CARLUEX AIR Wireless CarPlay/Android Auto Adapter

£156.00

With the summer now taking shape many of us will be hitting the road to descend on holiday destinations, or even partake in a few road trips. Therefore, our cars play a vital role in making sure these journeys are a breeze with navigation and music systems keeping you en route and the atmosphere high. Therefore, when I heard about CARLEUX’s AIR Wireless CarPlay/Android Auto Adapter I was intrigued – how could a little device make this experience even better?

The CARLUEX AIR is a small dongle which connects to your car's display screen to transform it into a smart tablet device featuring all the apps you love on your phone. The dongle itself looks great in a sleek car-inspired design which is no more than a few inches long and has a magnetic circle on the base for easy connection to metal/magnetic car interiors. In the box alongside the CARLUEX AIR is a USB-C cable and the Quick Start Guide – providing you with everything you need to get started.

So how does it work?

The CARLUEX AIR connects via USB cable to your car’s display screen to transform it into a smart screen that features all the apps you know and love. To set up you need to plug in the CARLUEX AIR to your car using the included cable, and then you connect it to your phone. Once you’ve connected it to your phone you can activate the Bluetooth connection, so that when you get in your car you are already connected to your car’s smart screen. This is great as it removes the need to connect your phone with a wire every time you get into your car just to access the navigation and apps you love.

Once all connected and set up, the CARLUEX AIR transforms your usual display into an intuitive CARLUEX homepage featuring the date, time, and a bunch of pre-installed apps such as YouTube, Netflix and Google Maps. From the home screen, you can navigate to the Google Play store and download any further apps you might need. For me, I installed Spotify as I love listening to podcasts on long drives and this was super easy to do all on the touch screen display. Once you’ve downloaded all the apps you could need, you can pin some to the homepage for easier navigation whilst on the go.

I personally needed Google Maps on the homepage as I’m pretty useless with directions, and I loved how easy it was to navigate and view on the screen thanks to the CARLUEX AIR adapter. I actually found this super useful when a road I typically take to work was unexpectedly shut causing me to have to divert on a new route I wasn’t super familiar with. However, with the CARLUEX I could utilise the voice commands of my car and access Google Maps with ease. With a few commands and taps, I was on the way to work and could drive with confidence knowing where I was going and if there was any traffic up ahead.  

However, one of the main perks of the CARLUEX AIR is that you can access streaming sites such as YouTube and Netflix straight on your car’s display screen, so you can watch your favourite shows or films wherever you are. This made for a fun adventure with my friends as we went and got some takeaway and then parked up ready to eat and watch our favourite show together. It definitely added a luxury feel to my car with being able to stream directly onto the screen, as when using the CARLUEX AIR you essentially are implementing a smart tablet into your traditional display. I found the playback was pretty seamless and utilised the best of my car’s speaker systems for a great all-around viewing experience.

My only main concern with the CARLEUX system is that you can access streaming platforms whilst on the move, which seems to offer the chance of unsafe driving. Whilst CARLUEX does not encourage using these apps whilst you are driving, I do worry it could lead to an easy distraction which would be breaking the law in the UK. I personally would love to see some kind of lock available on certain apps to prevent this possibility.  

Overall, the CARLUEX AIR is a small sleek device which makes the whole driving experience just that bit easier and more seamless. With great connectivity, a plethora of great apps available and seamless integration into your car system, the CARLEUX AIR is a great choice if you spend hours driving and want to transform your display into a smart screen.

Pros:

• Small sleek device which removes the need to plug your phone into your car every day
• Transforms your display screen into a smart screen full of all the apps you could need
• Seamlessly integrates into your car’s system and can be used with voice controls

Cons:

• Streaming service apps are available whilst the car is moving which could cause hazardous misuse