Best phone for C7 - Android or i phone?

[Donmeister]

Apologies if this debate has been already looked at, but what would current FL C7 owners recommend as the most compatible phone for the cars technology, or is there no difference between the 2 main types?

[Akash]

Apologies if this debate has been already looked at, but what would current FL C7 owners recommend as the most compatible phone for the cars technology, or is there no difference between the 2 main types?


I would say simply because of the RsAP capability, Android (a phone that supports RsAP)
Avoids having the sim card in the car, and I'm pretty sure you get better signal but I might be wrong

[Hellodave.]

I would say simply because of the RsAP capability, Android (a phone that supports RsAP)
Avoids having the sim card in the car, and I'm pretty sure you get better signal but I might be wrong

Do facelift cars still support RSAP? Other new Audis with the latest MMI have done away with it and you have to put a SIM in the dash for Audi Connect.

If the MMI doesn't support RSAP (or if you didn't have the tech pack) it doesn't really matter what phone you use - most modern phones have the necessary Bluetooth profiles so you can connect the phone and view text messages. iPhones also have the ability to connect as an iPod (but then you're lumbered with an Apple product ;) ) but Android phones can use the Audi Music Stream app (or whatever it's called this week) to get similar functionality via WiFi as long as you have the tech pack. Personally I put all my music on an SD card so the phone's music playing ability is irrelevant.

As Akash says, if the MMI does support RSAP then it's worth getting a phone with that functionality. All Samsungs have it out of the box, plus a few other models (I think Android 6.0 now supports it natively) but iphones do not.

Audi have a phone compatibility list somewhere on the website - if a phone is on there it's been tested and they guarantee it'll work.

[wildbore]

Do facelift cars still support RSAP? Other new Audis with the latest MMI have done away with it and you have to put a SIM in the dash for Audi Connect.


The facelift cars still support rSAP and so does MIB2, which is fitted to Q7, TT, new A4 (and the MMI in the A6 facelift is a half-baked version of MIB2). rSAP is here to stay for at least the next 5-6 years, hopefully a lot longer.

[Hellodave.]

The facelift cars still support rSAP and so does MIB2, which is fitted to Q7, TT, new A4 (and the MMI in the A6 facelift is a half-baked version of MIB2). rSAP is here to stay for at least the next 5-6 years, hopefully a lot longer.

Interesting - the latest A3 MMI High (with connect) system looks visually identical to the FL A6 but doesn't appear to support RSAP; it requires a SIM in the MMI unit. There's no mention of RSAP in the manual and when I connected my Galaxy S5 (which uses RSAP in the A6) it only connected with a handsfree profile, not "car phone". From that I assumed RSAP was being phased out on newer MMI systems.

Talking of the A3 connecting via handsfree rather than RSAP does allow you to read and reply to all text messages stored on your phone, rather than having the ones sent to the car stored on the SIM and not being able to view any others. You can even write proper replies, which is something my A6 is missing (you only get predefined templates which, annoyingly, aren't editable). The A3 even supports voice dictation via the cloud, although I haven't tried it. This may not be useful for everyone but I'd find the ability to write a proper message really useful when stuck in traffic; templates like "OK", "No" and "We have a meeting" aren't detailed enough for the other half and would just result in more questions I can't respond to so I don't bother!

[wildbore]

You're right about the A3: there's no rSAP.

The A6 FL has an implementation of MIB2 but they appear to have stripped it out to virtually match the functionality of the pre-FL MMI, and I thought the A3 pre-dated MIB2? Perhaps that's why they appear to be very similar? It's all very confusing!

Anyway, I checked the Q7 and A4 - they do have rSAP, but the TT doesn't. This is clearly all driven by some team of marketing people who have profiled the customers and decided what sort of phones and technical competence we all have and specc'ed the cars accordingly

[Hellodave.]

You're right about the A3: there's no rSAP.

The A6 FL has an implementation of MIB2 but they appear to have stripped it out to virtually match the functionality of the pre-FL MMI, and I thought the A3 pre-dated MIB2? Perhaps that's why they appear to be very similar? It's all very confusing!

Anyway, I checked the Q7 and A4 - they do have rSAP, but the TT doesn't. This is clearly all driven by some team of marketing people who have profiled the customers and decided what sort of phones and technical competence we all have and specc'ed the cars accordingly

Interesting...but very confusing - pesky marketing people; just give us the choice! Are they trying to say technophobes buy A3s and TTs but not Q7s and A4s?!

The A3 probably does pre-date MIB2, although it has the jazzy animated menu graphics that the A6 FL does. They animation is a bit jerky, perhaps a result of the older hardware. Both A3 and A6 FL have the same totally different phone menu to the pre-FL A6, which is probably why I assumed RSAP compatibility (or lack of) would be the same.

[Bar Shaker]

If you don't use rSAP the text stays on your phone. If you do use it, your texts and replies end up spread between the phone and car. That's not ideal for me.

If you press and hold the Voice button, it activates Siri and you can dictate a text reply. Siri's voice recognition is remarkably good these days.

[Hellodave.]

If you don't use rSAP the text stays on your phone. If you do use it, your texts and replies end up spread between the phone and car. That's not ideal for me.

If you press and hold the Voice button, it activates Siri and you can dictate a text reply. Siri's voice recognition is remarkably good these days.
True, but without rsap the phone doesn't use the car aerial and the signal isn't as good (unless you have audi phone box). Decisions...!

[Bar Shaker]

True, but without rsap the phone doesn't use the car aerial and the signal isn't as good (unless you have audi phone box). Decisions...!

Also true, but I haven't seen any signal problems since the 4G transmitter upgrades were rolled out.

The best phone to use is the one you already own.

[wildbore]

But, when phones find themselves denied access to a strong signal, they automatically step up their antenna power. So sticking a mobile phone in a steel box that degrades the signal forces the phone to up the broadcast power of its antenna and this showers the interior of the car with radio waves. A big plus of rSAP is that it keeps the interior of the car free of radio waves. In addition, that increased broadcast power eats the mobile's battery so you need to keep your phone on charge in the car if you are on a long journey if you don't want to find yourself with a half-flat battery at the end of it. With rSAP, your phone uses only a minimal amount of charge during a long journey so no need to charge it in the car.

Agree about the best phone is the one you already own, but if you are buying a new phone, rSAP is the way to go, IMO.