CarPlay and Android Auto have become the new gold standard on how to interact with your phone while driving. Both platforms have created an extension that makes using media in your car safer and easier. Ottocast has allowed us some time with its latest adapter, the U2Air, to bring wireless CarPlay to those that may have a wired option but not factory wireless.
Design
The Ottocast U2Air is a square box about the size of a tin of Altoids. Where it really stands out is the geometric casing top. The sides and bottom are relatively flat, but the top shell has a very unique rolling design that almost mimics the topography of mountains.
There are no other real standouts in the overall case. Around the back, you get a dedicated USB-C port for connecting to your car console. I do wish the cutout for this was either flush or the recess was larger. I understand that Ottocast wants you to use the cable included, but we lose things. I found that many of the other USB-C cords I have didn’t fit.
Setup
The onboarding of the Ottocast U2Air is very similar to other CarPlay dongles. You plug in the USB-C port to your console and wait around 30 seconds for it to fully power up. After that uptime, you should be ready to search for U2Air in your iPhone’s Bluetooth settings.
Once this connection is made, you should get a confirmation on your phone and then a splash screen on your infotainment screen. From here, the CarPlay should launch shortly. You now have wireless CarPlay thanks to the Ottocast U2Air.
Daily use
I found the Ottocast U2Air to be very consistent with its competition. There is a slight increase in latency when using any wireless CarPlay over a direct USB connection, but it’s very slight. Overall the performance of the U2Air was solid and you all but forget it’s there.
One place it shines is with the auto-connection. This is the faster adapter I’ve used for wireless CarPlay. It’s on average less than 15 seconds from the time I start my car to the CarPlay interface. For comparison, most other options take at least 30 seconds and one I won’t name takes up to 90 seconds.
Conclusion
Ottocast has a very compelling option for wireless CarPlay with U2Air adapter. From the quick connection time and the stable performance, you can easily add this to your car with no worries. It’s getting to be a crowded market, but the U2Air is a great option.
The Ottocast U2Air will cost around $140 full retail, but the company’s site routinely has it discounted. Currently, it’s only $100 on Ottocast’s store. Hit the link below to check out this great device and snag one of your own.
U2-AIR Wireless CarPlay Adapter
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