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Comment by TylerE | Hacker News Reader

I doubt we’ll ever see that just because of how badly it would screw over CarPlay users.

My prediction is that Apple's going to introduce some sort of "MagSafe Data" protocol — some kind of high-bandwidth NFC that runs through an autonomous controller chip that comes up before the rest of the device, such that it can be used to DFU-restore / JTAG / etc. the phone, just as Lightning currently does.

Which is a lot of the people who have bought new vehicles in the last 5+ years. And I can't think of any way to work around it that wouldn't (or at least couldn't) be some horrendous kludge which probably wouldn't work very well.

I'd never say never obviously but dropping ports entirely would have to be a terrible decision anytime soon. (And one wonders what assurances Apple has made to auto manufacturers adopting CarPlay.)

> terrible decision

I think you meant brave decision.

There's brave as in people whine because it's pushing the envelope but it can be easily worked around (see headphone jack) and there's brave in the sense of foolhardy which I have to believe all wireless would be in the next decade. (On a phone. Seems reasonable on a watch especially one advertised as suitable for fairly extreme conditions.)

> And I can't think of any way to work around it that wouldn't (or at least couldn't) be some horrendous kludge which probably wouldn't work very well.

One could always dream of head unit updates for wireless carplay support...

But according to some wireless carplay adapters do work quite well so that might be an option: https://9to5mac.com/2023/09/10/carplay-wireless-carplay-adap...

Apple could even release an official one.

Where "work quite well" means "latency". It's even a sub-header in TFA linked above. It's the reason we didn't buy a dongle for our new Hyundai Ioniq 5 (which inexplicably still uses USB-A in 2023, and no wireless CarPlay), because every single review for every single dongle at best said, "...and the latency isn't all that bad." Oh, it'll be bad for me if it's bad enough for a reviewer to notice. Grabbing the cable when I get in the car isn't nearly as annoying as waiting for my button press to register.

My new Honda Passport was USB-A and no wireless last year--but then I was happy to be able to get a car at all.

Not that CarPlay is a necessity of life but glitchy CarPlay would be a pretty big negative for my experience with a vehicle.

Wireless CarPlay is becoming pretty common.

yes, but I've heard many, many negative things about it (lag, slow charging, phone overheating, etc). I don't think I've ever heard of anyone actually liking it.

Huh. We use it in our car and it works OK. I do know other with the car who have issues with lag however.

Slow charging though... that seems orthogonal?

It's orthangonal until however you're charging it can't keep up with demand. A 14 Max on a standard USB-A -> Lightning connection is already really marginal. Like, I can drive for an hour with waze running and the phone plugging in (wired carplay) and it'll charge maybe 5%.

Sounds like waze is the problem… I regularly drive all day with Apple Maps, MagSafe charging, and Bluetooth data. No issues keeping my phone charged

What kind of amperage is your car putting out? Older cars really struggle to power phones. In some cars, it's possible to upgrade the USB port - otherwise, you may be better off using the 12V port (cigarette lighter) since you have wireless CarPlay available to you.

In my Fusion, I'm stuck using wired Android Auto, so I am unfortunately not able to use the 12V port for charging.

No clue, it's a 2017 model so reasonably new. It doesn't even have a cig lighter.

Mine is also a 2017 and can barely charge my phone. :(

You can get an adapter to change that wired android auto to wireless. I've done this in my ute. Then with my s22 I can use the 12v port with a QC3.0 compatible charger and get above 1% per minute charge whilst still having android auto running.

The adapter plugs in to the USB port for android auto and then offers up a wireless connection. Everything is automatic once set up.

My car only has wireless Carplay, yet it supports wireless and wired Android Auto. It sucks. The only thing worse would not be having Carplay at all.

I think that's largely due to car manufacturers being shit at software. The previous generation of my current car was absolute trash when it came to CarPlay. Even the wired version of it sucked.

The 2023 model had the entertainment system massively upgraded. Wireless CarPlay is seamless and fast. The wireless charging pad isn't amazing but it does the job just fine.

I love wireless CarPlay now. :)

Wireless CarPlay works great in our VW. What sucks is that when Apple abandoned Qi wireless standard the wireless charging pad in the car doesn’t work well or consistently with the MagSafe design.

Apple didn’t abandon Qi… all wirelessly chargeable iPhones are Qi compatible.

They’re technically QI compatible but they don’t work as well with those chargers — much harder alignment issues and therefore less stable and reliable charging in my experience.

Doesn't do anythign for the millions of people (self included) that already own a car with wired carplay.

I'm sure there will be a dongle for that.

There already are some:

https://9to5mac.com/2023/09/10/carplay-wireless-carplay-adap...

There already are several wireless car play adapters for under $100, I have one and it works perfectly

Existing cars remain over a decade

I honestly didn't know non-wireless carplay existed until you said something. Everyone I know just keeps their phone on a charging pad somewhere in the car.

It fits a use case for some but it doesn't appeal to me.

- Plugging the phone in is so easy.

- With Wireless Carplay presumbably I'd have to futz with the phone anyway if both of our phones are associated with the entertainment system

- I still have to take the phone out of my pocket to put it on the wireless charging pad. That is actually the hassle, not plugging the phone in

- If I don't care about charging my phone, I assume my phone is going to heat up in my pocket and drain the battery while I'm doing Wireless Carplay stuff

- A lot of my driving is short 10-15 min trips. Can put a pretty decent charge into my phone during that time with the wired connection. Not with inductive charging.

I had wireless CarPlay in my last car and every single iOS update would brick the connection somehow. Eventually muscle memory for just plugging in the damn phone took over.

I suspect they have a few things to work out with regards to CarPlay wireless connection(s) before they could remove ports on the device, in addition to the other comments on this thread.

Could Apple perhaps sell you a $99 wireless wired CarPlay dongle?

Maybe $199?

non-apple wireless adapter is 100 bucks, Apple's would be at least 199.

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