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Apple CarPlay was first introduced back in 2014, and it’s become a staple in so many vehicles in the 11 years since then. Because we’re so indebted to our iPhones for both information and entertainment, it only makes sense that Apple gave us a way to safely use our iPhones while driving. There are many Apple CarPlay apps worth downloading that can help you navigate, put on your favorite podcast for your daily commute, help you find parking, and more.

Car connectivity for cell phones existed well before CarPlay, thanks to Bluetooth. This was how people could wirelessly connect their phones to their cars to make and receive phone calls without having to use their hands or one of those Bluetooth headsets for phones still on the market. You might have assumed that a feature like CarPlay was merely an extension of this Bluetooth technology, using that same linkage to perform all of these other functions on your iPhone. Well, that is partly true and partly untrue, because Wi-Fi also plays a part in the feature.

The question of whether Apple CarPlay uses Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to connect to your vehicle is a tricky one, because the answer is actually both. When you first pair your iPhone with your vehicle wirelessly, it is done through a Bluetooth connection, just as you would do with a phone before 2014. However, once that pairing is complete, Bluetooth really plays no other role in CarPlay. Instead, it switches over to a Wi-Fi connection between the car and the iPhone to perform all of its functions. 

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It might seem counterintuitive that Apple CarPlay doesn’t just use Bluetooth to work with your vehicle. After all, Bluetooth technology has been in cars for a long time now, so implementing a whole new system would be quite the hassle. However, the reason that Apple CarPlay needs to use Wi-Fi to properly connect your iPhone to CarPlay is quite simple. Bluetooth cannot handle the data demands required by CarPlay.

Bluetooth’s most recent iteration is Bluetooth 6.0, which was introduced in 2024. Even with this setup, you can only expect to have a maximum data transfer rate of 50 Mbps. Unfortunately, cars typically have Bluetooth systems that operate in low-energy mode, and with Bluetooth 6.0, that means a maximum of just 2 Mbps. If you are using Apple CarPlay, you are going to need a much higher data transfer rate for it to function properly. With CarPlay, you could be streaming music, running a navigation system, receiving push email notifications, receiving text messages, and having Siri constantly running in the background, all at the same time. This is why Apple CarPlay is built to support up to 480 Mbps of data transfer. Bluetooth simply cannot compete with this level of data.

This level of data transfer is also why a number of cars don’t support wireless Apple CarPlay. If your vehicle cannot act as its own Wi-Fi hub, you may have the option to run Apple CarPlay through a wired USB connection. These are designed with USB 2.0 connections in mind, which also have a 480 Mbps cap. Apple CarPlay is a data monster, and only these stronger connections can support it.