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iPhone 15 Pro Wireless CarPlay and charging

mikiotty

mikiotty

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 15, 2014
530
381
Rome, Italy
Hi everyone!
I purchased a new head unit for my car that supports wireless CarPlay, however I noticed that the battery drain on the iPhone is massive (15% for a 55 minutes trip with Maps and music playing).
So for those of you that use wireless CarPlay, do you keep your phone connected to the charger in your car or do you let it discharge? Which do you think is best to preserve battery health?
 
15% drain sounds like a lot to me.
Are you streaming the music or is it already downloaded to the phone?

I drove about 12h with Apple Maps and Podcasts/Music. My 13PM lost about 40-50% during that time. But all the Podcasts and music was already downloaded to the phone.

Usually I don’t have my phone plugged in when using CarPlay.
 
ATmahe said:
15% drain sounds like a lot to me.
Are you streaming the music or is it already downloaded to the phone?

I drove about 12h with Apple Maps and Podcasts/Music. My 13PM lost about 40-50% during that time. But all the Podcasts and music was already downloaded to the phone.

Usually I don’t have my phone plugged in when using CarPlay.
Click to expand...
Downloaded, but makes no difference on the battery drain.
Pro Maxes have a lot larger battery so it’s draining the same amount of power but leaving with higher percentage left
 
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You didn’t mention which phone you have. I now own a iPhone 15 Pro (no Max), I‘ll keep an eye on the drain next time I‘m driving.
So at least you have something to compare with.
 
ATmahe said:
You didn’t mention which phone you have. I now own a iPhone 15 Pro (no Max), I‘ll keep an eye on the drain next time I‘m driving.
So at least you have something to compare with.
Click to expand...
It’s in the title of the thread, same as you. Regular iPhone 15 Pro
 
I have an aftermarket dongle in my car and have seen 10% drop in 33 minutes when using Waze and Hotspot (a friend using their iPad to stream YouTube and/or play Roblox via my phone) and twice seen 8% in 30 minutes under the same circumstances. This is with a release day iPhone 15 Pro. I've done some very basic tests and it looks to me like I get a similar battery drop when using wireless CarPlay vs Bluetooth when streaming radio via BBC Sounds and using Waze for navigation over short (10-20 minute) journeys.
 
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AlecEdworthy said:
I have an aftermarket dongle in my car and have seen 10% drop in 33 minutes when using Waze and Hotspot (a friend using their iPad to stream YouTube and/or play Roblox via my phone) and twice seen 8% in 30 minutes under the same circumstances. This is with a release day iPhone 15 Pro. I've done some very basic tests and it looks to me like I get a similar battery drop when using wireless CarPlay vs Bluetooth when streaming radio via BBC Sounds and using Waze for navigation over short (10-20 minute) journeys.
Click to expand...
That’s simply absurd. If I have to do a 3 hour trip I will end up with my phone totally dead by the time I arrive. So I’m considering switching to wired CarPlay or keeping my phone charging while using CarPlay
 
mikiotty said:
That’s simply absurd. If I have to do a 3 hour trip I will end up with my phone totally dead by the time I arrive. So I’m considering switching to wired CarPlay or keeping my phone charging while using CarPlay
Click to expand...
If I was doing a longer road trip (2 hours+) or needed the battery charge when I got to the other end then I'd switch back to wired CarPlay. Most of my journeys though are relatively local - 20-30 minutes mostly I'd say - and it's times like that where I'd rather not be constantly topping up the charge on my phone but I do really like CarPlay over simple Bluetooth audio etc.
 
Using both car play and navigation with the screen turned on would likely exceed the small amount the wireless charging offered.
 
mikiotty said:
Hi everyone!
I purchased a new head unit for my car that supports wireless CarPlay, however I noticed that the battery drain on the iPhone is massive (15% for a 55 minutes trip with Maps and music playing).
So for those of you that use wireless CarPlay, do you keep your phone connected to the charger in your car or do you let it discharge? Which do you think is best to preserve battery health?
Click to expand...
Since you purchased a new head unit for your car, it’s possible it doesn’t have a built in GPS, so it uses the iPhone’s. Which can have a toll on your battery.

