News

Kia Carens could get wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay

6th January 2022, 14:07 by Rahul Nagaraj

The MPV would be the first car from Hyundai/Kia in the world to offer this feature with the 10.25-inch infotainment unit.

BHPian AbidIqbalShaik recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

According to the brochure, the 10.25-inch infotainment unit in the Kia Carens has wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay. That's big news. If this is indeed true and not a mistake while typing, the Kia Carens would be the first car from Hyundai/Kia in the world to offer wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay in the 10.25-inch infotainment unit.

It makes sense when you consider that the Kia Sonet was the first car from Hyundai/Kia group to offer wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay in the 8-inch unit. Check out my post about it on Team-BHP here. Now, the Kia Carens would be the first to offer it with the 10.25-inch unit.

I've booked the Kia Sonet GTX Plus 1.5 Diesel Automatic and my biggest regret with it is that it does not offer wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay even though the cheaper HTX variant offers the wireless functionality.

If you search the internet, you'll find a number of threads on many forums across the world where people are discussing if Hyundai/Kia will update the 10.25-inch infotainment unit with wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay. And if they won't offer the feature officially, people are trying to find ways to tinker with the unit to try and enable the wireless connectivity option on it.

Wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay might not seem like a big deal but they indeed are, at least in my opinion. You don't have to plug your smartphone into the infotainment unit each time you need to use Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. In my opinion, wires near the gear lever look ugly and they are also very distracting (at least for someone like me who is obsessed with keeping things organized). More importantly, you can't use the wireless charger if you want to use Android Auto / Apple CarPlay with the existing 10.25-inch infotainment units.

Considering that I will be using my car for more than 10 years, I wouldn't have to use wires for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay every day (five working days when I go to my office, I mean) for the next 10 years, if my car has the wireless connectivity option. That's a big big deal for me.

The wireless option is so damn convenient. Just get in your car and the Android Auto/Apple CarPlay will just pop up on the infotainment screen. Now, just place the phone on the wireless charger and that's it. You are all set. No ugly wires around the gear lever which will distract you while driving. Plus, you don't have to unplug the phone when you are getting out of the car. I know that unplugging is a small step but you get the gist, wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay are much more convenient.

I'm wondering if the 10.25-inch infotainment unit in the Kia Carens is the same one that we get in other Hyundai/Kia cars (with updated software to support wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay) or if it has different hardware. If it is the same unit then I'm guessing that all the existing cars with 10.25-inch infotainment units can also get wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay, provided that Hyundai/Kia are generous enough to offer a software update. I'm so excited about this news.