Factory Wireless Apple CarPlay Test in a VW Polo 2021 + YouTube & Netflix via CarlinKit Android TBox

Enjoy my first experience of factory wireless Apple CarPlay in a Volkswagen Polo 1.0 Match 2021 model. You can buy the CarlinKit Android AI TBox for $280 (with coupon) from Amazon US → https://amzn.to/3j5Cnpk or for £299 (with voucher) from Amazon UK → https://amzn.to/3FMYKJT.

In this video, I get to test out factory wireless Apple CarPlay in a VW Polo 2021. My overall impression of the system in the Polo is really good. It both sounds and looks great. The wireless CarPlay felt much faster to connect, but once in I encountered much the same issues we all face with the wireless CarPlay dongles selling today.

So this basically means these delays in audio/calling are a common trait on factory wireless CarPlay systems too. The 2-second delay in audio music playback and the echo feedback in calling is something we will just have to live with.

For me, personally, I don’t really see these niggles as major issues. But I know some others are more prone to noticing the delay and I guess once you experience it, you can’t unsee it afterward, and it can become a major gripe. The good thing is you can always fallback to wired CarPlay, but wireless CarPlay is such a major convenience for sort journeys as well as longer journeys if you use a wireless charger.

I wasn’t able to test the long stability of wireless CarPlay in the Polo. If I am lucky enough to get in another vehicle with wireless CarPlay, I will try and test this out in the future.

I also decided to test how an Android OS box works with factory CarPlay systems and a wireless one at that. I chose the CarlinKit TBox Android 9 system and connected its USB-C cable to the USB-C CarPlay port in the car, the device booted up with no problem.

As you can see in this segment, this is a great way to get lag-free audio from Android apps such as YouTube and Netflix on your CarPlay display. I also ran a few other apps including Amazon Prime, Sky Go, BBC iPlayer, and a few games such as Angry Birds and Crossy Road. All played just fine, however, I did encounter some audio delay in Angry Birds, and sound also didn’t want to play in these games until I played Spotify (or any other audio app) first, which soon unlocked the audio, and I could hear sound from the games.

The CarlinKit TBox ran just fine. It found it performed well as long as it is paired with a decent Wi-Fi connection, from a SIM or paired phone. This might also be a good way to get wireless Android Auto on what could be a CarPlay only system – just as long as your Android is running Android OS 11.

So overall, wireless Apple CarPlay is fast as you’d expect it to be over the android/dongle route, but not that far off for some systems. And the audio experience is pretty much on par with the dongles.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 – Intro
0:14 – Brief overview
1:00 – Unboxing
2:00 – Installation
3:00 – My Impressions

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