A few months ago, 2019 Lexus ES Toyoter has become the first vehicle of luxury brand to add support for Carplate, the brand is built at the top of the Enforce 2.0 Infotting System, and now with Lexus’ Carplay support, there are half dozen 2019 models announced.
I got the opportunity to spend some time with a Lexus ES 300H Ultra Luxury Hybrid model that includes several technology features, so iPhone users can now see what the Lexus carplay is turning the support.
Carplay support comes on all ES models that start October and the base S Infotaining system brings a 8 -inch color display that can use a tither smartphone with Scout GPS link services to provide navigation. My test car, however, was equipped with a navigation package that enhances the center’s display in the 12.3 -inch widescreen palette and provides the power on the native onboard.
For example, this widescreen display gives a divided-screen view of a very-well-viewed view of the main applications in the enforce system such as the anform system, or an audio blade as well as an audio blade.
Widescreen carp
The 12.3 -inch display in Lexus ES is one of the few market vehicles in the market, to support the widescreen carplay with some models of Mercedes and Alpha Romeo, which receives the entire display. Although most users are familiar with the Traditional Testing 4X2 grid of icons for the carplay home screen, the carplay interface will actually extend the 5×2 grid with a wide exhibition like Lexus ES.
Individual applications are definitely favorable for the larger screen, which means you will find a surrounded view of what is ahead of the apple maps and other carplay applications before you.
The music app and many more have been expanded to fill the screen, but the extra real estate does not really benefit because it is usually the result of more padings and blank spaces than being able to display extra content.
This widescreen carplay interface, while giving some benefits with enhancing opportunities, has some errors. The initial is that the carplay is not the same as the simultaneous view of other applications from the enforce system like your audio as you accept the entire display. You can configure the digital driver’s display to show some audio information such as radio or SiriusxM stations and song titles but this scene is quite limited.
Contrary to Acura RDX, I have reviewed that the right display fruit is limited to the left three-fourths of the display by maintaining the scene of the Aquottenment functions, and there is no ability to do this in Lexus. Ideally, the full screen or partial screen will be the user’s choice, but it is not just how it works for the opposite solutions of the two brands.
Remote Touch and Carplay Control
The giant 12.3 inch widescreen (as well as the small standard 8 inch screen) is not a touchscreen, which creates a reasonable idea of how much the driver needs to extend to reach its right. As a result, Lexus has chosen a remote touch trackpad interface and associated hardware buttons at the bottom of the center’s console within the easy reach of the driver.
The remote touch interface of the previous Jystick-style used by Lexus has become a significant criticism and the trackpad can improve somewhat, but it is still some work for use. The system does not use absolute position as Acura, so to navigate around the Enformation interface of Lexus, you need to pull your finger around the trackpad to get the cursor to get the cursor and then press your selection or press for double tapping or double tapping.
The system provides both hapattic and audio reactions because the cursor lands on clickable items, which some may consider as helpful but what I think is somewhat. Fortunately, they can be completely closed or adjusting the volume/Haptic energy.
The trackpad supports some gestures with the pin-to-zoom (not carplay) on the map of the enforce system, the double tap (equivalent of press), and the flick (quickly scroll or pan enform maps fast scrolling), but it is still a bit limited directly limited to the intuition of Touchcreen Manipulation. Option.
The hardware buttons above the trackpad provide quick access to the app on the app, the main menu (which slides you from the bottom like a dock rather than taking you to a completely different screen) and the position between the back “function app and settings classification to walk behind your current. The bottom of the trackpad has a single button labeled with an upside -down double chevron that provides a complementary function depending on where you are on the system and only occasionally active.
As in general, the voice access to the carplay through Siri can be controlled using a talk switch in the steering wheel, bringing a short press lexus voice assistant and a long press activating Siri.
