halfmonkey

I'm new to the Porsche brand so still trying to get a handle on their options. I'm hoping someone can help explain their navigation and Porsche Connect option. I did searching online and it seems that the videos and such are all explaining how to use navigation and Porsche Connect rather than what you get with selecting the option. I went to Porsche Connect's website and it explains it but I guess I'm still not quite understanding it. It seems that Porsche Connect is free for the first 12 months and then you pay a yearly fee of $189 (that's what I found on Porsche's website.) So with Porsche Connect, it says you get things like Real Time Traffic, Online Map Updates, Online Searches, Google Each, Parking, and some other things. So if I'm understanding this correctly, if you select the Navigation option for over $2000 it'll come with Porsche Connect for 12 months. If after 12 months, you don't want to pay the annual subscription fee, you can still use the navigation feature of the Navigation option, correct? It just won't have Real Time Traffic, Online Map Updates, etc but the basic use of the navigation module is still there. Will you still be able to connect your phone via bluetooth or is that tied to Porsche Connect? I would be selecting the CarPlay option if that makes a difference.

I'm just trying to figure out if I really even need to select the Navigation with Porsche Connect option because I don't want to pay the subscription fee so trying to figure out what features I would get with Porsche Connect.

wizee

Bluetooth audio and calls work fine without Porsche connect. Navigation with stored offline maps will also keep working when the Porsche Connect subscription expires. Porsche Connect is about giving your car a built in cellular modem so it can fetch information like traffic, map updates, and Google earth imagery from the internet. Apart from it costing them money to maintain the maps, the annual fee also has to cover the car’s mobile data bill. Most car brands with similar functionality charge similar fees once the initial subscription ends, but some brands provide 3 years “free” instead of just one year.

wizee

For what it’s worth, I decided not to get the Porsche connected navigation option, and only added CarPlay. I’m already paying a cell phone bill, my phone has better navigation than the car, and gets free regular map updates. The tin foil hat side of me also likes that there is no cellular modem this way, so if I wanted to go some place without being tracked, I could just dump my cell phone, and not have another “phone” permanently attached to the car

Haros

My experience with manufacturers navigation systems is that they are all bad. Especially if you live in an area with high development rates and the maps are eternally out of date, even if “updated” regularly.

Now that CarPlay is standard, I would just use google maps for free, which is superior in my opinion.

halfmonkey

So if I don't option the Navigation with Porsche Connect, I'm guessing the car will still come with the Porsche Communication System which basically allows you to customize features and functions but not have a built in navigation system nor Porsche Connect? Will it still allow me to connect my iPhone via bluetooth to make and receive calls with the Navigation with Porsche Connect option? I don't want or need Porsche Connect so I'm just trying to figure out exactly what comes with the car if I don't select the Navigation with Porsche Connect Option. I like the idea of using my iPhone and CarPlay for navigation duties and if this can save me $2000+, I'm all for it.

In order for me to use Voice Control,, it requires me to select the Navigation with Porsche Connect option though.

worf928

My experience with Navigation systems is that, when I need one, there’s no cell tower around. Thus cell-phone based Nav is as useful as wings on an elephant.

My experience with car-phone integration is that once the phone OS is 5-ish years newer than the car, the integration stops working very well. This is already the case with pre-‘17 PCM and iOS.


Thanks @wizee for your answer. I had the same question.

Buckett76

If you're getting a new car just get Carplay, it's still hardwired through a USB port but then you can just use Google Maps on your phone. Only thing you give up is the map in the driver screen but that is not super helpful anyway. I think you needed to add Porsche Connect to get Carplay a few years ago but now Carplay is a separate option. Porsche Connect is basically a connection to your car via an app on your phone, its free to start with an then an annual fee. You can do things like send way points to your Navigation system, check your cars position, locked doors, gas levels, etc all from your phone. My car came with it but I don't use it and don't plan to renew it. You will lose traffic updates on your car navi if you go that route and don't renew but if you use Google Maps via CarPlay you can get to the same place anyway.

wizee

You still get a screen in the dash (same size and resolution screen too) if you don’t get connected navigation. You are free to use Porsche Navigation together with Bluetooth calling and music from your phone. If you use Android instead of iOS, you may want to option navigation, since CarPlay is iOS only. I haven’t tried voice control or Siri.

