By admin 
Long Live The Wire
I think we’ve gone too far trying to ditch the wire. Infotainment systems are getting more and more advanced, be it the large high-resolution screens, integrated vehicle controls, or just the raw processing power that serves as the brain of the vehicle. However, there is a set of features that I really dislike using, and that is wireless charging and wireless phone pairing, i.e., Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
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That combo has caused a ton of headaches for me. What was supposed to be the most seamless way to pair your smartphone to your car ends up becoming a mess of dropped connections, stuttering, and overheating- things that make this wireless “convenience” extremely inconvenient in the real world.
In an Ideal World
While some brands are looking at dropping CarPlay and Android Auto from their infotainment screens, the feature still ranks highly with consumers, especially the tech-savvy ones. Wireless is cool at first, but it quickly becomes a hassle when you consider its drawbacks in practice.
Personally, I am a wired type of guy, but that shouldn’t stop manufacturers from ditching wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto entirely. I think it would be best to just give consumers the option to turn off or turn on wireless connectivity, or automatically switch between the two. However, that hasn’t happened yet, and I’m still waiting for a brand out there to allow us to pick and choose in the infotainment screen. Some brands are already able to toggle the wireless charger on and off, so what’s stopping us from getting another toggle for wireless phone pairing?
Dropping Connections
The thing about wired connections is that you know when they’re connected or disconnected. As long as the cable you’re using supports data transfer and a modest amount of wattage, you’re golden. The thing about wireless phone pairing is the dropped connections that you may or may not have any control over.
Modern systems set up a WiFi hotspot and connect your phone. You’d assume the connection is seamless and strong because the two devices are in close proximity. However, the truth is the signal from the car is susceptible to interference, which means that if you drive through an airport, military base, or perhaps through some roads, you might experience dropped WiFi connections, which in turn will disconnect your phone from either Wireless CarPlay or Wireless Android Auto.
What’s more, wireless connectivity takes a lot of processing power and produces a lot of heat. Even if you’re not touching your phone, the heat could make your phone skip a beat, lag, or even shut down if the conditions are right. Sometimes it’s interference; other times it’s your phone struggling to keep up, but all of that could be fixed with a good cable that also charges your phone, by the way.
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Heating Up
Speaking of charging, you’ll often see wireless CarPlay and Android Auto features paired with a wireless charging pad in the car. It only makes sense, but even then there are cons to using wireless charging in tandem with wireless phone pairing. The last thing you want to do while your phone is already running hot and trying hard to not drop the wireless CarPlay or Android Auto connection is add more heat into the mix, and that’s where wireless becomes a real problem.
Wireless charging is inefficient. A lot of the energy that goes into charging your phone wirelessly is lost through transmission and heat. Compared to wired charging, which is over 90% efficient, wireless charging is about 70% to 80% efficient. That’s on top of the heat your phone is already producing while it’s trying to keep connected to the vehicle’s screen.
If you’re already battling your phone producing its own heat, it’s not a good combo to pair that with wireless charging. You’ll experience more stutters and even run the risk of your phone shutting down if the conditions are right. Some brands know, while others ignore it. For the brands that do, you may find a ventilation channel molded into the wireless charging pad to keep the phone from overheating, but that does little, especially if the sun is also adding heat into that mix.
The Solution
Automakers, please give drivers and vehicle operators the ability to switch between wireless and wired connections. Most cars come with Type A or Type C USB ports anyway, so why should we be limited to wireless only?
The thing is, I’ve taken it upon myself to disable wireless Android Auto on my phone, but that toggle is buried deep in the developer options, and I’m sure there are some resources out there that can help you get to that on your phone or on your iPhone to “force” wired CarPlay or Android Auto.
However, it seems like the default is heading to wireless. I’m not saying to outfit cars with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, but rather, at least give us the choice between the two.
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