Watch Android Auto and Apple CarPlay face off in real-world navigation battle

Thanks to these two Canadian YouTubers, you will no longer have to wonder who to trust as your virtual on-road assistant: Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.

In their latest video, Jakub and Yuri from autotech channel The Straight Pipes decided to square off the two rivalling driving companions in a real-world navigation test to find out which one is the better route assistant – and you might be surprised by the outcome.

To level the field, Jakub and Yuri both take turns to ask Android Auto and Apple CarPlay a series of questions to determine which companion deals with voice-commands more adequately.

Jakub kicks things off with by simply asking Auto for directions to 27 Mount View Avenue in Toronto, Canada. But here’s the catch: Instead of using the designated magic word ‘directions,’ Jakub merely spells out the address to see if Auto will pick up on the context for the search on its own.

While Android’s assistant fails to respond to the request appropriately the first time, it quickly corrects itself once Jakub specifically asks for ‘directions’ to the same address. Then the two YouTubers swap seats and it’s Yuri’s turn to ask CarPlay.

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Much like Auto, Apple’s assistant fails to accurately point to the correct address without explicitly specifying the search is for ‘directions.’ But more worryingly, CarPlay also fails to give the right directions even after Yuri addresses it with the designated magic word.

Watch the full clip in the video section above to see how the two assistants measure up in the other tests Yuri and Jakub conducted.

In case you want to see more comparisons between Google’s and Apple’s voice-enabled assistants, popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee made a similar video where he tests which of the two helpers is more conversational. You can watch the clip here.