Is wireless CarPlay possible on an A5 Prestige?

[Teknic111]

I had a salesman give me a quick overview of the MMI system and I was surprised to learn that CarPlay only works with a wired connection. Are there any solutions out there to make it wireless? Also, does Audi plan to push an update to MMI systems to make wireless CarPlay possible? It seems pretty crazy to me that a $57,000 car wouldn't support a simple feature like this! Especially when all the hardware to make it possible is present!

[jpenneck]

No, you cannot use wireless carplay unless you have a new A6, A7 or A8. This is due to those models having a different hardware feature set that allows the wireless carplay. Wireless Carplay or Wireless Android Auto have only been available for a year or two (mid 2017?) and since the B9 cars were designed prior to that date, they do not have the necessary hardware.

[belzebutt]

What's the performance like for Wireless Carplay, is it the same as wired?

[Teknic111]

No, you cannot use wireless carplay unless you have a new A6, A7 or A8. This is due to those models having a different hardware feature set that allows the wireless carplay. Wireless Carplay or Wireless Android Auto have only been available for a year or two (mid 2017?) and since the B9 cars were designed prior to that date, they do not have the necessary hardware.

What hardware is missing? I always thought Bluetooth is all that was needed.

[heymoe]

I believe CarPlay and Android Auto communicate with the car's head unit / display via a WiFi connection not Bluetooth.

[scoopman]

Can't speak for CarPlay, but Android Auto uses wifi to communicate. It also requires particular phones, as the phone antenna is shared between Bluetooth and Wifi and both need to be in use for this all to work. Not all Android phones can do this.

In my experience, wireless Android Auto isn't worth it because of the very significant power usage. You're not charging and using like virtually everything on your phone at once: processor, several apps in memory, wifi radio, video encoder, and BT and cellular radio all at once. Much better to just plug in.

[Sebastian3]

CarPlay is processor-intensive and uses a lot of the iPhone's battery. So Apple has required that the device to be charging or else the battery would run down quickly. Even though the 2019 A4 and A5 now offer a wireless charging box, the MMI software does not support wireless CarPlay because it is based on the older standard. On the new A6, A7, and A8, they all offer wireless CarPlay because they have wireless charging as well as a completely new MMI system.

[signde]

CarPlay is processor-intensive and uses a lot of the iPhone's battery. So Apple has required that the device to be charging or else the battery would run down quickly. Even though the 2019 A4 and A5 now offer a wireless charging box, the MMI software does not support wireless CarPlay because it is based on the older standard. On the new A6, A7, and A8, they all offer wireless CarPlay because they have wireless charging as well as a completely new MMI system.

apple does not require the device to be charging for wireless carplay.

i have an alpine ILX-07. i never take my phone out of my pocket.

even using waze and listening to music on my commute it doesn't really drain the battery anymore than doing those things just on the phone.

[Sebastian3]

apple does not require the device to be charging for wireless carplay.

i have an alpine ILX-07. i never take my phone out of my pocket.

even using waze and listening to music on my commute it doesn't really drain the battery anymore than doing those things just on the phone.

You are correct — I mean for OEM systems. You have an aftermarket system. Also, I should clarify: Wireless CarPlay exists in OEM systems that have wireless charging available. The driver can choose to not charge of course —*but the iPhone battery will run down more quickly.

[signde]

You are correct — I mean for OEM systems. You have an aftermarket system.

i'm having a hard time believing apple would require phones connected to oem wireless carplay to be charging while connected. that seems to defeat the whole purpose of wireless carplay.

where are you getting this information?

[RS4Jay]

CarPlay is processor-intensive and uses a lot of the iPhone's battery. So Apple has required that the device to be charging or else the battery would run down quickly. Even though the 2019 A4 and A5 now offer a wireless charging box, the MMI software does not support wireless CarPlay because it is based on the older standard. On the new A6, A7, and A8, they all offer wireless CarPlay because they have wireless charging as well as a completely new MMI system.

This is not correct. I use wireless CarPlay in my 2018 BMW all the time.

[belzebutt]

This is not correct. I use wireless CarPlay in my 2018 BMW all the time.

How do you tell the phone to start the wireless CarPlay, in the absence of initiating it when you plug it in?

[RS4Jay]

How do you tell the phone to start the wireless CarPlay, in the absence of initiating it when you plug it in?

So it connects automatically and makes CarPlay available in the iDrive menu when your phone is present. It puts a play icon in the bottom left of the menu. You just click that to start CarPlay. I wish Audi handled switching between CarPlay and the MMI this well and didn't just force you into CarPlay mode when you plug your phone in to charge.