Car Navigation appeared on the screen.

Setting the destination is very convenient because you operate it on your iPhone, not the car’s touchscreen. That day, I decided to go shopping at Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens, and when I set the destination, this is what showed up.

It displays the “estimated arrival time, time remaining, and distance,” and the display is quite easy to read. I thought, “No way we’ll get there in 16 minutes,” but I selected “Start Navigation” and set off. When navigation starts, this message appears on the smartphone screen.

“For your safety, please do not operate your smartphone while driving.” How thoughtful! The route guidance also clearly announces upcoming turns in advance, making it very easy to follow. The display is simple and easy to see.

If you log in to Yahoo! Car Navigation, it considers traffic congestion. Indeed, congested areas were marked in “red” or “orange,” but it didn’t force unnecessary detours…

We arrived 6 minutes later than originally planned. Well, that’s a minor difference. On the way back, I set my daughter’s kindergarten as the destination, and it popped up instantly in the search, which was very convenient. The Panamera’s built-in navigation requires you to convert kanji or katakana on the touchscreen, but with this, there’s no such hassle—stress-free.

The display clearly shows instructions like “Turn right in 1.1 km, stay in the center lane,” making it easy to glance at while driving.

This time of day is quite busy, so we were a bit late compared to the original plan, but we arrived at the kindergarten just in time for pickup.

Impressions of Yahoo! Car Navigation

After using Yahoo! Car Navigation a bit, my impression is that it’s extremely easy to use. It doesn’t suggest strange shortcuts or routes that make you wonder “Why the detour?” but rather shows easy-to-drive, standard routes. The display is clear, and voice guidance is helpful.

People often say “Navigation systems in foreign cars aren’t very smart,” and indeed, the Panamera’s built-in nav isn’t very clever… Honestly, I think I won’t need to use the car’s built-in navigation anymore. After all, as long as there’s a screen (a box) to display it, that’s all you need.

With Yahoo! Car Navigation now supporting CarPlay, the car navigation industry must be shaking up even more…

I’m looking forward to trying Yahoo! Car Navigation on long drives soon. It would be great if it worked not only on the Panamera but also on the Golf 7!