With most infotaining systems, the volume of the radio/audio and navigation voice prompt can be controlled independently, usually with the changing changes when the navigation voice adjusts the volume when the changes made at other times affect the original audio volume. This is not the case with the Lexus enforce system for built-in or carplay navigation and it is rather worrying. The only way to adjust the volume of voice prompts on the navigation is to dive in a setting menu that is not even available during the car.
The port and connection
The wired carplay connection is operated by a pair of USB ports in the front of the center’s console in a category that can be hidden by pop-up cover while not using. The two media devices can be connected to the enforce system simultaneously, but if any of them are connected to the iPhone as a carple, the other USB port is simply charged.
A cavity with a removable plastic insert on the right of the USB ports that divide it into the cupholder and a narrow steep phone slot. You can’t see most of your screen while your phone is in the slot, but otherwise it can be a convenient, space-placing place to keep your phone, fits your phone.
The slot holds my iPhone XS Max in an Apple case in a normal position that basically has no room to leave. If I want to plug in the phone for carplay or charging and keep the phone upside down, it is not suitable because of the slight protrumage of the volume and power buttons on the top of the phone. In a thin case a small phone model fits although exactly.
The back of the center console has a pair of 2.1A charges-cables with only a 12 V power port with spring-loaded cover. Inside the center console buggy is also a 12V power port up front.
Charging QI Wireless
Although the implementation of the Lexus carple is wire, there is an AL choshic QI wireless charger in ES, though it has moved away inside the center console’s buggy. It keeps your phone safe and hides, but for those who prefer the charger in the open space where you are sitting on the car, it is easy to catch it and catch it, the location of the buggy makes things a bit more difficult.
More, the wireless charger is a tray that partially tacked with only a small amount of vertical exemption under the front lip of the center console and the charger is not particularly large. I have an iPhone XS max with an Apple leather case and my phone barely fits in the charger. To get the charger, I need to slide carefully under the lips of the console buggy and then it takes a bit of exercise to get the phone out again.
There will be some more houses along with smaller phones, but if you use a dense case you may probably forget to use the wireless charger. At least for my phone, the tight fit certainly ensures that the phone will be protected in the charger, but overall my phone requires too much effort to turn and close the charger when the use of a wireless wireless starting with my initial target charger.
The wireless charger is an alternative to standlone in all trims, but its $ 75 price tag is significantly cheaper than some other manufacturers, which are charged more than $ 300 or even $ 500 for alternatives.
Up to wrap
The new Lexus ES has some fancy features of the carplay, but the overall experience can be somewhat desired. Widecreen Carplay experience is certainly something different than most other manufacturers and the wide view of the applications on the carplay is very nice. However, other carplay applications cannot take advantage of additional screen real estate, so the benefits are limited. The widescreen carplay also comes at a cost when there is no alternative to the Split-Scheduled View that allows you to see information as well as from both the carplay and the enforce system.
Trackpad Infotainment Control Systems When we are accustomed to direct manipulation on our iPhone and iPads, it is hard to get properly in age, and I think Lexus S remote touch interface is not the best implementation there. It is complicated to navigate around the big screen via trackpad, and when the enforce system helps you snap the UI activities available as soon as you get to you, you will not get that help when using the carplay.
Wireless charging in vehicles is becoming more prevalent, but it is often slow and in the case of Lexus ES it is not particularly convenient to use it as a strong fit in the center of the center console. And of course, it seems like a missing opportunity not to supply wireless carples, though BMW is the only manufacturer to be found guilty on Lexus, though it has been able to roll out.
The 2019 Lexus ES starts at $ 39,600, but if you want to maximize your trims and options to get all the goodies like hybrid engine, premium audio/navigation package and more, you will reach $ 55,000.
The carple with all the trims on an additional charge as October Production has been included, so as long as you do not finish with one of the first ES vehicles to roll the line, you will be good to go. If you want a widescreen 12.3-inch center display instead of a more traditional tidal, you will need to add several options and packages with navigation package, which is about $ 4,500 in total.
