Twelve South just launched the AirFly Drive, a $40 dongle that converts your car's wired CarPlay or Android Auto connection into a wireless one. It's available now in black or white, and it does exactly one thing: lets you walk into your car and have CarPlay start automatically, no cable required.
The pitch is simple. Millions of cars shipped with CarPlay or Android Auto built in, but without the wireless version—either because the car predates it or because the wireless upgrade was bundled into a pricier trim package. The AirFly Drive is a compact aluminum cube that plugs into your car's USB port and stays there. Pair your iPhone once, and it auto-connects every time you start the car. No app, no account, no charging.
Twelve South says it works with more than 75 makes and model years going back to 2014, as long as your car has factory-wired CarPlay or Android Auto. The box includes both USB-A and USB-C adapters, so it should fit most data ports. There's a button on the device that lets you one-press switch between two paired phones, which is useful if you share the vehicle.
The company built its reputation on the original AirFly, a Bluetooth transmitter that let you use AirPods with airplane seatback screens and gym treadmills. That device became the top-selling Bluetooth adapter on Amazon. The AirFly Drive applies the same thinking to a different annoyance: the tangle of Lightning or USB-C cables draped across your center console.
Wireless CarPlay adapters aren't new. Amazon is full of them, many from brands you've never heard of, with wildly inconsistent reviews. What Twelve South brings is a known name and a track record of devices that actually work as advertised. The trade-off is size—the AirFly Drive is noticeably bulkier than some stick-style competitors.
The device is designed to stay plugged in permanently, which means it needs to handle heat and maintain a stable connection without your intervention. Twelve South says it's engineered to stay cool and promises ongoing compatibility updates as new phones and vehicle software ship.
At $40, it's cheaper than buying a new head unit and drastically cheaper than trading up to a newer car with wireless CarPlay built in. If your current routine involves fishing a cable out of the cupholder every single time you drive, that's probably worth it. The AirFly Drive is available now from Twelve South's website, with Amazon availability coming next week.
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