I hope you get some use out of it.
IMO, the lack of the USB port alone was pitiful enough. I would have paid a few hundred bucks just for that. But, of course, it's not supported by MIB1. I first tried one of these $40+ genuine Apple (otherwise they'd fail quickly) 30pin to lightning adaptors to work with the MDI cable supplied by VW; it works both for charging and media connection (infotainment sees the phone as an iPod), but I found it very annoying that the bluetooth connection is dropped once this iPod connection is established. Also, I went through a brief period two years ago in which I wanted to leave Apple for Android. So I diligently replaced the adaptor (and the VW cable) with this (OEM?) MDI to USB cable (you can get one off Amazon for less than $20). Man, did I regret trying to make my new Edge s7 work with MIB1. Questions on forums, tried different solutions etc. It would do weird things (such as calling own number). Until people just told me to calm down and accept the fact that MIB1 was just not Android friendly. Went back to the iPhone but this cable (in which you plug a regular iPhone lightning cable) only charges the iPhone, no media connection (even though bluetooth now works).
So, just having a working USB connection is a huge upgrade for me.
Right after I had everything in working order (after the remote session with Jack), I grabbed one of these 1ft black lightning cables (made by Anker, very good reviews on Amazon). First thing I do now when I get in the car is plug my iPhone in and rest it in the cubby. CarPlay connects and that's that, I don't touch my phone (I got the short cable partly to curb my bad habit to always physically handle the phone) until I leave the car. I use the Music app directly from the touchscreen, that's a huge thing for me. Used to make calls with "hey Siri" but that didn't go too well when, for various reasons, it got too loud in the car. Now I long press the voice button on the steering wheel and it appears this never fails, no matter how loud it gets in the car. I never used Waze (had it installed and removed it) and I've yet to use Apple's Maps with CarPlay (I've only had it for three days, after all), but I'm sure it can be useful. Same evening I had app connect activated I went to the SXM website and replaced the old radio with the new one. With the MIB2 amp the sound is better, not just what comes out of the phone, but radio too. The screen, well, while not as great of an upgrade as going from 5.8" low res to 8" high res, is still much nicer.
Overall, I'm just very happy with it. It is true that I may have psyched myself into wanting it so badly (since 2015, when I had decided to wait for the 2016 tdi's, after reading about MIB2), but, now that I do, it doesn't feel anticlimactic at all. I hope it never will
.
Lastly, my wife has app connect in her 2017 Jetta 1.8tsi and that car's not nearly as nice as my GSW
. Felt like a great injustice
.
Edit: I will look into the Helix soundbox. As I am into the 8" screen. Problem is the 8" comes with Nav button, and the modified one (has that button replaced by "Voice" or smth) sold by eurozonetuning is $800 including bezel and vents. That's almost as much as I paid for my entire retrofit.