How your car can get CarPlay
Find what your car has now:
A screen with the car's menus, but no CarPlayActivation, when the screen has CarPlay built in, but locked. We switch it on with no new unit. More about CarPlay activation
CarPlay works, but only by cableA wireless USB adapter. The phone connects to it without a cable. More about wireless CarPlay
A factory screen without CarPlay built inA module behind the screen, when there is one for your screen, or a new head unit in place of the factory radio.
A radio with no screen or a small screenA new head unit: a touch screen with CarPlay and Android Auto in place of the old radio.
How to know whether the screen has CarPlay
On many cars from 2016, CarPlay is standard or optional equipment. Some manufacturers added it to older models with new software. So the same model can have a screen with CarPlay or without it, depending on the year and equipment.
On cars with CarPlay by cable, the USB port for the phone may have a phone or CarPlay icon. But a USB port in the car on its own is not a sign that the car has CarPlay or Android Auto.
The screen does not have to be a touch screen. CarPlay also works with the knob or touchpad you use for the car's menus.
It is only known for sure once the screen's system and software version are read. More about CarPlay activation
CarPlay activation on a screen that has it
When the screen has CarPlay built in, but locked, it is switched on in the screen software. No new device is needed. On some screens CarPlay only works through a new USB port. More about CarPlay activation
What the screen gets from activation: depends on the screen
- Some screens: both CarPlay and Android Auto, some only CarPlay.
- Some work only by cable, newer ones also wirelessly.
- Some need a new USB port.
CarPlay module for the factory screen
For some factory screens without CarPlay built in, there is a module fitted behind the screen. CarPlay then works on the screen you already have. Depending on the module, it works by cable or wirelessly, and some modules also give Android Auto.
To fit it, part of the dashboard is taken apart to reach the screen. There is not a module for every screen.
CarPlay car radio: a new head unit instead of the old radio
When the car has a radio with no screen or a small screen, we fit a head unit in its place: a touch screen with CarPlay and Android Auto. The radio still works, and the screen also has navigation, calls and music from the phone. The steering wheel buttons keep working, through a special part for your model.
Model-specific or universal head unit
A model-specific head unit is made for a certain car model and has a frame the same shape as the factory radio. A universal one goes into the standard radio opening. A 1 DIN opening is 18 cm wide and 5 cm high, and 2 DIN is 18 cm wide and 10 cm high.
On some cars the factory opening is not a standard size, so we fit it with a frame for that model. The frame is a plastic surround that fits the head unit into the opening in the dashboard.
With cheap units you do not know the real manufacturer. You often cannot rely on their built-in navigation, so you use maps from the phone, through CarPlay and Android Auto.
A portable CarPlay screen on the lighter socket
There is also a CarPlay screen that is not installed, but sits on the dashboard or the windscreen. It gets power from the lighter socket and sends sound to the car over Bluetooth or a cable into the AUX input of the car. A fitted head unit sits in place of the radio and works with the steering wheel controls.
What you get with CarPlay and Android Auto
- Navigation: Google Maps, Waze or Apple Maps, with directions through the car's speakers.
- Calls with no phone in your hand, through the car's speakers and microphone.
- Messages you send and listen to by voice, without looking at the phone.
- Music, podcasts and radio from the apps on your phone.
How much CarPlay for a car costs
The price depends on the way that fits your car
- Activation: which system the screen has and whether it needs a new USB port for CarPlay.
- Module: which screen your car has.
- New head unit: which unit goes in, model-specific or universal, the frame and cables for your model, the part for the steering wheel controls and a camera.
