We have tested eight devices, and the experience with each was similar. What they all share is that once you have your phone connected, you’ll appreciate the ease of wireless CarPlay or Android Auto. But you'll also notice a slight lag from hitting a button on the screen to when it responds (for example, when pausing a song) compared with using the direct wired connection. Our carefully curated selection represents a spectrum of needs and preferences for today’s drivers.

Related: 10 Best Android Auto Navigation Apps to Get Directions While Driving CarPlay AI Box Android Auto Cleverly, the app also allows for changing the DPI of Android Auto on the screen. This allows a bit more information to be on screen at once, and potentially even opens Android Auto’s new widescreen mode to more cars, though the touch targets may become a bit too small at that point. The app is also used to send OTA updates to the dongle, report issues, and tweaking the USB mode. Most vehicles should work fine on the default settings, but some may need to be tweaked to work properly. AAWireless also told us that a new list of tested vehicles is coming soon.

Your phone won't need to plug in anymore.

For those who prioritize swift connections, the Ottocast A2Air’s impressive 15-second auto-connect stands out, while its dual-core chip ensures smooth streaming. At this point, we’re still early in wireless dongles for Android Auto. Motorola MA1 is the “easy” option, but in my experience, it’s not been the best one. When it works, it works brilliantly, but the initial shine has worn off. AAWireless, the crowdfunded dongle that debuted this form factor, has remained stable for longer and has a brighter future in my book since the developers behind it actually have the ability to update the software over time. On the home screen are apps to launch CarPlay or Android Auto, plus others such as Google Maps. Pretty much any app available in the Google Play store or that you can sideload is an option—they even ship with a few of the non-Google-Play apps available on the device. You’ll need to log into individual apps and keep them up-to-date, like on your phone. If you prefer to mirror your phone to the dashboard (or your TV), you select the Phone Cast app and activate screen mirroring on your phone—it should work like a charm with iOS.

Could it have been because I was connecting to an aftermarket Pioneer AVH-2300NEX head unit instead of a factory one from an automaker? It's hard to tell, given the variance in timing, but you may or may not experience something similar once you start your car. There’s almost nothing to love about the interface for your infotainment center created by the car manufacturers. Detroit probably spent millions to perfect those on-screen buttons and almost all of them whiffed it, big time. Even trying to hang up a phone without hitting the wrong button using a car manufacturer’s screen design is an exercise in hair-pulling frustration. From the Cplay2Air interface on the dash, you can choose between different iPhones if multiple people have them and are all vying for control. Then the screen switches over to CarPlay. Your iPhone treats this as a new instance of CarPlay, so if you have the icons pre-arranged, you’ll have to arrange them again in Settings > General > CarPlay. The downside is that in most vehicles, to use CarPlay and Android Auto you have to physically plug your phone in every time. That means charging the phone when you may not want to. It means more wear and tear on the power port. If you’re limping along with an older iPhone, you probably know the Lightning port is not up to that much stress. I was at a point where it was entirely hit or miss if my phone would connect, no matter how much I changed lighting cables. The installation video says you plug it into your car's smart port, be it USB-C or USB-A, with the other USB-C end going into The Magic Box. It includes an 8-inch premium braided cloth USB-A to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable. The Magic Box takes about 20 seconds to load and displays a fun animation screen. It warns you not to use the dongle while in motion, and then deposits you in a configuration screen. The Magic Box runs Android itself, and thus has its own settings you must use—like setting it up to use Wi-Fi from your home, or when parked by the coffee shop, or off of your phone’s mobile hotspot while you’re on the road.Most cars, if they support wired CarPlay, probably also support Android Auto (or vice versa, depending on how you roll). Obviously, not all dongles do that. The OttoCast U2-X does, and at a reasonable price. It's nice to have a dongle that supports both if you have a family that crosses the mobile OS streams. It includes a 12-inch USB-A to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable. The U2-X is rated for any vehicle with wired CarPlay from 2016 on, but not for BMWs or Sony aftermarket head units. That said, MA1 does the job it sets out to do. It turns a wired Android Auto connection wireless, and I hope it’s just the beginning of products like this hitting the market. Where to (try to) buy Motorola MA1: The Android Auto dongles induced hairpulling during setup, starting with the Carsifi. Admittedly, I was somewhat hampered by testing with an Android device (a Google Pixel 4) with no cellular data plan—that would have made the firmware updates and accessing the help files via the Carsifi app a lot easier. But even after the updates, I still had to experiment with settings, finally turning off Carsifi’s “Intercept AA protocol,” before it would work in my 2018 Honda.

What about when there are two devices being used with the same car? Well, it works, but it’s not particularly intuitive. The button on the side of the dongle doesn’t really have much to do with connecting a second device beyond the initial pairing process. In testing with my Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Pixel 6 Pro, I found that both devices needed to be paired with both the dongle itself and my car. To go from one to the other, I needed to place the device I did not want to use Android Auto with on airplane mode, as that was the only way I found to kill an established connection. After about a minute, the other device will automatically take over. This is far from a reliable or intuitive solution – Redditors reported mixed results using similar tactics – but it’s better than nothing. At least you can use this device with two different phones. MA1’s setup process is as dead simple as you could possibly want Performance & Battery Drain Finally, Motorola’s MA1 brings to the table the prestige of Google-licensed bridge technology and the signature Motorola design. Its emphasis on stable transmission via 5 GHz WiFi ensures that users can navigate and entertain seamlessly. Key Features: Wireless connectivity | WiFi and Bluetooth | Works on 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi | USB A and Type C input | Supports Android 11/iOS11 and above | USB port chargingOne end has a USB-C port, and the other end has a USB-A port—but the latter is only for offline upgrades, so ignore it. The box contains two cables, one C-to-C and another C-to-A; to get started, plug the USB-C end into the Carlinkit 3.0 and the other end into whatever port you have on your dash or head unit. Related: 10 Best Android Auto Head Units and Apple CarPlay Stereo Binize Wireless Android Auto Adapter In general, a high-quality wireless adapter should offer audio and video quality comparable to a wired connection. However, this can depend on factors like the transmission rate, the adapter’s chipset, and the strength of the Bluetooth and WiFi connection. Always choose a reputable adapter to ensure optimal performance. Then I found out about wireless CarPlay dongles. They plug into your car's smart USB-A or USB-C port. Normally, whichever smartphone plugs into it will then display on the screen. The wireless dongle is a go-between; it connects your smartphone to the dashboard via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. So you can get in the car and start rolling—no need to plug in.