Having a car compatible with CarPlay is becoming more and more common. Not so much that it is wireless (unless we use external devices). This is where the idea of buy a cable and make it cheap. For around a euro, there are options that I was able to test myself.
The result is positive from the start, even if I already told you I ended up abandoning it for compelling reasons.. Because yes, they are functional and there may be cases where they do not cause problems, but the risk is greater than in other types of cables that are a little more expensive.
Ensuring you support data transfer is essential
If we go to a bazaar, whether physical or digital like Aliexpress, we will find many cable options. They literally come in every color. The problem is that most are only used to charge the iPhonewhether on a regular socket, connected to a computer or, as is the case, connected to the mobile phone.
So it’s interesting look at the cable specifications and make sure that it allows data transfer and therefore allows you to have CarPlay in the car when you connect the iPhone. Hey, this may seem very obvious to you and in fact it is, but I attest I ignored it when I bought my first cable for the car and was surprised when I realized it didn’t work not.
Length is another essential element to not leave the iPhone hanging
Every car is a world. In mine, for example, the distance between the USB port and the surface I’m supporting the iPhone on is reasonably large so it won’t work with any cables. Ideally this should be longer than necessary. to make sure you can also hold the iPhone in your hand at all times (and when you’re not driving, please).
I also add here another element such as place the iPhone on a support close to the screen provided that the car’s upholstery allows it. It won’t be as cheap as the cable, but there are some for 10 dollars that are pretty good at fulfilling their function.
The big problem is how this affects your iPhone battery.
For the first few months of using a cheap cable for CarPlay, things went well. Everything worked perfectly until the end What always happens has happened: cheap is expensive. Physically, the cable appeared intact, but its price made it clear that the quality was not the best.
Battery health suffers from common problems with cheap cables
So things, micro-cuts started to occur in the load. And this is curious because it did not affect the data transfer, since CarPlay continued to work normally. This affected the charging of the iPhone itself, which should continue to charge continuously during the iPhone.
As luck would have it, I discovered this blackout pattern very late when looking at the graphs in the iPhone’s battery settings panel. Too late for Battery health suffered by 2% in just one month. I don’t want to say that this could be the only cause, but the iPhone was new and I followed good charging habits, these micro-cuts always encourage further deterioration.
So what is the recommendation I give?
As I already said, a cable of this type can be useful. However, It is advisable to opt for a better cable even if you plan to use CarPlay sporadically. once a week and even less. Your iPhone will thank you and in the long run it will save you from spending money on other cables.
The idea is that these are Apple certified cables with the MFi standard, acronym for “Made for iPhone”. These cables can be purchased at most electronics stores as well as portals such as Amazon (and even Aliexpress itself, although they also have a lot of problems).
These cables They aren’t much more expensive either.. They won’t cost 1 or 2 dollars, but they won’t cost 25 dollars either like those sold by Apple. Last time I bought a pack of 2 MFi cables for less than 10 dollars. And they work perfectly, ensuring that they meet the minimum requirements required by Apple for proper operation and that they do not negatively affect the iPhone battery.
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