According to Autoblog Android auto will now be available at $199 plus labor is anyone planning to get that very quickly and what are the overall advantages considering I already have navigation I use Pandora or the Sirius app from my phone for music the only thing I'm interested in really is using the voice app for texting.

 

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/11/21/mazda-apple-carplay-android-auto-retrofit/?ncid=edlinkusauto00000016

 

I have been using Carplay in our other car for three years now and really miss its convenience in our CX-5. While I like Mazda's navigation system, it is kind of slow to load and also does not have real-time traffic (it has some sort of historical traffic data I think). With Android Auto or Apple Carplay I am going to use Google Maps which is pretty fast to load and has real traffic information. Also it will be pretty easy to enter an address on the phone and then simply plug it in and then continue the routing on the Mazda infotainment screen. So yes, once my dealer has this upgrade available, I am going to have it installed.

 

I will definitely be doing the upgrade, but I don't agree with Mazda_nc_dude that Mazda's satnav doesn't have live traffic updates. All you have to do is switch your phone's hotspot on, connect the car's system to wifi, enter your phone's wifi hotspot password and it will do both weather updates and traffic updates for the place you're going to. I'll be doing a video on this on my YouTube channel soon.
The reason I want Android Auto is so that I can charge my phone and use the apps at the same time, have my messages read out to me instead of wondering who whatsapped me and see my call info at the same time. In addition, radio in my country sucks, so it would be nice to listen to podcasts, pandora and other streaming services.
The MZD connect system already has Aha and Stitch, I connected them yesterday and Aha is not too bad - I like listening to BBC2 - it uses around 1mb per minute which isn't bad on the data plan and at least I get my traffic and weather updates as I'm driving along.

 

:eek I just got off the phone with my Mazda service department and the total bill for the upgrade is over $450. I'm going to have to take a long hard look at this to see if the cost justifies the benefits.

 

Mazda does different promotions regarding the upgrade. When I got my car, it was $285.00. The price seems to fluctuate between $199 - $400. I love my android auto and worth every penny and now I have NAV.

I also upgraded the sound system and now my car ROCKS. I have the Mazda 6 Sport 2018 MT.

 

The kit is $139 on Amazon. You Tube has an abundance of videos to install in variety of models. Installed mine in 2018 CX-9 in 2hrs. throw in an additional hr for programming and cleanup