The Best Wireless CarPlay Adapters For Your Car

Published on November 29, 2024 in Technology by The Car Guide

More and more new vehicles come with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. An even larger number offer the technology but require a wired connection. If your car belongs to the second category, there’s something you can do about it.

We're of course talking about wireless CarPlay and Android Auto adapters that plug into a USB-A or USB-C port to create a virtual bridge between your phone and the centre display.

Things to Know Before Buying a Wireless CarPlay Adapter

As a simple search on Amazon confirms, many different “brands” sell wireless CarPlay adapters. In reality, most of them come from the same developers. A few rely on direct sales and use social media including TikTok and Instagram to advertise their products.

Typically, your smartphone cannot be paired with another Bluetooth device, or even with another Wi-Fi network, for the adapter to work. What's more, there can often be slight delays not only at start-up, but also between the moment you press a button on the screen and the moment the phone responds. It's up to you to decide whether that's less of an inconvenience than using wired CarPlay.

What’s the Best Wireless CarPlay Adapter?

It sure can be hard to choose from the plethora of models out there, so we've done some research and checked with various expert sources to identify some of the best and most popular wireless CarPlay adapters on the market. Here's what we found...

Note: All of these models are compatible with iPhone 6 and iOS 10 or newer.

Omeyo Wireless CarPlay Adapter

The Omeyo wireless CarPlay adapter adopts the latest 2.5GHz + 5.8GHz dual-band WiFi and 5.4 Bluetooth technology to provide powerful performance, completing the first connection in 10 seconds and auto connection in 3 seconds. It boasts 5 times faster transmission speeds than other adapters. The upgraded glass panel surface, surrounded by high-cooling zinc alloy, is said to effectively reduce heat buildup. Even during long use in high temperatures, the adapter cools quickly, extending its lifespan and ensuring a stable connection.

Pros: Fast connection and transmission speeds, efficient cooling, durability

Cons: Not compatible with BMW and Tesla vehicles

Coolfell Wireless CarPlay Adapter

This wireless CarPlay adaptor that looks like a fancy USB flash drive was made thinner and lighter for 2024. It also stands out with a low price and comes with USB-C and USB-A extension cables for accessing different ports. First-time use requires only 3 simple steps to set up. If more than one iPhone is paired and they are nearby, the device will connect to the last paired iPhone. The company offers lifetime technical support and promises to solve any problem you may have within 24 hours.

Pros: Affordable price, practical size

Cons: Phone synching may occasionally fail at first

Veqotya Wireless CarPlay Adapter

Here’s an elegant and user-friendly wireless CarPlay adapter that is quick to start and comes with a 3-step setup. More importantly, the built-in A7 chip has achieved excellent performance in hardness, corrosion and temperature tests. The 8-core genius processor increases the data transmission rate by 40 percent or more versus standard adapters. On top of that, there are many customizable settings along with seamless version updates.

Pros: Responsiveness, durability, cheap yet sleek-looking package

Cons: Some notifications lack an audible alert

HaMeBy Wireless CarPlay Adapter

Are you looking for an ultra-compact, low-profile wireless CarPlay adapter? Then look no further. In fact, you might even forget it’s plugged into your car. Equipped with a next-generation chip, this model delivers transmission speeds 3 times faster than other adapters. The metal edges significantly improve heat dissipation, preventing overheating even with prolonged use and increasing longevity. It’s no wonder the HaMeby adapter is an Amazon bestseller.

Pros: Super-tiny size, 2-year warranty

Cons: Additional USB Y-splitter cable may be needed for full compatibility on 2018-2020 Nissan models.

CarlinKit Wireless CarPlay Adapter

Everyone is familiar with USB flash drives and this particular wireless CarPlay adapter is designed like one, making it super convenient. It also happens to have both USB-A and USB-C headers on the same device. Like most adapters, it can be set up in just three steps to get started quickly, with no additional apps or drivers required, and automatically reconnects to your phone once paired.

Pros: Price is very hard to beat, convenient USB-A and USB-C headers on a single device