> Google maps lets me search by topic
Like say thai food? Hardware stores? Etc. That works for me. Displays a list with letters on the map, then I can click on the letter or on the list to navigate. It also tells me hours and if they are about to close, just like maps.google.com.
I've gone back and forth between maps.google.com and clicking nav, and voice searching and clicking nav. I see no practical differences. I assume they use the same engine since they give me the same route and ETA. Can you give me a specific search that doesn't work for you?
> another feature I miss from CarPlay is my podcast app. Instead, to listen to my podcasts I have to again use the phone instead of the Tesla console.
Before I start I click on the podcast or playlist on my phone and hit play. Then it's a pretty nice experience. I can pause, next track, play, change volume, see the title, etc through the Tesla UI. If I get a call it auto pauses, if I open the door it decreases the volume, etc. I'm quite fond of it, so say I have a dog park play list. I can listen to it while I put on my shoes, enter the car, audio switches to car, I start driving to dog park, I leave the car, audio switches back to phone, etc. Basically seamless.
How would it be different with carplay?
> others include that my phone streams better and has more services. I could take a video call with CarPlay or stream something from a service not available on Tesla
Er, exactly, my audio comes from my phone. Youtube music auto downloads my playlist, I can download youtube videos, and both seem to have much better audio quality than the built in music streaming from the default breezer (default tesla app). I thought the Tesla sound system was crap, turns out breezer quality is crap. I especially like that I can "stream" music from my playlist, even when I have no signal, great on cross country drives.
> I'd also like to use a functional browser on the large screen while charging. Tesla's browser has crashed on me just trying to read the Tesla manual. It's useles
Ah, never tried the browser.