I had 2 requirements and both related to mobile phones, charging them and using them, yet not touching them. What I wanted: a windscreen or vent MagSafe mount, and a wireless Apple CarPlay adaptor.
I trawled the interwebs for some cool tech that wasn’t too expensive. I live in lots of different cars with lots of different types, styles, and levels of built-in wizardry. As luck would have it, I didn’t need to look far. A CPLAY2air and a Journey Magnetic (MagSafe) Wireless Car Charger should fit the bill.
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ABOVE: 2023 CPLAY2air and Journey Magnetic (MagSafe) Wireless Car Charger
CPLAY2air:
A chum gave me a CPLAY2air, and as a reviewer, I was straight onto the usual suspects to get their opinions. The results seemed to vary, and compatible cars could be hit and miss despite being “on the list”. There seemed to be an awful lot of unhappy people, but here is my take:
I followed the instructions on the box, and the perky little 2023 Toyota GR 86 lapped up the connection like a dog on a bone. Other reviews noted firmware updates caused instability. “The firmware update from cplay2air bricked the device and they refused to replace it because it was out of warranty, even though their firmware bricked it”, said one cranky user.
“I got mine after 3 weeks. It actually worked for a couple of weeks but then malfunctioned. Too late for having a refund according to their incredible business policies. After weeks of trying this and that (they actually asked me to have a firmware update for my car) to make it work again, they gave up and reluctantly offered a replacement – but only after I had returned the original adapter at my expense! At that point I wrote off that adapter as my poorest investment ever,” said another.
I’ve used it for a week without incident. It fits into a USB, tucks out of sight, and from then on, when you start the car your phone starts CarPlay.
There are 2 requirements: your car must already have CarPlay, you must have an iPhone.
It is around $170, expensive if it doesn’t work. For me, it does. If it gets moody, I’ll let you know. Like everything else in the world, it is made in China so customer service might be patchy. Otherwise, it works like built wireless CarPlay, which can also be moody.
One last word: if you use wireless CarPlay, keep an eye on the battery level. If your car doesn’t have a Qi charger you might still need to plug your phone in to get a top up. There are cheaper, smaller adaptors that may also be worth a go.
Journey Magnetic (MagSafe) Wireless Car Charger with Flex Plus Mount:
This little bit of techy goodness turns a windscreen or vent mounted Magsafe Mount into a convenient fast charger as well.
They claim it eliminates unsightly cables, but how else do you get power up to the unit?
The MagSafe Mount fits to the ball on either the vent mount of suction fixture, rather clever, I think. You can choose not use power with it, which will indeed eliminate cables, otherwise there will still be a cable draped down the centre console. I’ll use it for my short videos so there’ll be no need to plug in.
Why use a mount in the first place? How often do you get into a car and put your phone into the cup holder, whether plugged in to USB charging or not? Not only that, many of the qi chargers simply don’t work. Annoying, isn’t it?
The same company makes a 12V to USB adaptor that makes the MagSafe unit a high-speed charger.
The MagSafe mount is easily switched between the 2 attachments and the new iPhones can use it without adaptors. If you have an old iPhone, you can stick a metal ring onto the phone to make it compatible. While it won’t wirelessly charge, old phones will at least be out of the way.
You pay $75 from the company website, but we’ve seen it elsewhere cheaper. We used a discount code which mailed it to us for $52.95 all up.
Conclusion:
I realise you could buy neither of these, plug your phone into a USB, and use wired CarPlay while charging your phone. But, if your car doesn’t have a convenient tray, where does your phone go?
#magsafe, #iphone #applecarplay