So what did you do about the TFT and BMW App?

sgl0226 said:

And then listen to opinions

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You don't have to, what matters is what works for you. I, personally, am happy with the built in system using a dedicated Android phone to run it, but I am a techie and can handle it. I can also see why people need more sophisticated GPS and the fruit that goes with them (way points, POI etc.) I don't need those so for me the simple system is enough. Don't think though that the XT is perfect. I had one on my old RT and while it was good, it came with its own set of problems, especially early on. I had one of the first XTs sold in Australia. They improved it though but to keep it in context, Garmin's motorcycle GPS business is minuscule so they spend commensurate amount of development and bug fixing times on it.

sgl0226 said:

When I ride with friends, when they’re ready to go, they go! No waiting.

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Maybe you need new friends I do ride in a group from time to time. That kinda behaviour is not on.

sgl0226 said:

What advantages does an Android phone have over Apple?

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They have been listed above, but the real answer is this: Apple has a much tighter control over their system. Often, to get advanced functions, you need to buy their chip and include it in your own hardware in order to do everything you want to. Android is almost like open source, developers have an almost complete freedom to do what and how they want.

Those restrictions make life with an Android phone connected to the bike easier. I ran an iPhone first, then gone and bought an Android phone and the only regret I have is that I didn't do it sooner.

Connection wise, and this is VERY important, you have to make sure there are no parallel connection options. You pair the phone to the bike and your headset/intercom to the bike, but NOT headset to phone. Otherwise when the phone will try to communicate to your headset, it could do via the bike or direct to headset, gets confused, creates problems that manifests by functions not working.

For example, I have two phones (dual SIM iPhone - work and personal- and a Huawei in the bike), a Cardo headset and the bike of course. So my iPhone is paired to the headset as a mobile phone, the Huawei is paired only to the bike and the bike is paired to the headset as a GPS. I don't use the Huawei for calls, it has no SIM. I hotspot it to the iPhone for data and it also connects to my home wifi network so I can easily transfer routes planned elsewhere (in my case MyRouteApp) that I can navigate on the TFT. All works, no conflicts and since the latest TFT software update, there are no disconnections either.

sgl0226 said:

Thanks for the explanation!!!

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No problem You can always hit the "like" link at the bottom of the post window

sgl0226 said:

So I could keep my phone paired to the bike and answer my phone calls thru the bike, plus the bike would continue to record my rides thru the connect app. My xt would only pair with my headset, not my phone, to give me instructions when navigating

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Yes, that would work but that would give you no data for the GPS (via the Garmin app for the XT).

sgl0226 said:

Or I could pair my phone to the xt and not the bike. Then phone calls would come through my xt.

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Yes, but then no Connected app goodies.

sgl0226 said:

Do I need to pair my phone to the xt in order to get traffic and weather on the xt through the garmin app?

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Yes.

You have two issues. How to get the phone calls routed and how to get data to the XT. A (potentially) simpler way to put it is that you would be trying to run two GPS units at once.

So, I would decide which phone function I like more: the XT version or the TFT version. My money is on TFT simply because you can run it via the wunder wheel, no need to touch the screen. To achieve that you would then disable the phone function on the XT. You could still get data to it (the XT) via the Garmin app and having the phone function disabled there is no conflict when calls are routed. You get the best of both with an added benefit: run two GPS routes and compare. Plenty of screen real-estate on the bike to have Connected navigate as well and check against the XT. Connected runs Tom Tom maps, so it would be like having the only two dedicated bike GPS units in existence compete on the same route against one another on the same bike