Phone performance for navigation

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insomnia

Active member
2022-r18.b
I haven't used the navigation on my R18 B yet because of my ancient phone. So it's time for a new Android phone - anyone has an idea what kind of performance you need for simultaneous navigation and music? I want swift operation without any lag of course. I have no other needs for an expensive or even mid-price phone, so the use on the R18 will decide the phone price-level.

Would any new budget phone do? Or should I look for a bit more RAM or processor?

And how much storage would you need for downloading maps for a couple of states? Is it better or faster to buy additional memory for the maps - if so does it need to meet certain spec/performance?
 
I got tired of the garbage navigation system on board, so I bought a Garmin Zumo and a handlebar mount, plugged it into the DIN outlet. There's not much room on the bar, so you have to fiddle with it to get it to where you can see the GPS and it NOT block the gauges.
 
Hm... I'd like to try the "onboard" navigation first, even though I have no doubts that the Zumo is leagues better. But if the onboard nav is that bad, I might borrow a compatible phone just to check it out first.

What was your major disappointment(s) with the onboard navigation?
 
I just got back from a 400 mile trip, no issues with navigation. I keep my phone plugged up and in the cradle. The only complaint, but I guess it's more a safety issue, you must find your destination and save as a favorite in order to pull it up quickly while riding. Other than that, worked well, not the 1st disconnection.
 
insomnia said:
Hm... I'd like to try the "onboard" navigation first, even though I have no doubts that the Zumo is leagues better. But if the onboard nav is that bad, I might borrow a compatible phone just to check it out first.

What was your major disappointment(s) with the onboard navigation?
Click to expand...
It was just turn by turn directions. I expected it to LOOK like a GPS map screen, with the route highlighted, etc. I don't know if that's all it can do, or if I just didn't understand how to make it better... But I'm happier with the Zumo.
 
aicpjim said:
It was just turn by turn directions. I expected it to LOOK like a GPS map screen, with the route highlighted, etc. I don't know if that's all it can do, or if I just didn't understand how to make it better... But I'm happier with the Zumo.
Click to expand...
Something may not be correct on the way yours is connected, mine does show the highlighted route. Then when I go to full screen navigation it shows the highlighted route and in a small block to the right it the turn by turn with distance before the next turn and which lane to be in.
 
I have my phone BT paired with my helmet, the BMW Connect App requires WiFi to be on. My phone isn't connected to the TFT by BT. My helmet is BT to the bike. So, phone BT to helmet, WiFi to Bike, then helmet BT to Bike. Everything works great.
 
Thanks for that info, I would have tried phone > bike by BT and Wifi otherwise but that seems unnecessary.

Back to my original question - does anyone have an idea about the performance needed from the phone, i.e. RAM/processor/storage requirements?

Basically I wonder if a simple budget Android phone is enough to give swift navigation with maps.
 
insomnia said:
Thanks for that info, I would have tried phone > bike by BT and Wifi otherwise but that seems unnecessary.

Back to my original question - does anyone have an idea about the performance needed from the phone, i.e. RAM/processor/storage requirements?

Basically I wonder if a simple budget Android phone is enough to give swift navigation with maps.
Click to expand...
I think you need to check with Google Play.

I use iOS & the Apple Store requirements are based on the OS. If the hardware supports the OS, it supports the app. I imagine it would be similar with Android, but I don't have any Android devices to know for sure.
 
The phone navigation was awful a year ago. Wifi would drop. The program on the phone would quit or disconnect every 40 minutes or so. A dedicated nav unit works 100x better.
 
nielsm said:
I think you need to check with Google Play.

I use iOS & the Apple Store requirements are based on the OS. If the hardware supports the OS, it supports the app. I imagine it would be similar with Android, but I don't have any Android devices to know for sure.
Click to expand...
Ah, maybe it's that simple. But I'm not sure that the app running ok on the phone locally also means that the phone can provide the maps via wifi without lag, especially with simultaneous music playing. But perhaps the BMW Connected app requires a minimum Android version (and thus phone) which also ensures the performance of the wifi transfer.
 
mkondratov said:
The phone navigation was awful a year ago. Wifi would drop. The program on the phone would quit or disconnect every 40 minutes or so. A dedicated nav unit works 100x better.
Click to expand...
Judging by what I've read here on the forum, to me it seems that those problems mostly involved certain iphones. I'm hoping to have less problems with android, but let's see...

