Using a Lumia 950 XL in a car? Tips and tricks?

[mb-dape]

Found my old 950 XL in a drawer and thought I would use it in my car for navigation and music. Updated the OS to the latest version and did a hard reset.

Anyone else using their WM10 phone in the car?

So far I am disappointed, it's a very bad experience, almost useless.

- Windows Maps has no "driving mode", drive view without entering destination, (essential feature for every navigation app).
- Some parts of the UI like start screen has no landscape support.
- There is no option to keep the screen alive while charging.
- Voice control limited to a few countries.
- Bluetooth does not auto connect to my car.

- The most annoying part is how bad multitasking is. This is a fairly powerful phone with 3 GB RAM and Windows 10 Mobile has been developed for years, still I can't use Maps and listen to music at the same time?
Spotify was constantly crashing or reloading when using Maps so I gave up and got myself a Groove Music Pass. I thought that with MS own apps it would be a better experience. Still, if I switch to Maps from Groove the music will start to stutter and/or the sound quality will be catastrophic. And suddenly the apps will need to reload.
And all these slow downs and freezing in the UI and apps, is this what W10M has become? I used WP8.1 a lot and that was a smooth experience.

Even the cheapest, slowest Android phones is capable of playing music and using Maps at the same time. And the new Android Auto app is really great for using the phone in the car.

Any tips or ideas how I can get the 950 XL to be an acceptable in car device?

 

[Keith White Jr]

I use a 1520 in my car everyday. I use maps and listen to Pandora with no audio issues at all.

What are you trying to do that you want to screen on while charging? If it's maps, the screen does stay on when using my 1520.

I am more than happy using W10M in my car.

 

[mtf1380]

I did a 1300 mile round trip, using the Maps app, taking an unknown route. I didn't use the phone for music, but the screen stayed active the entire trip. The only abnormality I noticed was that the screen 'recalculated' 3 times (that I noticed) on the way down, and about 10-14 times on the way back????? But the route, navigation and time estimates were pretty spot on.

My only disappointment was I couldn't figure out how to back out (zoom out) to see the entire route, once I started the journey.

950XL, DS, USA