. . . if it works seamlessly and without bugs.

On several threads here, I've commented that someone soon would offer the ability to mirror smart phone apps on the vehicle display. It looks like VW may be the first. Kudos to them, and I hope it works well.

App Connect : Volkswagen UK

 

Either I'm reading it wrong, or it sounds like they are simply supporting Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and their own app system ("MirrorLink", similar to Jaguar's "InControl Apps"). To celebrate this trifecta of confusion they have generated a new name ("App Connect") which doesn't actually correspond to any new technology by itself.

How do you see this as different than what other companies are doing?

I'm really hoping that car manufacturers figure this out someday. The "car app" system is ridiculous, since there's never very many apps and the systems don't make it integrated -- for example, on the F-Type, although the InControl music app is decidedly better than the built-in music player for a USB device, pressing the media hard-button will always bring you to the built-in function. CarPlay and Android Auto are pretty much sideband toys that, although they provide better versions of the things that the car's system does, suffer from even worse integration issues. Mirroring a smartphone would make the interface decidedly cleaner but would have no integration at all with the car unless the phone software was designed to do that -- but the holes that would be opened up if you were allowed to control car functionality (even the F-Type dynamic mode settings) over bluetooth are terrifying.

 

It should be easy enough to put a mini HDMI input into a head unit. Output the phone or table audio / video through the HDMI and have it display on the screen. How is that much different from ChromeCast or Apple TV?

It really doesn't have to be difficult!

 

There's a bit more to it than that. You need an interface between the touchscreen in the car and your phone in order for it to function seamlessly. This is what Apple Car Play and Android Auto are able to do, so you can use the vehicle's touchscreen to initiate a response on the phone.

You could certainly do HDMI mirroring, but you would still need to manipulate the phone itself while driving, as the factory touchscreen and steering wheel buttons would be non-functional.