I bought the cheapest wireless charger I could find on Amazon, the Tozo W1. If you go with the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus that I recommend, you will need a wireless charger to keep it juiced up. There are also discussions on Reddit about using an old Google Nexus 7 ( about $60 for a renewed unit that supports wireless charging) or the newer Lenovo M8 or M10 tablets, which come with charging docking stations. The tablet drains power faster than the Qi charger can replenish it. The larger Fire HD 10 Plus does offer wireless charging, and would seem like a good candidate for CarPlay, but on Reddit there are reports it won’t charge quickly enough to keep up. (Note: Make sure to get the HD Plus model). There’s also an older 8-inch Fire tablet that will work, but likewise, it doesn’t offer wireless Qi charging. It worked fine, but the 7-inch tablet doesn’t offer wireless charging, so I don’t use it. The first tablet I tried for this experiment was actually the 7-inch Fire tablet. Used 8 Plus tablets are currently available on Amazon from $64 and up. The tablet is regularly discounted to as low as $65 for new units, according to sales data from camelcamelcamel, an Amazon price tracker. It’s normally priced at $120 for a 32GB model, but I picked up a used one on Amazon for $45. The solution was to get an Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus tablet, a budget-priced tablet with built-in wireless Qi charging. Why Amazon’s Fire HD 8 Plus is the best tablet for CarPlay To charge the Fire tablet wirelessly, I duct-taped a Qi charger to the back. There was no way I was going to plug one thing in after another just to make sure the tablet would charge up. If the adapter was already plugged in when connecting the Fire tablet to power, it wouldn’t work. Oddly, a couple of the hubs did work for charging, but only if I plugged in the tablet before plugging in the CarPlay adapter. That means the port can’t be used for simultaneously charging the tablet.Īt first, I tried a handful of USB-C hubs that supposedly offer passthrough charging, but I couldn’t get any to work. The other big consideration was making sure the tablet could be easily charged while in use - and this is where things got tricky.Īmazon’s Fire tablets have only one USB-C port, which the CarPlay adapter plugs into. I could already plug my iPhone into the Rover’s aux jack using Apple’s Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter, but I didn’t want to just swap one cable for another. The most important thing for me was that CarPlay had to be wireless. Conclusion: Using a Fire tablet is an inexpensive DIY CarPlay hack.Why Amazon’s Fire HD 8 Plus is the best tablet for CarPlay.And lemme tell you, it sounds great through the vehicle’s Harman Kardon speakers. Luckily, the LR3 has an aux jack, and it’s easy to run an audio cable from the Fire tablet to the aux input port. (That’s especially true on vehicles with electronics by Lord Lucas, the Prince of Darkness.) My mechanic said it would be extremely unwise to rip it out and replace it with an aftermarket unit. The LR3’s stereo is an integral part of the electronics. Plus, you can expect to pay several hundred dollars for installation if you don’t do it yourself.īut for some cars - like my junky old Land Rover LR3 - getting a new stereo is not an option. It usually requires updating the vehicle head unit, at a cost of at least $250 for a new stereo. Unfortunately, it can be tricky to add CarPlay to older vehicles. Cheapest way to add CarPlay to older vehicles This same survey found that for more than 80% of new car buyers, CarPlay is an essential feature.

In fact, the vast majority of new cars sold today are compatible with CarPlay and/or the competing Android Auto, according to multiple consumer surveys ( like this one).

And that makes it easy to do the kind of stuff you do on your iPhone while driving - in a safe way.ĬarPlay is incredibly popular. After connecting your iPhone to compatible vehicle head units, CarPlay displays maps, music and other apps on your car’s screen. How to add wireless CarPlay to any car with an Android tablet and adapterĬarPlay is an infotainment system powered by your iPhone.

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