Wireless CarPlay is still scarce, but I read an article from a tech blog that existing wired CarPlay users have a way to break free of wires convinently. They have been testing it for monthes now. The main content is below:
CarPlay has become one of the most sought after options in today’s cars. With the exception of some of the newest car models, most vehicle still require a cable to connect your iPhone to the USB port in your car. If you have been looking for a wireless CarPlay solution, you may not need to get a new car. Check out Carlinkit adapter to experience Apple CarPlay in a whole new way.
Product Details
There isn’t a lot to unpack for the CarlinKit. Inside is the CarlinKit adapter and 2 short USB cables, used to connect the adapter to the CarPlay USB adapter in your car.
The unit has a standard USB-C connector on the top end, and a standard USB-A port on the bottom. On the front is a LED bar which is red when the unit powers up and then blinks green once a connection is established with the vehicle.
Our initial thought was that the cord was too short. As it turns out, the short cord worked well for us. It allowed us to have the CarlinKit unit rest comfortably in the little cubby in front of the USB-A connection without a messy tangle of wires sticking out. Also, because the cord is short, it seemed to prevent the CarlinKit from sliding around when the car was in motion. Of course, since the cable is detachable from the main unit, you would have no problem using a longer cable if you needed to.
Installation
The CarlinKit unit comes with a User Guide but it is hardly needed. The setup is easy, plug and play. Almost immediately, the CarlinKit booted up and we saw the “Connecting” on our dashboard screen. Then, we connected the CarlinKit followed a couple of simple prompts on the screen and the connection went through without any issues.
With the unit now connected, we looked at our iPhone CarPlay screen and was surprised to see that while our wireless CarPlay was working, both Bluetooth listings were Not Connected. In looking at the CarlinKit FAQs and checking with CarlinKit, we learned that CarlinKit 4.0 uses Bluetooth to establish the original connection and then negotiates a hand-off to a Wi-Fi network that the unit creates.
We were surprised at how well this worked. The hand-off between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi was seamless and once the connection was made, it was rock solid.
Performance
We have been using the CarlinKit wireless CarPlay adapter for a while. During that time we have not had any issues. There is no difference in the CarPlay screen and all of our applications were available and worked as expected.
We used both Apple maps and Google Maps during our test period and both responded as we expected. There was no lag in getting directions and the touchscreen was as responsive as with a wired connection.
Even using Siri was effortless. We were able to ask Siri for directions while driving and they popped up on the screen in a few seconds.
We have to admit that we originally questioned whether a wireless CarPlay connection was needed, since we only really used CarPlay for long distance trips. Having now used it wirelessly, we find we use it much more and take advantage of application we rarely used before. The USB-A port on the bottom of the unit charges the phone without issue.
Like many people, we have often forgotten to take our iPhone out of our car when we stopped or got to our destination. Having the ability to use CarPlay without taking the iPhone out of our pocket is convinent for us.
Overall we were very impressed with the CarlinKit 4.0 wireless CarPlay adapter. Its sleek design takes up almost no room in our car, and its performance was equal to a wired CarPlay connection. While we only had limited contact with the company (carlinkitofficial.com), they seem to be very helpful and responsive.
The folks at CarlinKit say their product will work with 98% of the cars that have factory installed CarPlay. In looking at their web site, we were impressed to see that they have numerous options, depending on the vehicle you have. They have obviously put a lot of thought and effort into ensuring their product works as expected.
While CarlinKit is available from Amazon, CarlinKit only provides technical support for units purchased from them directly. As such, we suggest you use their web site only to get guaranteed service.
After read this article, I bought it with a mentality of giving it a try. Honestly, I was skeptical about how well it would work, but unexpectedly, it worked as I expected. This adapter is worthy and the performance is still OK. It works well with my car, no issues so far. For owners who want to use wireless CarPlay, I recommend this.
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