Yes yes..I'm aware of the search button but overall, not a lot of impressions of the UAD Apple CarPlay interface for the OEM Harman system now that its been out for a few year years.

Looking for definitive answers and feedback using Apple CarPlay:

- Do your steering wheel controls still function for audio? Volume, forward/back track, etc
- Is the factory microphone still used for calls?
- Are the factory audio setting/adjustments still applied? (Bass, Treble, Meridian, DTS, Dolby, etc)
- Was it a true plug and play or did any of the factory wiring harnesses need to modified?
- Anything else I need to be aware of?

 

I have a Bosch, but these are the things I know for sure even with the Harman system:

- Do your steering wheel controls still function for audio? Volume, forward/back track, etc - I believe for Bosch NO, Harman YES (but someone else needs to confirm)

- Is the factory microphone still used for calls? - NO, you wire their microphone.

- Are the factory audio setting/adjustments still applied? (Bass, Treble, Meridian, DTS, Dolby, etc) - Yes. They also provide an EQ interface you can use for the audio that runs only through their system (i.e. won't affect CD, Radio, Bluetooth)

- Was it a true plug and play or did any of the factory wiring harnesses need to modified? True plug and play, nothing needs to be spliced.

- Anything else I need to be aware of? - Installation is not hard, just time consuming. UAD provides ongoing firmware updates (that most don't know about or use, but would recommend). Holding down the factory nav button for 3 seconds will reset the system in case of an issue.

 

For me

1. Steering wheel control - Volume only still works , you lose forward and back so have to use either voice control or use the touch screen

2. UAD microphone is used for phone calls when using carplay to make call. You can STILL have bluetooth connection to the jag OEM headunit and use factory microphone independently too but have disabled this in mine. So you can choose to use either to make outgoing call. Ultimately creates confusion though as when you want to end call you have to try and remember which phone pathway you have used.

3. Factory bass and treble adjustments still being applied to the sound system but now you also have I think 10 or 12 freq equaliser to use with also LOUDNESS boost option and addition subwoofer on off option. All are in the same pipe line so adjusting either or both will affect the end output you are recieving. I have found leaving the factory settings at zero and only using the UAD eq settings have ended up being really happy with my stock OEM speakers (but i also have add non -oem subwoofer into my system), so no desire to upgrade the door speaks with higher end jag,LR speakers. As skizot has said UAD eq only affects the sound runnig through the UAD unit and will not affect sound from radio,CD which of course is not being run through the UAD unit. Seriously though never use the radio or CD since given the convenience of streaming spotify or downloads from your phone. Get apple music HD if you can afford it as also a significant gamechanger in music quality in the cabin too.

4. Def plug and play,no splicing or extra reverse camera trigger wiring needed for me but do you research. Not heard to anyone that has needed to do this other than the original early adopters and that was years ago so I think they have ironed out the bugs.

 

A couple more UAD related questions which don't seem to be covered in other threads, regarding an installation in a car from MY18 and onwards with the IMC based ICTP:

- How is the audio from the UAD kit fed into the car's system given that there's no aux in port in those cars?
- Does the installation completely disable access to the built in satnav or is there still a way to also use the built in satnav?

 

Audio is great l. No complaints and yes. It completely disables factory nav.

 

MY17 long push home button to switch between UAD and OEM. Has it changed?

 

Thank you to those responded. One last question..is the audio piped in via the aux cable in the center console or does the UAD unit connect via the car's bluetooth?

 

The aux in the centre consol is unused. They give you a blanking plug. Aux connects within the idcore unit. You have to select aux as the source from the screen.

 

 

Once it’s all installed you have to connect phone via cable first. Then to get wireless make sure that Bluetooth is on for idcore and Jaguar and wifi connected to car. Can be a bit problematic.


I put their mic just here. Works perfectly and no need to run long cable.

 

Got a unit for 300 dollars from carsight on alliexpress. Installer charged 100 more dollars.

Base unit I believe is Bosch.

Result:

camera works.

It took over maps.

Volume works (buttons, knob)

Skip does not (left/right)

It is wireless apple/android. I really like this. In this age of bluetooth all carplay/android auto should be wireless...waze can have issues but newest patches seemed to have fixed them (to waze).

Touch screen is as fast as a 2019 native unit on a subaru fwiw.

Sound on bluetooth is great (I am no audiophile).

Hey Siri works to get voice control..

