In this review, I examine the Bruxe U1 2-in-1 Wireless CarPlay & Android Auto Adapter. You can buy this 2-in-1 dongle currently for $33.44 directly from the Bruxe online store – https://bit.ly/bruxeu1 using my 12% off coupon code ‘CARPLAYLIFE‘ at checkout.
TLDR: The Bruxe U1 is a well-performing, compact 2-in-1 wireless CarPlay and Android Auto adapter that excels with Android but offers solid CarPlay support—though it may lack some features depending on your car system.
Bruxe has entered the very busy wireless adapter market with a trio of products catering to Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a combined 2-in-1 solution. Given how well their R6 AI Box performed in my previous review, I was curious to see whether their U1 2-in-1 wireless adapter could leave the same strong impression. Let’s dive in and find out.
Unboxing and Design
Inside the box, you get a paper instruction manual, the U1 adapter itself, and two white USB adapter cables. One is a female-to-male USB-A adapter, and the other is a USB-A to USB-C adapter for modern CarPlay ports.
The U1 is about the size of a thumb drive, compact but not the smallest adapter out there. Like their AI Box, Bruxe wraps this adapter in airplane-grade aluminum and tempered glass, giving it a premium and expensive feel. However, the price tells a different story—it retails for just $45 at the time of writing.
There are no physical buttons or reset switches on this device. It keeps things clean and simple, featuring a small logo on one side and a status light on the other. The adapter only comes with a USB-A connector, so users with tight port spaces or modern CarPlay/Android Auto ports will need to rely on the included cable adapters. Unfortunately, Bruxe went with white cables, which might stand out too much against most dark car interiors.
Setup and Performance in CarPlay
Plugging the U1 adapter into my Cupra Born’s wired CP/AA port reveals its boot menu in a respectable, though not record-breaking, 12 seconds. The launcher screen is simple, offering basic guidance on the pairing process. Interestingly, this launch screen appears even when using the Android Auto protocol—a nice addition for cross-platform use. Tapping the screen returns you to your car’s main interface.
Pairing my iPhone for wireless Apple CarPlay clocked the fastest recorded pairing time of 5.91 seconds, with a total boot-to-CarPlay time averaging 16.52 seconds. It’s not quite as fast as the now-discontinued MINIX CP85 but earns a respectable third-place ranking in my performance chart. Display and touch responsiveness was snappy, running at a smooth 60fps. Despite featuring Gen6 Wi-Fi, the max bandwidth I recorded was only 86.7 Mbps.
Within the IP config menu, the U1 offers a solid set of configuration options, including GPS passthrough for iOS and Apple Maps and audio delay settings. Calling performance was decent, and overall, the wireless CarPlay experience was smooth and enjoyable.
Performance in Android Auto
When connecting to Android Auto via Bluetooth, the adapter reached a launch time of 19.05 seconds, securing third place behind the MINIX CP85 and Sunweyer 2-in-1 adapters. Like with CarPlay, the U1 offered excellent display and touch responsiveness in Android Auto, with minimal delay.
Audio and call quality was slightly better than in CarPlay, which is typical and a bonus for Android users. One standout feature exclusive to Android Auto was navigation passthrough to my Cupra Born’s instrument cluster. Waze supported the HUD view, while Google Maps did not. CarPlay users, unfortunately, won’t find this kind of integration here.
Final Thoughts
To date, the Bruxe U1 adapter holds second place in my 2-in-1 performance rankings—just behind the MINIX CP85 and the Ottocast Mini. It may not be the absolute fastest across both platforms, so your preferred mobile OS might sway your decision. That said, post-boot performance is solid, with low audio latency and excellent touch response, especially for Android Auto users.
Google users will also appreciate navigation passthrough on supported VAG car systems. Combined with a fairly comprehensive IP config menu, there are plenty of options to resolve compatibility or performance issues across a variety of infotainment setups.
If you’re in the market for a compact, dual-platform wireless adapter, the U1 is definitely worth considering—particularly if you’re on Android. CarPlay users will still enjoy this adapter, but it’s worth weighing whether the U1 lacks any features that are important to you, or if your car system supports the features you care most about.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Brief overview
0:30 – Unboxing
1:03 – Features & design
2:17 – Boot-up & Launch Screen
2:55 – Wireless CarPlay
5:03 – IP Config menu
6:23 – Retest after update + 500ms media delay
6:54 – Wireless Android Auto
8:45 – My Impressions
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