While I haven't used Qi charging yet, I have heard there are issues with charging the phone if it doesn't fit entirely on the mat. In the case of the larger iPhone 8+ or X, I do not think any of those cars has a mat surface large enough.
iPhone 8 plus fits barely in the 2018 Yukon Denali XL...WITHOUT a case.
I don't get wireless charging pads for home or your desk but I think they make sense in cars. Drop you phone on the pad, bluetooth connects and hopefully wireless CarPlay and you are off. It isn't a big deal to put my iPhone in the dashboard cradle and plug in a USB cable but most of the time for short trips I just don't bother. With wireless charging and wireless CarPlay I would probably use it most of the time I get in my car.
BMW M240. Supports both wireless charging and wireless CarPlay.
The iPhone 8/8+ wireless charging? Even though it's not on the list?
It’s not listed as supporting wireless CarPlay either, but it does. I don’t have an 8, holding out for an X, but I brought my work phone home in it and the work phone charged just fine.
I think he's countering the claim in the article (2nd sentence) that Audi supports the wireless charging. "Some of the compatible brands include Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, PSA, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo."
I'm in the process of buying a new VW Golf. The Qi charging slot is an optional extra (~$335).
Does it include anything else? Do they specifically state it works with the iPhone 8 series and X?
Nope, it’s $335 just for the integrated charger. It doesn’t specially state that it’s supports the latest iPhones but it conforms to the Qi standard and mentions several Android models from last year.
My feeling is that, electronically/technically speaking, the next 10 years for autos will be like the 90's were for PCs: just continual growth and improvement where last year's model is hopelessly dated and obsolete.
I really like it a lot. Much more than I expected to. I had cooled off on Audi because of the emissions scandal, but I am impressed by the serious steps VW (the parent company) has taken -- and the restitution they've paid, nearly $25B in the US alone -- to address the problem, at least in the US.
The styling, especially interior styling, is superb. Handles like a sports car. And their MMI -- which was really quite poorly implemented -- is aeons better than it used to be. In fact, the voice recognition, while not as good as Siri, is a massive improvement, and can understand natural language to some extent. CarPlay implementation is a 5/10, almost half-hearted. It's as though they are steering you towards using the MMI, which is largely what I've started doing. Switching into and out of CarPlay is a particularly clunky.
I was a little surprised at the lack of wireless charging, since it has every conceivable tech whiz-bang (including massaging seats!). I thought I would mention it here only because it is one of the higher-end Audis, the kind of model/configuration that might have been a candidate for it.
I have a 2017 A4 and love it. I use CarPlay almost exclusively - their voice assist navigation was actually quite poor and so now I just use Siri and Apple Maps. Like most cars, I have to have the phone plugged in for CarPlay, so the wireless charging is really a moot point.
There is a wifi protocol for CarPlay, but then you end up needing the wifi and the charging mat on top of that, so plugging the phone in seems to be a better option to me. Plus my kids always want my phone to pick the music, so it would never be on the charging mat anyway!
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However, there is still the problem that Audi requires the iPhone be plugged in (via Lightning) for CarPlay to activate.
Nope, it’s $335 just for the integrated charger. It doesn’t specially state that it’s supports the latest iPhones but it conforms to the Qi standard and mentions several Android models from last year.
There is a wifi protocol for CarPlay, but then you end up needing the wifi and the charging mat on top of that, so plugging the phone in seems to be a better option to me. Plus my kids always want my phone to pick the music, so it would never be on the charging mat anyway!