Apple Carplay and Android Auto are two of the most popular functionalities available on car stereos.
They allow you to connect your smartphone to your car and use its features while driving.
While both systems offer a lot of benefits, they can also use up a lot of data.
In this blog post, we will break down how much data each system uses and help you understand data consumption!
How Much Data Does Android Auto Use?
Android Auto uses a lot of data, but it is difficult to say how much because it depends on the user.
If you use Android Auto for navigation, music streaming, and hands-free calling, you can expect to use around 100MB per hour.
However, if you only use it for navigation, you will use less cellular data.
Hands-free calling generally doesn’t use much data unless you’re making a video call.
However, if you are not using any online functionalities and keep the device in flight mode, it won’t cost you any data at all. You can still use the device and its offline functionalities.
So, the hack here is, the app you are using and the functionalities of that app. If you use a data-hungry app that consumes a lot of data while producing web content in front of you, then the android auto will consume more. If the app isn’t data-hungry, the consumption will be minimal.
Does Android Auto Use Data for Music?
Yes, Android Auto uses data for music. If you want to stream music from your phone while driving, you will need a data connection.
Generally speaking, the higher quality music you play, the more data it will consume. While most apps like Spotify compress the audio tracks, the rule is still correct. The higher quality the music file is, the more data it consumes when streamed.
If you have a limited data plan, we recommend using a service like Google Play Music which lets you download songs and playlists to your phone beforehand so you can listen to them offline.
Playing music offline won’t cost you any data. So, that’s a good thing to do if you have a set of favorite music tracks.
Can I Use Google Map through Android Auto without Data?
Unfortunately, no. In order to use Google Maps through Android Auto, you need a data connection.
If you don’t have a data connection, you can still use the navigation system offline by downloading a set of maps up front but it won’t be as accurate or up-to-date as it would be with a data connection.
How to Reduce Google Maps Data Usage in Android Auto?
There is an easy and effective way to reduce google Maps data consumption in Android Auto. To do this, you need to go to the settings of the device. Click on Apps, then select Google Maps and find the Data Usage option there. Select the Background Data option and toggle it off.
Using this function, Google Maps won’t run in the background and consume a lot less data than normal. However, this may cause the map to lag sometimes as it will load the map when you are actively using it for navigation or other purposes.
How Much Data Does Apple Carplay Use?
Apple Carplay uses less data than Android Auto, but it still uses a fair amount.
If you use Apple Carplay for navigation, music streaming, and hands-free calling, you can expect to use around 60MB per hour.
You can see a clear difference in data consumption here. This is because of the better optimization of the apple operating system apps compared to the android apps.
While it will still consume a fair amount of data, the consumption will be comparatively lower than the android system.
Does Apple CarPlay Use Data For Music?
Yes, Apple Carplay uses data for music. If you want to stream music from your phone while driving, you will need a data connection.
If you have a limited data plan, we recommend using a service like iTunes which lets you download songs and playlists to your phone so you can listen to them offline.
That still is not without data consumption but you can save limited mobile data and download using your unlimited broadband connection at home.
How Much Data Does Apple Maps Use?
Unfortunately, just like Google Maps, Apple Maps also requires a data connection to work.
The question is, how much? As a general rule of thumb, you can expect the apple maps to use around 50 Megabytes per hour. However, this can vary widely depending on how you are using the map.
If you use the map only for navigation, the data usage will be very minimal. But for usage like satellite view, street view, and other advanced functionalities, you can spend a Gigabyte of data within an hour.
So, the whole thing depends on how you use the map. Since most people use the map only for navigation, we can safely say that it will consume around 50 megabytes per hour.
Conclusion
To summarize, both Android Auto and Apple Carplay are great systems that offer a lot of benefits.
However, they do use a lot of data. If you have a limited data plan, we recommend using them sparingly or taking advantage of services that let you download content for offline use. Thanks for reading! We hope this was helpful!