Scenic 4.11 on Carplay iOS 18.3 - terrible experience

#1 · 05.02.2025, 13:07

Quote from chupa88 on 05.02.2025, 13:07
I've been using Scenic since 2017 and have found it to be one of the best routing apps. Used it on several cross country USA trips, even on a 18,000 mile, 90 day trip up to Alaska from North Carolina, USA. So it's obvious to say, I'm a big fan of Scenic. But I'm afraid to say this current version is almost not useable in Carplay mode.

First off, the specs: Scenic 4.11, Carplay iOS 18.3, iPhone 15 Pro Max. Chigee AIO5 for BMW. I am running the Chigee AIO5 for BMW on my 2023 750GS, so Carplay is the default way I am using Scenic now on this bike.

I tried to use Scenic on a 2.5 hour trip from my home and three times Scenic just stopped giving voice and text directions. The first time I missed a turn and then realized that the app didn't give me a voice prompt and that's why I missed the turn. I pulled into a parking lot and then got myself back on the route but the directions never came back. I had to stop the ride and restart the route on the Chigee screen in Carplay but this also didn't give me any directions. It seems like it was stuck. The arrow would continue on the route when I kept riding but no directions (See image below). I had to take out my phone from my tank bag and stop the ride, restart the route from the phone for the voice and text directions to come back.

This happened three times during the route. Thankfully, I was in the backroads so it wasn't too hard to find a safe place to stop the route and restart but if I was in a higher density area, the interstate/motorways, it would have been much worst to reset the route. After the third time, for whatever reason, instead of continuing onto the route, Scenic started to route me back to the start point. Because I wasn't familiar with the area ( which is why I use an app like Scenic), I followed the directions for a good 20-30 miles before I realized I was heading back towards my start destination.

Why doesn't this version ask me if I want Scenic to guide me to the start, pick a via point, or manually ride myself to pickup the route like it used to back in version 3? That was such an easy, foolproof way for the user to start the route or pick up a route midway! Even earlier version of 4 asked the user if they want to be guided to the start? Did 4.11 completely stopped the user this question? It seems so and I didn't realized that? It appears that 4.11 now just relay on the user selecting this tiny icon where they want to be guided to the start or not!

Sorry but this is a terrible change in the design and functionality of the app! Frankly, trying to use Scenic via Carplay yesterday ruined my day off. I never made it to my destination because by the time I realized I was heading in the wrong direction, there wasn't enough time to turn around and get home in time.

This morning I tried once again to use Scenic to navigation to a location I know by heart just to see how it operates. Once again, for some reason, Scenic stopped giving voice directions and updating the text direction for the entire ride once I left an apartment parking lot. The app was just stuck on this direction for the entire 30min ride. See image below.

Here is the original route in case it is also helpful:

https://scenicapp.space/viewRoute.php?rid=FIPcbbyj

My app renews in a few days but given this situation, I don't see a reason to renew for another year. I hope this post is viewed as constructive and not bashing. But truth be told, I am very disappointed with Scenic in its current state. I've attached screenshots hoping this will help Guido get to the bottom of these issues.

Please bring back the prompt to ask the user if they want to be guided to the start point or guide to a specific via point. This was invaluable when someone is picking up a route in the middle!

I've been using Scenic since 2017 and have found it to be one of the best routing apps. Used it on several cross country USA trips, even on a 18,000 mile, 90 day trip up to Alaska from North Carolina, USA. So it's obvious to say, I'm a big fan of Scenic. But I'm afraid to say this current version is almost not useable in Carplay mode.

First off, the specs: Scenic 4.11, Carplay iOS 18.3, iPhone 15 Pro Max. Chigee AIO5 for BMW. I am running the Chigee AIO5 for BMW on my 2023 750GS, so Carplay is the default way I am using Scenic now on this bike.

I tried to use Scenic on a 2.5 hour trip from my home and three times Scenic just stopped giving voice and text directions. The first time I missed a turn and then realized that the app didn't give me a voice prompt and that's why I missed the turn. I pulled into a parking lot and then got myself back on the route but the directions never came back. I had to stop the ride and restart the route on the Chigee screen in Carplay but this also didn't give me any directions. It seems like it was stuck. The arrow would continue on the route when I kept riding but no directions (See image below). I had to take out my phone from my tank bag and stop the ride, restart the route from the phone for the voice and text directions to come back.

This happened three times during the route. Thankfully, I was in the backroads so it wasn't too hard to find a safe place to stop the route and restart but if I was in a higher density area, the interstate/motorways, it would have been much worst to reset the route. After the third time, for whatever reason, instead of continuing onto the route, Scenic started to route me back to the start point. Because I wasn't familiar with the area ( which is why I use an app like Scenic), I followed the directions for a good 20-30 miles before I realized I was heading back towards my start destination.

Why doesn't this version ask me if I want Scenic to guide me to the start, pick a via point, or manually ride myself to pickup the route like it used to back in version 3? That was such an easy, foolproof way for the user to start the route or pick up a route midway! Even earlier version of 4 asked the user if they want to be guided to the start? Did 4.11 completely stopped the user this question? It seems so and I didn't realized that? It appears that 4.11 now just relay on the user selecting this tiny icon where they want to be guided to the start or not!

Sorry but this is a terrible change in the design and functionality of the app! Frankly, trying to use Scenic via Carplay yesterday ruined my day off. I never made it to my destination because by the time I realized I was heading in the wrong direction, there wasn't enough time to turn around and get home in time.

This morning I tried once again to use Scenic to navigation to a location I know by heart just to see how it operates. Once again, for some reason, Scenic stopped giving voice directions and updating the text direction for the entire ride once I left an apartment parking lot. The app was just stuck on this direction for the entire 30min ride. See image below.

Here is the original route in case it is also helpful:

https://scenicapp.space/viewRoute.php?rid=FIPcbbyj

My app renews in a few days but given this situation, I don't see a reason to renew for another year. I hope this post is viewed as constructive and not bashing. But truth be told, I am very disappointed with Scenic in its current state. I've attached screenshots hoping this will help Guido get to the bottom of these issues.

Please bring back the prompt to ask the user if they want to be guided to the start point or guide to a specific via point. This was invaluable when someone is picking up a route in the middle!

#2 · 05.02.2025, 13:19

Thanks for the feedback and sorry for your bad experience.
I'm working on these issues as we speak.
Maybe you've seen the background story on why Scenic 4 had to be rushed out there, resulting in some bugs still being there. If not, here's the whole story: https://scenic.app/scenic-4-the-whole-story/

If you're enjoying Scenic and are happy with the support, please leave a nice rating in the App Store. It would mean a lot to me ❤️

#3 · 05.02.2025, 14:49

Yes, I'm aware of the history of the map providers. I'm sorry you have to go thru that. I'm hopeful that Scenic 4.x will become as solid as the previous 3.x version. I will keep an eye on the updates.