Most of the important car settings are configurable through the screen in the gauge cluster separate from the infotainment display. Porsche does this to make it possible to have cars (in Europe) that delete PCM for weight savings and simplicity. I like this because when PCM becomes obsolete tech 10-20 years from now, it’s possible to replace it with a newer double DIN head unit without losing important car functionality. On the newer 992, the PCM display is more tightly integrated with car functions, so you can’t replace it with an aftermarket unit, and it’s not a double DIN shape either.

worf928 made a valid point about phone navigation/CarPlay being problematic in places where you don’t have cell signal and mobile data. The Porsche navigation stores map data offline, so it’ll work even without cell signal. I believe it is possible to store offline maps on newer versions of Google Maps, but you have to remember to do this in advance for the area you plan to get lost in. Unfortunately, I don’t always plan to get lost in places with no cell signal.

halfmonkey

So if I'm understanding you correctly, the only true reason to get the $2320 Navigation with Porsche Connect option is to get navigation built into the head unit along with the subscription feature of Porsche Connect which allows features such as Real Time Traffic, 2 Map Updates per year, Online Searches, Google Map, Parking, Fuel Prices, along with other features? It seems like Voice Control is built into this package as well.

Since I don't plan on subscribing to the Porsche Connect and I don't really need navigation built in since I live in a major metropolitan area, it seems like maybe skipping the Navigation with Porsche Connect is the better choice.

Buckett76

Yes, that is how I understand it, you certainly don't need Porsche Connect to use your car nor should it impact Bluetooth connectivity with your phone. Voice control is only a car thing that is also unnecessary, ie you can say, give me directions to xyz. But YMMV as to how well it interprets what you say. As others have said if you don't renew the subscription your maps will end up locked at whatever version was out when the subscription stopped so you will eventually get outdated maps and the online search features will no longer work, etc.

k.alexander

My car has Navi and Porsche Connect. I didn't order it new, or would have never gotten those features. CarPlay is a must in my opinion, in fact it was one of my two must-have features (6spd being the other) when I was searching for the car (of course I am an Apple user); I don't think there is any comparison between built-in Navi and what you get from your phone with CarPlay (Waze, Google Maps, etc. just for maps; not to mention all other functionality). In my humble opinion, car manufacturers should give up on making their Navi and most other infotainment systems, as trying to use one is like trying to use 20+ yr old technology compared to what you can get out of your phone/CarPlay. I am a big Apple fan/user, but I do sympathize for Android users who can't get Android Auto on their 718s. Btw, didn't I just read that Porsche is finally going to start offering AA this or next year on some models?

Buckett76

Yeah but my parents love 20 year old tech

akhbhaat

Absolutely agree. Even if these things were originally designed to the same standard as consumer mapping software (they aren't), they'd be dated before the first example of the line left the factory, let alone several years into the production run. The automotive world simply moves too slow.

I honestly think they refuse to do so because it's easy money, and gives the car additional "showroom presence" that a lot of buyers apparently tend to fawn over.

k.alexander

Oh absolutely, that is exactly why they do it: 1) they can charge and arm and a leg for it, 2) as much as many of us would like them to stop, it is hard to genuinely argue that car manufacturers can just stop offering these products to their customer today as unfortunately there are plenty of people don't even know that they have things like CarPlay/Android Auto in their car or how to use it or that it's easier and better in every way than the built-in infotainment. Car manufacturers do move at a snail's pace and as such they won't stop their infotainment "strategy" until the market forces them to stop, or more likely, about 10 years after the market forces them to stop.

William Meyer

I am looking at a 2018 Cayman S that comes with the Navigation Module, but Porsche Connect is not on the build sheet. Without Porsche Connect in the 2018 model, how do I get real time traffic information?

It looks like the car has the USB port for connecting an IPOD. Can't this be used to connect an Iphone and run GoogleMaps or Waze? Does it require a separate App to connect the Iphone to the PCM?