I actually have a dedicated nav unit that works great (zumo), but was hoping to avoid a bulky unit on the handlebars.
 
insomnia said:
I haven't used the navigation on my R18 B yet because of my ancient phone. So it's time for a new Android phone - anyone has an idea what kind of performance you need for simultaneous navigation and music? I want swift operation without any lag of course. I have no other needs for an expensive or even mid-price phone, so the use on the R18 will decide the phone price-level.

Would any new budget phone do? Or should I look for a bit more RAM or processor?

And how much storage would you need for downloading maps for a couple of states? Is it better or faster to buy additional memory for the maps - if so does it need to meet certain spec/performance?
Click to expand...
I have a Samsung S21 that fits in the compartment and I run Spotify and the motorrad app for GPS at the same time.. and its been flawless. Took me a while to figure it out. things like moving the screens around and such.
 
jgib0626 said:
I have a Samsung S21 that fits in the compartment and I run Spotify and the motorrad app for GPS at the same time.. and its been flawless. Took me a while to figure it out. things like moving the screens around and such.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info. I was actually looking at a Samsung S21 which has 6GB RAM and 128 GB memory. But it would be nice if I could do with a A21 with 3GB/32GB at half the price.
 
insomnia said:
I haven't used the navigation on my R18 B yet because of my ancient phone. So it's time for a new Android phone - anyone has an idea what kind of performance you need for simultaneous navigation and music? I want swift operation without any lag of course. I have no other needs for an expensive or even mid-price phone, so the use on the R18 will decide the phone price-level.

Would any new budget phone do? Or should I look for a bit more RAM or processor?

And how much storage would you need for downloading maps for a couple of states? Is it better or faster to buy additional memory for the maps - if so does it need to meet certain spec/performance?
Click to expand...
I would make sure that you choose a phone that fits within the phone charging cradle; i.e.. I recently went with a Pixel 7 (not the 7 Pro, it's too big). I don't think you'll run into a performance issue with any of the available Smart Phones currently offered.
 
Regarding the phone itself, there are a few of things to consider.
*You won't need much RAM since you'll be riding and (hopefully) not playing with the phone. You can keep the phone light on apps, and use your battery settings to keep apps from running in the background. This should leave plenty of RAM to run Spotify/YouTube Music and Maps. So, an inexpensive phone should be fine.
*Screen size. It's harder to push buttons on a small phone, especially in gloves or while the handlebars are vibrating. There is a driving setting in my phone that limit the apps that will be visible and make the remaining few buttons much larger. This is a stock setting function in Samsung.
*You may need storage if you plan on downloading maps and music in the event you are out of data range. I have thousands of songs on my phone using Youtube Music using about 30gigs. Google Maps downloads very in size depending on how many roads are in view, but Google caps the download size to about 500-600 mgs for each map. I trip I took from Savannah to Dallas took 4 maps at about 1.8 gigs. Long story short, how much do you need to download for a trip, and how much do you need to make your phone function on a daily basis. Add that together along with 30% extra and that is how much storage you will need.

Hope that helps.
 
Iphone - having to leave screen on is a pain - it does drop nav/media playing frequently when answering a phone call. Not a great system despite having a great screen.
 
Just_John said:
Regarding the phone itself, there are a few of things to consider.
*You won't need much RAM since you'll be riding and (hopefully) not playing with the phone. You can keep the phone light on apps, and use your battery settings to keep apps from running in the background. This should leave plenty of RAM to run Spotify/YouTube Music and Maps. So, an inexpensive phone should be fine.
*Screen size. It's harder to push buttons on a small phone, especially in gloves or while the handlebars are vibrating. There is a driving setting in my phone that limit the apps that will be visible and make the remaining few buttons much larger. This is a stock setting function in Samsung.
*You may need storage if you plan on downloading maps and music in the event you are out of data range. I have thousands of songs on my phone using Youtube Music using about 30gigs. Google Maps downloads very in size depending on how many roads are in view, but Google caps the download size to about 500-600 mgs for each map. I trip I took from Savannah to Dallas took 4 maps at about 1.8 gigs. Long story short, how much do you need to download for a trip, and how much do you need to make your phone function on a daily basis. Add that together along with 30% extra and that is how much storage you will need.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Thanks, great info & explanation. I was concerned about RAM on cheaper phones but now I feel reassured that it's not a big concern. I'll probably go for a cheap phone with a big screen that fits in the cradle. Then I'll add storage to it - which is exchangeable and not too costly.
 
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