In this review, I take a look at the CarlinKit 5 Mini SE Wireless CarPlay Adapter. You can buy this adapter for $35.99 from Amazon US – https://amzn.to/3XtOb96, for £39.00 from Amazon UK – https://amzn.to/3Tf8HYR, and for €39.00 from Amazon DE – https://amzn.to/47fgCLl. It can also be had for $30 from the official CarlinKit Store – https://bit.ly/carlinkitminise by entering my coupon code “Anthony Barker” at checkout.
TLDR: The CarlinKit 5 Mini SE is a compact, affordable wireless CarPlay adapter that offers decent performance and features. It has a mini design with dual USB-A and USB-C connectors, and can connect to wireless CarPlay in around 17 seconds. The adapter includes customizable settings like audio delay and WiFi frequency, and supports GPS pass-through, though with some limitations. It improves on CarlinKit’s previous 3.0 Mini adapter, and it’s a good option for those looking for a solid all-round wireless CarPlay solution.
I haven’t seen a new adapter from CarlinKit in a while. As a long-serving brand for wireless CarPlay & Android Auto adapters, I am always keen to see what new hardware CarlinKit slaps their brand on to. This time around they are joiningthe small wireless adapter pack, with their own slim, should I say ‘mini’, wireless Apple CarPlay adapter – the CarlinKit 5 Mini SE.
Features & Design
In the box, you get the adapter itself. There are no manuals. The packaging closely resembles a thumbdrive level of packaging, matching the adapter’s own form factor. No bulky box and it’s likely a lot cheaper to ship and produce this product. Costing just $36, these savings are being passed onto the consumer. YAY!
The main theme here with the Mini SE is cheap. CarlinKit’s low-entry wireless adapters, the Mini brand, was firstlaunched back in 2021. The 3.0 Mini, with its unique square puck shaped design, looked a lot different to the usual black slab adapters of its competitors. I’d say CarlinKit are a little late off the mark this time around, with a few thumbdrive sized adapters already selling today. Its thumbdrive shape and even size is almost ‘retro’ when compared to the much smaller latest and greatest adapter releases we’ve been seeing over this Summer of 2024.
However, its double-ended USB type connectors are unique to their design. At each end is a USB-A and USB-C connector, with a plastic cap/lid that covers and protects the USB connector that isn’t in use. This design helps maintain some level of aesthetics to the adapter, but it does increase its overall size. This can become a concern if your CarPlay port’s surrounding is restrictive in volume, or the USB port is more external in your car’s interior, as this adapter might stick out a fair bit.
The advantage of this double-ended design is that there are no additional cable connections, meaning less things to go wrong or break. This simple plug-in design does add weight to the USB socket, which, if your USB port is old and frail, a sudden jolt in the car could lead to the adapter rebooting and wireless CarPlay disconnecting. However, I’ve yet to experience any issue throughout a week of use, even with our current state of potholes here in the UK!
Boot-up & Main Menu
Soon after connecting the adapter, I saw the main menu of the adapter appear on my VW Golf’s display screen, in around 12 seconds. A more colourful and informative menu is displayed here, which is a lot better than some very basic adapter launch menus. There are clear instructions that almost handhold you through the connection process, which is needed, considering this adapter doesn’t come with any paper instruction manuals.
I soon saw wireless CarPlay appear in around 11 seconds after connecting to its onscreen Bluetooth profile with my iPhone 15 Pro. Once connected, I removed and reinserted the adapter again to check its total boot time and pairing, which resulted in around a total of 17 seconds. This is a decent time; it may not be the 15 seconds seen in the crop of latest wireless adapters during this summer, but it’s good enough to not be too worried about this faster than average time. Comparing it to its square shaped 3.0 adapter from 2021, the 5 Mini SE has saved at least 3 seconds off the 3.0 Mini into wireless CarPlay, so that’s a bonus for this upgraded adapter.
Wireless Apple CarPlay
Once I was in wireless CarPlay, everything looked good and native, as if I was still running over a wired connection. The touch input lag wasn’t the fastest or smoothest, but after updating to its 20240826 firmware, the option to improve its audio (media) delay appeared. This option allows a lower 400ms delay (from its default 1000ms) and helped lower audio lag and improve responsiveness in touch input navigation.
The call delay was also a little slower than I had hoped, but we are talking milliseconds. If you haven’t seen 100s of adapters like this like I have, you wouldn’t really notice the difference to be honest. Its call and microphone quality was decent, with no addition to microphone gain. So overall, a decent pass for this area on the 5 Mini SE.
Familiar IP Config Menu
Jumping into the IP config menu via a new IP address for me (192.168.50.100), I saw a nicely presented menu of options. Updating the adapter to the latest 20240826 update brought some additional functionality, which was greatly appreciated. The settings include audio quality, audio delay, start delay, WiFi frequency, background mode, GPS passthrough (which its hardware supports), and forced display. Overall, it’s a decent suite of options that effectively addresses compatibility issues and tweaks performance. I have been told the GPS function will be limited in two aspects: 1) Some car brands, such as Mercedes-Benz, prohibit calling the car’s GPS under the CarPlay/Android Auto channel. 2) After calling the car’s GPS, there may be positioning offset/deviation on some models, which is caused by different coordinate systems.
One Wireless Adapter to Watch
In 2022, the CarlinKit Mini 3.0 won my best wireless CarPlay adapter round-up in my tests. This was mostly due to its price verses its performance and its many features of its AUTOKIT IP config menu. The 5 Mini SE improves on all of these areas. Not only is it slimmer, it removes additional cables, it brings slightly improved performance, a similar suite of IP config menu of options, and all at a similar price to its older brother. On reflection of these features, there’s a lot to like about this adapter and if you’re looking for a decent performing wireless CarPlay adapter for your wired CarPlay system, the CarlinKit 5 Mini SE is one worth adding to your shortlist, possibly the wireless adapter to watch in 2024!
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Brief overview
0:43 – Unboxing
1:55 – Size & Features
3:48 – Boot-up & Main menu
4:21 – BT Pairing speed
4:38 – Wireless CarPlay
5:16 – Touch to audio delay test
5:38 – Calling delay test
6:00 – Siri & microphone test
6:17 – IP config settings walkthrough
7:26 – Updating the adapter test
9:45 – My Impressions
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