Wireless Carplay

For those who use (or have used) wireless Carplay - does it always drain your phone battery horribly?

I'm looking at replacing my OEM HU and I thought it was a must-have feature, but the more I'm reading the more I see opinions are split. I understand the convenience of it, but really want to know about the battery usage on the phone, and if the battery performance is similar across various brands of receivers.

Thanks!

 

The VW has wireless charging. Otherwise I plug into via the USB.

 

I have a wireless adapter for the OEM HU and haven't noticed any remarkable battery drain on my iPhone 13 pro max.

 

Running a Kenwood eXcelon HU with wireless CarPlay. I can get 8+ hours of playback and have 25% battery left. (iPhone 11)

 

Which adapter are you using? Any issues connecting?

 

Carlinkit 2025 3.0 Wireless CarPlay Dongle Adapter U2W (Type C Design) for Factory Wired Cars, Fit for iOS Version and Cars From 2025

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Understandably, it won't connect as quickly as plugging it in; otherwise, no issues at all.

 

I had a 2017 with no Carplay and had purchased a wireless HU before the truck go totaled. Never got a chance to install. Now I've got a '20 with Carplay, but I've had some issues with Carplay connecting over the wire, which may be an issue with my Amazon Basics cable that is having to deal with the heat. Now thinking about using a wireless adapter like @RTweet mentioned and utilizing the Qi charger that's built in.

 

I discovered that the Toyota APP was the battery vampire. I uninstalled the APP and battery in my IPhone lasts as it should. I found the APP useless and the battery usage excessive. CarPlay works fine without the Toyota App. Hope this helps.

 

I am using the air2carplay device and am getting a 2-3 sec delay.. anyone else have this issue? very frustrating

 

I use the device posted above, so I can't speak to other devices. However, given what the device accomplishes, a delay should be expected. There are a few youtube videos out there comparing the various devices, including time delay (in case you're looking to replace yours with a faster version).

 

Bumping this up as I have a little to add. I probably forgot this before, lately I’ve found when making numerous trips in a day, 6+, my phone battery will die quicker. Longer trips, there seems to be less draw. Only thing I can infer is the power draw from connect/drop/reconnect is higher.

 

More on the subject.

Spotify seems to use less battery than Apple Music. Been trying out Spotify, over the last few days I’ve been making 4-6 trips a day, with some waiting in the truck for an hour or more, playing Spotify. As of today, with 5 trips and 2.5hrs waiting, i still have 36% . I haven’t charged my iPhone 11 since 6:15 this morning. It’s 7pm my time.