BOON FOR DRIVERS
Adapter helps put Android Auto in CarPlay vehicles.
Whenever I write about CarPlay, the Apple feature that displays travel-friendly apps on a compatible vehicle’s touch screen, I get two questions: 1. How can I get CarPlay? and 2. How can I get Android Auto if I have CarPlay?
To No. 1, the answer, sadly, is: Replace the infotainment system or add a separate CarPlay screen, both of which can be costly. To No. 2: Buy one of several relatively inexpensive adapters that not only gives you Android Auto in a vehicle that only has CarPlay, but gives it to you wirelessly.
I’ve been testing the Ottocast U2-X Pro, which provides wireless CarPlay and wireless Android Auto, connecting via Bluetooth and WiFi. There is a catch, though: It only works in vehicles that already come with wired CarPlay capability. Using some coding sorcery, the Android Auto feature is routed through CarPlay in the vehicle, and it’s pretty cool.
Not only that, but the U2-X Pro also provides wireless CarPlay support, and its boot screen lets you choose between an Android phone or an iPhone, a boon for drivers in a mixed-platform household.
Lest you think that vehicles only wired with CarPlay are rare, think again. There are plenty of cars and trucks on the road that have only Apple’s system. I know because I drive one, a Toyota C-HR 2019 (see houstonchronicle.com/chr).
CarPlay was first on the scene, debuting in March 2014 with iOS 8. Android Auto debuted in March 2015. CarPlay adoption was faster than that of the Android equivalent, though most vehicles now offer both.
For example, Toyota began offering CarPlay in some of its
2019 model vehicles, including the C-HR I drive, and even then it was late to the party. But the company was leery of Android Auto due to privacy concerns, and didn’t start including it until the following model year.
And there’s definitely demand for a product like Ottocast’s. I’m a member of a forum for C-HR owners, and every now and then a new person appears who just bought a used model, asking if Toyota has a software update that brings Android Auto to its Entune 3.0 infotainment system. For whatever reason, the answer is no.
The U2-X Pro is one of a growing category of adapters designed to provide wireless CarPlay or Android Auto in vehicles where only the wired version is available. They’ve been around for a while, but recently have come down in price. In August, I gave a glowing review to a wireless CarPlay
adapter that sold at the time for just $45 (see houstonchronicle.com/wirelesscarplay), and there is also an Android Auto version.
The Ottocast product — a compact, 3.3-inch-by-1.9-inch box — is one of the few that work with both platforms, and because of that it’s more expensive, with a $150 list price that’s often discounted. I saw Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales pricing it around $100. It works with most vehicles that have wired CarPlay, but before you buy, check the compatibility list at ottocast.com.
The setup process is similar to other wireless adapters, but if you are using an Android device (Android 11 or later is required) you’ll first need to enable Android Auto in the phone’s settings. I tested it with the Google Pixel 8 Pro I reviewed last week, running Android 14.
Plug the U2-X Pro into your vehicle’s USB port (it comes with cables for both USB-A and USB-C). That takes you to a simple boot screen that shows the name for the device that will appear in your phone’s Bluetooth settings. If you are setting it up for just one phone, select the device in your settings and, within a few seconds, CarPlay or Android Auto should appear on your vehicle’s screen.
However, if you want to use an iPhone and an Android device, before you pair on the boot screen tap the gear icon on the lower left corner. This takes you to a setup menu with some options.
One of them has the adapter connect at vehicle startup to the last phone that was used with it. But you can also default to a menu that lists an iPhone and an Android phone, giving you a choice. For example, I configured it for both CarPlay with my iPhone 15 Pro Max as well as Android Auto on the Pixel 8 Pro. When I start my car, I pick the phone I want to use.
(There’s also a physical button on the adapter. Press it for a few seconds and you’re taken back to the boot screen, where you can choose your phone, and from there to the setup screen. But because you still must disconnect from Bluetooth on one phone to pair the device with another, it’s not a seamless process. It’s best to choose one phone when you start the vehicle and stick with it.)
There can be a bit of a delay — as much as 15 seconds — between the time you start your vehicle and when CarPlay or Android Auto appears on the screen. And I found that pairing would occasionally fail with the Pixel; sometimes I had to press the on-screen Retry button twice before it would work. It’s not clear if this is a Pixel or an adapter problem. But there were no such issues with the iPhone.
Both Android Auto and CarPlay are zippy for the most part. Apps open quickly and voice commands get responses almost instantly. Music sounds excellent. However, in CarPlay, Siri’s voice would sometimes be clipped when responding to a command. As is typical of all these adapters, there’s a bit of lag when starting, pausing or stopping music or podcasts in audio apps.
Ottocast occasionally releases firmware updates that may fix issues like these. But the U2-X Pro’s manual warns against applying an update if most things are working well. There currently isn’t a newer version of the firmware for this device, so fortunately I didn’t have to make that choice. But if one showed up, I’d likely give it a shot to see if it solved the minor glitches on an otherwise useful product.