If you leave your bluetooth phone connected it is 50/50 to get wireless carplay, so I just deleted my phone from factory phone/bluetooth.

Except for settings on the car, I am 100% carplay and happy. Takes the 2016 car and puts it into 2022 with wireless....carplay is a great way to avoid having to deal with map updates.

I actually like the real guages on the first gen F-type more...not sure why
Remote starter via in control requires you to go into the phone's bluetooth and "connect" as you are outside of the search time on start of the car.

Am very happy.

FYI only. Probably the same unit others sell....but have no idea.

 

Anyone attempting this for Harman in Coupé…
The pink plug on the Harman is tricky to disconnect. The release lever is on the underside.
I cut off a small bolt and taped it to my finger with a Band-Aid!

 

Malbe: Thank you for your insights and posting the FAQs...it'll make my decision easier.

 

My phone is connected via wifi and bluetooth to the UAD as well as a bluetooth connection between my phone and the jag. The 1st connection is really just used to display the visual interface from UAD and to be able to use the touch screen. All of the audio and iPhone controls are via the 2nd bluetooth connection.

When I get into my car and everything turns on, I select the nav button to get to the UAD CarPlay, at that point I'll open up the Apple Music app and select the "F-Type" vs. the "CarPlay" option for the Audio output. Your phone will default to "CarPlay" when you turn things on but not the option I use. Occasionally (1 out of a 100), a slight issue with the connectivity will occur but it's usually on the iPhone side and I'll just reboot my phone but otherwise, the system works flawlessly and I have full capabilities with the exception of the factory nav but that sucks compared to Waze. The only reason why I got the UAD is for the Waze app, everything else I could live without.

 

I could be wrong but Im pretty sure the default UAD pathway for sound/music is via wifi which gives better bandwidth and therefor sound. Choosing to use your bluetooth connection direct to the car and bypassing the UAD is supposedly inferior, plus you lose the ability to tune using the graphic equaliser. If you cant tell the difference it doesnt really matter so long as you are happy but I would do a cross comparison using a HI-def streaming source meaning your Appple music hi-def. When i get into the car I dont press anything. Screen is defaulted or still on NAV so Carplay automatic starts by itself. I just drive off.


edit: whoops I was wrong,I do have to press nav button to get to CarPlay screen on startup

 

That is accurate. Bluetooth does compress the signal, more so if the codecs between the 2 units are different. When I did an A/B comparison (before upgrading my speakers/insulation) with the 3.5mm input and the Bluetooth, there’s only a slight difference in volume, especially in the higher frequency where it’s usually most noticeable with any compression but clicking the treble up one notch and turning up the volume by 2 clicks compensated well enough.

These car speakers are far from being able to run full range, I think there’s a low pass filter at 50hz to protect the woofers and given the cabin environment, road noise, and other factors…. It would be much harder to tell a difference while driving.

I did recently upgraded my speakers with the JLR OEM Kevlar speaker and titanium tweets and dynamatted my doors and cut the rear sub wires and it sounds MUCH better (cleaner, tighter and more well balanced across the low to mid range) but I haven’t done an input A/B test with this set up. I’ll see if the difference is more discernible this time around and will report back.

 

Does this setup enable the steering wheel skip/rewind controls?
I've been looking at doing this for a year now but dont want to give up that convenience. It looks like Naviplus has a new adapter to communicate with the steering wheel cluster and enable skip/rewind but theyre charging $1180AU for the privilege. Hard to justify that if the setup you describe works with the $350 boxes on AliExpress

 

It does for me. I'm able to control the "previous" and "next" song and volume from my steering wheel.

Side note, I haven't had the chance to do another A/B comparison with the BT vs. the wired or wifi but will get it this weekend.

 

Following up on my last post. I did an A/B comparison Bluetooth vs. wired and Wi-Fi and to my ears (granted I’ve played in rock bands for the last 30 years so my hearing is somewhat jacked up) it’s marginally better to go with the later options but I can make up the difference with a slight volume and eq tweak.

Going with the Bluetooth audio connection also allows you to use the car’s mic for phone calls instead adding another external mic. The included UAD mic is kinda big and janky looking and I wasn’t interested in buying a smaller one and mounting it in visible sight.

 

How does the UAD unit compare to that of Navtool? Does anyone have experience with Navtool. They are local (NYC) to me and would anticipate good customer support. Thanks.