Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Toyota Expanding CarPlay to 2020 Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, and 4Runner
Toyota today ahead of the Chicago Auto Show announced that its 2020 model year Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, and 4Runner vehicles will feature CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa in the United States.
CarPlay in 2020 Toyota Sequoia
CarPlay will be a standard feature in each vehicle, but screen size will vary by trim. With the 2020 Tacoma, for example, the base SR trim will feature a 7-inch touchscreen while SR5 trims and higher as well as TRD Pro trims of the Tundra, Sequoia, and 4Runner will feature a larger 8-inch touchscreen.
The press release doesn't specify whether the CarPlay implementation is wired or wireless, but it is presumably wired in line with its 2019 and newer Avalon, Corolla Hatchback, Camry, RAV4, Sienna, and C-HR. Toyota will offer wireless CarPlay in the 2020 Supra since it is based on a BMW platform.
Last year, we published an in-depth review of how CarPlay performs in the 2019 Avalon and 2019 Corolla Hatchback.
Toyota was one of the last major automakers to offer CarPlay, which provides convenient dashboard access to iPhone apps such as Phone, Messages, Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, Apple Music, and Spotify. These will be the first-ever Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, and 4Runner models with factory-installed CarPlay.
CarPlay availability in Toyota vehicles may vary outside of the United States. Pricing and availability were not disclosed.
2020 Volkswagen Passat in Europe
In related news, Volkswagen this week announced that the 2020 Passat will be its first vehicle with wireless CarPlay, although the press release is for the European market. It's unclear if or when Volkswagen will offer wireless CarPlay in the United States or other countries—we've reached out to ask.
CarPlay enthusiasts may remember that Apple apparently prevented Volkswagen from demoing wireless CarPlay way back at CES 2016 for reasons unknown.
CarPlay will be a standard feature in each vehicle, but screen size will vary by trim. With the 2020 Tacoma, for example, the base SR trim will feature a 7-inch touchscreen while SR5 trims and higher as well as TRD Pro trims of the Tundra, Sequoia, and 4Runner will feature a larger 8-inch touchscreen.
The press release doesn't specify whether the CarPlay implementation is wired or wireless, but it is presumably wired in line with its 2019 and newer Avalon, Corolla Hatchback, Camry, RAV4, Sienna, and C-HR. Toyota will offer wireless CarPlay in the 2020 Supra since it is based on a BMW platform.
Last year, we published an in-depth review of how CarPlay performs in the 2019 Avalon and 2019 Corolla Hatchback.
Toyota was one of the last major automakers to offer CarPlay, which provides convenient dashboard access to iPhone apps such as Phone, Messages, Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, Apple Music, and Spotify. These will be the first-ever Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, and 4Runner models with factory-installed CarPlay.
CarPlay availability in Toyota vehicles may vary outside of the United States. Pricing and availability were not disclosed.
In related news, Volkswagen this week announced that the 2020 Passat will be its first vehicle with wireless CarPlay, although the press release is for the European market. It's unclear if or when Volkswagen will offer wireless CarPlay in the United States or other countries—we've reached out to ask.
CarPlay enthusiasts may remember that Apple apparently prevented Volkswagen from demoing wireless CarPlay way back at CES 2016 for reasons unknown.
Related Roundup: CarPlay
Tags: Toyota, Volkswagen
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20 weeks ago
Wireless carplay! That's what I want. None of this take your phone out of your pocket and plug it in like it's 2015.
Right, we’ll just have no battery life at the end of our GPS-using commute.
Wireless CarPlay is clearly designed to go hand in hand with Qi chargers built in to cars. You get in the car, dump the phone on the charging area, and away you go with wireless CarPlay without needing to fumble with wires.
Sure, for short trips you can not even take your phone out of your pocket, but just watch that battery dump.
20 weeks ago
Wireless carplay! That's what I want. None of this take your phone out of your pocket and plug it in like it's 2015.
20 weeks ago
I'd rather automakers just use a standard Double DIN setup for their stereos, perhaps add a larger triple DIN standard too. So that consumers can add Carplay to any vehicle they want. Better yet add internal USB and standardized communication with onboard equipment and controls. So that those aftermarket system can easily accept any radio controls and receive info from any other car systems the factory radio would normally display. Without an array of complex adapters. One can always dream.
20 weeks ago
I wish Toyota would follow Mazda's lead and allow installation of CarPlay on previous years' models that have that awful Entune/Scout system installed.
20 weeks ago
Pfft, give me an old eBay-savaged iPhone, and I could make something just as nice if not far far better!
20 weeks ago
Ahh... the F150 with the 5.0 is a way better truck.... you should really consider cross shopping
Better gas mileage and better towing for sure. Unfortunately it's a Ford though so will be plagued with reliability issues. Literally everyone in my family has an f150 and they always have electrical issues, braking issues you name it. The 2018 models with crash detection are screeching to a halt on the hwy with no one around, it's bananas how bad the electrical systems are in a Ford. My uncle's truck has had the tranny replaced at 30k miles fortunately still under warranty. I've wanted an F150 for as long as I can remember but I'll likely never buy one because I can't convince myself it's worth the headache.
20 weeks ago
Toyota's Entune is a bag of hurt. It only connects to my iPhone via USB about 60% of the time and often I resort to using Bluetooth (which can also be spotty). There are over 11k songs on my phone, but Entune only recognizes about 3,600. During the past 18 months in my '17 4runner, I can't count the number of times the system has just shut off and rebooted. Since I bought my truck, the lack of CarPlay obviously wasn't a deal-killer, however, it is my least favorite part of my vehicle. It's really too bad they can't make CarPlay available via software update. At some point when I save up enough pennies, I'll be swapping out the head unit for an aftermarket solution.
20 weeks ago
I love CarPlay in my 2017 Ford Explorer but every time I plug my phone in I think “I can’t believe they didn’t make this wireless.” I hope all car manufacturers add wireless CarPlay within the next year. It would be an added bonus if they could figure out a way to add it to previous model years via a software update or something.
20 weeks ago
Makes me wonder why wireless CarPlay is so slow to roll out. More and more cars have the necessary hardware.
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