For a couple years, I’ve been reading more and more about wireless CarPlay. In general, the less I can have things dependent on wires or cables the better.
Of course, we’re not really talking about going wireless in most instances – Qi charging is just shifting the wire to a stationary object vs. plugging it into your phone. Same with Apple’s (relatively) new MagSafe line of products. While the immediate connection between your device and the charger is ‘wireless’, it still relies on a physical connection.
The same is true with the CPLAY2AIR – dongle that I’ve been thinking about purchasing for the last year or so. It’s a device that physically connects to your car, and then wirelessly connects with your phone to provide a ‘wireless’ CarPlay experience.
Anyway, regardless of the semantics of wired vs. wireless, I finally took the plunge a month or so ago and purchased the “CPLAY2AIR Wireless Adapter For Factory CarPlay” direct from their Web site. Naturally, if you know me at all, the reason I purchased this device is both entirely inconsistent and completely consistent with my buying habits.
First – the inconsistent part – I actually clicked on an ad for CPLAY2AIR from Facebook. I would estimate my Facebook ad Click-through Rate (CTR) at about a million to one. Needless to say, I RARELY click on ads. However, since I had previously (a year ago or more) looked at this product, I clicked on the ad and did the absolute minimal amount of research (which will soon lead us to the consistent part of my buying habits) prior to taking the plunge and buying the product. Basically my ‘research’ consisted of verifying that my specific make and model of vehicle was supported (2018 Jeep Wrangler – it was!) and I clicked ‘add to cart’, then ‘checkout’.
At the time of purchase, there was a sale going on, which, since then, I have recognized as a never-ending sale – a month later and it seems there’s ALWAYS a sale going on.
Regardless, I made the purchase and THEN began looking into reviews and articles of what I had just sunk $150+ CDN into. This is absolutely 100% consistent with my buying habits. I am notorious for buying something on a whim, and then only once my money has left me, actually looking to see if I made a good decision or not. Clearly, this is a horrible way to behave, but my consumer impulses always get the best of me.
It was no surprise to me, then, that any reviews I read of the product outside of their own web site were absolutely terrible. A good percentage of reviews stated that the device didn’t work, and another significant percentage indicated that this device was simply a re-branding of another device that was significantly cheaper and significantly better. To be fair, a few reviews sang the praises of the device, yet all seemed fake and written by the company themselves.
Immediately I regretted my decision, and – after a few minutes of regretting my choice – assumed that this impulse purchase would be relegated to the growing pile of ‘too good to be true’ products that I’ve purchased in the past (remind me to tell you about the glass that allegedly could digitally give you the caloric contents of whatever was in it – ugh).
While I immediately regretted the purchase, and instantly looked into how I could cancel said purchase (spoiler: you can’t), I really had no choice but to wait for delivery and the assumed eventual disappointment.
About two weeks later my CPLAY2AIR dongle arrived and I was instantly filled with shame. Why had I wasted good money on such a piece of crap!? However, on the off chance that this thing wasn’t the lemon it was reported to be, I decided to go through the motions of connecting this to my Jeep.
Well, was I surprised!
It actually worked – as advertised – and has continued to work for the past month without any significant issue. Setup was as simple as connecting the dongle to my car via one of the USB A ports, and using Safari on my phone to connect to 192.168.50.2 for a brief admin connection. I was (and continue to be) shocked. I am getting the entire CarPlay experience – without wires – and without limitation.
OK, to be honest, there is ONE issue. It does take a bit longer for the device to connect to your phone and to CarPlay, than it does with a wired connection. I would say maybe 5 seconds longer on average. And sometimes – I will admit – that 5 seconds seems like eternity. However, in most instances, it’s barely noticeable, and not having to pull my phone out of my pocket and connect the device to a lightning cable like a Neanderthal is a delight. Every. Single. Time.
Of course it must be pointed out that the entire existence and presence of this device is a 100% first world problem. As if I am so special and precious that I can’t be bothered to connect my device to a wire OR go through the abomination that is Bluetooth. I absolutely have no defence for this at all – this device represents the absurdity and insanity of the 1% of the 1%. There is no need for this device to exist AT. ALL. It is completely unnecessary. And yet, I love it.
I have had ZERO issues whatsoever with it’s performance. It has worked 100% as advertised, 100% of the time.
If you are thinking that you need wireless CarPlay (or I assume Android Auto – which, I have never tested) in your life – and can afford to pay the luxury tax for it – go get this CPLAY2AIR device immediately, and live the amazing (and obviously, ridiculous) wire-free dream I am living. If however, you have any brain power, and value money, you absolutely do not need this and can ‘suffer’ the 1.5 seconds it takes to plug in you phone to your existing CarPlay setup. On the other hand, however, if you don’t have CarPlay (or Android Auto) – you DO need to burn your car and get an new one that has this feature ASAP (actual burning not recommended).
Of course, shortly after I received this unit, and just long enough for me to love it, my daughter obtained her driver’s licence and, naturally, wants to connect her phone to my car when driving. As I haven’t yet connected her phone to the dongle, it’s a constant battle of wired vs. Wireless CarPlay going on in my car. A battle that I constantly lose. I should note that CPLAY2AIR does support two devices in it’s memory, but so far, I am too lazy and dumb to activate my daughter’s phone with it.
My bottom line recommendation: get this device if you have money to burn and no concept of reality like me. Of course, I can only speak for my experience, and the Internet is full of stories where this device is a complete bust. However, I believe my experience shows that if your vehicle is on their list of supported vehicles, you should have no problems – just like I had.
Of course, if you’re at all as lazy as me – be prepared to lose all functionality if your kids drive your car and connect to CarPlay with a cable. Otherwise, I fully recommend the CPLAY2AIR device.