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Anyone have a cool altimeter mounted in their Bronco?

Brian_B

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Our group navigates using Gaia gps. Works with android auto. Has altitude.
OnX has it on the phone display but it doesnt mirror over when using CarPlay that I have noticed, unfortunately
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23OBX2.7

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<y hard wire Uniden R4 has an altimiter seem to be GPS
 

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FoCoBronc

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Having trouble with getting any altitude apps to work in CarPlay. Google AI lists several as working in CarPlay. Problem is I can’t get any to actually appear in my CarPlay. I checked all my settings for privacy, location services, Siri, and notifications and out of ideas. Does anyone have any app displaying altitude that actually appears in CarPlay? I don’t understand why Apples own compass app doesn’t appear. They claim they allow navigation tool apps in CarPlay….
 

HalfmuleFarmer

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Having trouble with getting any altitude apps to work in CarPlay. Google AI lists several as working in CarPlay. Problem is I can’t get any to actually appear in my CarPlay. I checked all my settings for privacy, location services, Siri, and notifications and out of ideas. Does anyone have any app displaying altitude that actually appears in CarPlay? I don’t understand why Apples own compass app doesn’t appear. They claim they allow navigation tool apps in CarPlay….
A CarPlay build of an app is a separate (but linked) version of the phone app, so it’s just that Apple has never devoted the time to creating a CarPlay build of the Compass phone app. Which is too bad, as it’s a nice, simple app. Would be easy, but I guess they’ve got other things to do.
 

FoCoBronc

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Thanks, I’m still a little confused. Why does google AI lists several and say apps are car play compatible but they don’t work. Is there a separate app, but linked app I need to load or use?
 

Ed Morris

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I'm old-fashioned. I still prefer using a dedicated Garmin GPS unit for my main navigation display instead of Google Maps over Android Auto. One of the advantages is that the Garmin UI is a lot more customizable, and includes the option to always show elevation, which I love.
 

gbub

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I've had one in my 02 Ranger for 23 years, but with GPS showing altitude at the touch of the screen, I will not be putting one in my Bronco. One bad thing about pressure altimeters is you have to keep adjusting with changes in barometric pressure.
 

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Camp Hell Yeah.

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It would be cool to find a dedicated altimeter but on the other hand I just look at my apple watch.
 

RedRider

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Thanks, I’m still a little confused. Why does google AI lists several and say apps are car play compatible but they don’t work. Is there a separate app, but linked app I need to load or use?
Google Gemini AI and the others are known for a low accuracy rate. It doesn't personally know the answer - it has to rely on what it finds with a web search and then further extrapolates from that, so it is prone to misinterpretation. All it takes is one post on social media from someone being confidently incorrect about something and AI will parrot their remarks as truth. If an app claims to support it, AI just has to take it as fact that it is supported and works. You are often better off just using the search engine manually.

It's a good starting point, but you must follow up manually to validate the answers. You can click the citation links to investigate further:

Ford Bronco Anyone have a cool altimeter mounted in their Bronco? 2026-04-26_15-23-09

Ford Bronco Anyone have a cool altimeter mounted in their Bronco? 2026-04-26_15-35-48
 
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DarthLincoln

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Having trouble with getting any altitude apps to work in CarPlay. Google AI lists several as working in CarPlay. Problem is I can’t get any to actually appear in my CarPlay. I checked all my settings for privacy, location services, Siri, and notifications and out of ideas. Does anyone have any app displaying altitude that actually appears in CarPlay? I don’t understand why Apples own compass app doesn’t appear. They claim they allow navigation tool apps in CarPlay….
It is odd that OnX doesn't show altitude in Carplay, but Trails Offroad does.

On my iPhone, I like the Spyglass compass app but it doesn’t support Carplay either, so I can only display it on the iPhone or iPad.
 

HalfmuleFarmer

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Thanks, I’m still a little confused. Why does google AI lists several and say apps are car play compatible but they don’t work. Is there a separate app, but linked app I need to load or use?
No, it’s either there as a sidecar app to the phone app, which will then appear automatically in CarPlay, or it doesn’t exist.

In order to show up as a CarPlay app, the app author (Apple or otherwise) needs to develop a specific CarPlay version, which often (understandably) deprecates certain functionality that exists in the phone/web version. It’s like Apple Watch (if that helps!)

But it’s dumb Apple hasn’t ported Compass, with its altimeter.
 
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FoCoBronc

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Thanks to everyone for your comments. Very helpful. Visiting son in Scottsdale who races and he shared a German app ā€œAltimeter elevation watchā€ which for $4 displays real time elevation as widget in car play. Also learned asking Siri what is my elevation will provide same info. Think this is something Apple should also consider for Compass as others noted. Seems like unmet need for those who like knowing elevation traveling in mountains or wherever…..
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