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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.

2020-toyota-sequoia-carplay-800x566.jpg
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-vw-passat-800x450.jpg
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.

Article Link: Toyota Expanding CarPlay to 2020 Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, and 4Runner
 
Glad VW is finally offering wireless carplay.
The new Golf arriving at the end of this year will likely get it too.

And it's already confirmed for the VW I.D (Neo), which is likely my next car.
 
Makes me wonder why wireless CarPlay is so slow to roll out. More and more cars have the necessary hardware.
The Euro Passat is a lot different from the US version. It will come.
The Golf mk8 is also almost here, it will no doubt feature wireless Carplay.
 
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.
 
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.
I read someplace that the wireless charging can't keep up with wireless Apple Car Play. I need to find that again.

I wonder if the 2020 Tacoma will also come with rear disc brakes and power seats also...
 
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I read someplace that the wireless charging can't keep up with wireless Apple Car Play. I need to find that again.

I wonder if the 2020 Tacoma will also come with rear disc breaks and power seats also...
There are still cars on sale without disc brakes?
 
I hate these things in cars, but it seems it's gonna be standard features in all cars in the future. At least it will be standardized instead of every manufacturer with their own interface.
 
Glad VW is finally offering wireless carplay.
The new Golf arriving at the end of this year will likely get it too.

And it's already confirmed for the VW I.D (Neo), which is likely my next car.


I wonder if there would be a backward compatibilty for 2017 GTIs
 
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.

Personally, I don't mind taking my phone out before driving and then put it back when I'm done. However, on longer trips, I'd need some charging option.

Wish they would add it to the prius prime

I'm also waiting for an updated Prius, though I don't really care if it's the prime or not. While CarPlay alone won't make me buy a new car, it would be nice. My current Prius does a good enough job at the moment. However, my parents are at the very beginning stage of wondering if they should replace their Corolla.
 
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.
 
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.
 
There are still cars on sale without disc brakes?
Yup!! as of 2018 it was still drum brakes in the rear. There is a video that explains why.... but I still don't get it. The video was cool, it was showing a Tacoma getting unstuck from a sand pit and I guess disc brakes would be ruined.
 
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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.
That ship has sailed a long time ago...
Regular consumers just don't care and would probably be worse off considering the deep integration in several models. Some manufacturers phone in their media system (most of them from Japan... those long distance calls must take the blame for sure...) but others do a great job.
 
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