My car has built in wireless CarPlay and I’ve never had any concerns with battery life on my iPhone. Granted, I don’t use Maps a whole lot, but stream a lot of music. My car also has a built in wireless charger, so I’ll just throw my iPhone on that if I’m worried about the battery at all.
 
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A lot of factors can cause battery drain during Carplay. Cellular reception, temperature, apps etc. 15% in an hour is possible. Once I drove for about 4 hours continuously, my 12PM had less than 20% left. Afterwards, I keep my phone plugged in or on the wireless charging tray.
 
7h driving with wireless CarPlay / Waze / Music will discharge my 15PM to 40% in a 2024 BMW with iDrive 8. I view this as normal. Just charge it!
 
I have a 15PM, using wireless CarPlay and drove from TN to PA (+/- 9hrs) left fully charged and got to relatives house with about 70% battery left. Listened to SirusXM app and used Apple Maps
 
I would plug my phone in as I want to charge it as well.

Wireless CarPlay and navigation (Waze for me) while wireless charging overheats the phone to the point it shuts down. Kind of scary really.
 
I use wireless for short trips or longer trips that I do not need GPS.
If it is a long trip with GPS, plug in.
Simple as that.
 
Unless I’m going on a road trip where I know the battery drain on my phone will be an issue, I’ll plug my iPhone in. For everyday driving, I usually just let the phone connect to CarPlay wirelessly and if I need a charge, I‘ll plug the cable in.
 
Fantasigraphic said:
I have a 15PM, using wireless CarPlay and drove from TN to PA (+/- 9hrs) left fully charged and got to relatives house with about 70% battery left. Listened to SirusXM app and used Apple Maps
Click to expand...
Because most of the wired CarPlay chargers provide only an Amp or two of current. It charges more slowly than the phone discharges.
 
I use a MagSafe holder (ProClip) for my phone (iPPM 15). Connecting to CarPlay, wirelessly, with one of the 3rd party dongles.
I also, when needed, will plug my AWU2 charger puck into the USB-C port of my phone.
 
I always keep my iPhone connected to the charger in my car, even if it's not the best thing to do. Always with Maps or Waze + Spotify + bluetooth, though, so it drains the battery pretty fast.
 
The aftermarket dongles and head units drain battery because they can't use the cars gps. Official built in, wireless carplay uses the vehicle GPS so battery drain isn't that bad. You're basically using google maps constantly while driving with those aftermarket solutions. Doesn't even matter if you have turn by turn directions going. That's why the battery drain is terrible.
 
I got an aftermarket dongle because i have two phone, work it lightening new personal is Iphone 15 Pro so USBc, i thought the dongle would be easier to switch between the two, its a PITA. Plus I can often do 3+hr drives so end up having to plug the phone in. Got a multi cable and use that now.

I think the wireless are good for small journey and one phone.
 
mnsportsgeek said:
The aftermarket dongles and head units drain battery because they can't use the cars gps. Official built in, wireless carplay uses the vehicle GPS so battery drain isn't that bad. You're basically using google maps constantly while driving with those aftermarket solutions. Doesn't even matter if you have turn by turn directions going. That's why the battery drain is terrible.
Click to expand...
So if you have built-in wireless CarPlay it uses the iPhone for the navigation app (e.g. Waze) but GPS data is provided by the car rather than the phone? That's quite clever! I had assumed it was just display extending like an after market dongle does. Does wired CarPlay also use the car's GPS (where the car has GPS that is)?
 
AlecEdworthy said:
So if you have built-in wireless CarPlay it uses the iPhone for the navigation app (e.g. Waze) but GPS data is provided by the car rather than the phone? That's quite clever! I had assumed it was just display extending like an after market dongle does. Does wired CarPlay also use the car's GPS (where the car has GPS that is)?
Click to expand...

Not sure about wired CarPlay. I would assume it uses the phone since it’s plugged in but i do not know for sure.

For wireless, this was one of the reasons the adoption was so slow. Many cars did not have built in gps or did not want to pay for it, but that was one of the pre-requisites in order to offer wireless CarPlay.
 
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