We have talked about many types of wireless Android Auto adapters but to tell the truth, the green robot smartphones with modern cars are almost all compatible with the wireless connection mode on the car's infotainment system. The situation is different for iPhone users, who despite having spent over 1000 euros for their beloved device, find themselves forced to connect their smartphone with the cable. Really frustrating!!! So today we will see together a particular USB dongle that offers not only wireless CarPlay but also the opportunity to connect PCs, tablets, consoles and even Amazon's Fire TV stick directly to your car's screen. Let's discover together the new LAMTTO RC25 CarPlay Cinema.
Wanting to focus solely on iOS devices and therefore on wireless CarPlay, on the one hand may be a limitation compared to the various USB dongles that instead offer the wireless solution also for Android, but on the other hand it is a conscious and winning choice, because in fact the CarPlay system in wireless mode was among the most fluid and stable that I have tried compared to other 2 in 1 solutions. The LAMTTO RC25 gadget is not among the cheapest on the market, but it is still accessible thanks to the discount coupon to be redeemed on the purchase page, directly on Amazon, which brings the final price to only € 59,99. A still high price if we consider it solely as a dongle to have CarPlay Wireless on your car but the gadget in question offers an HDMI input for connecting multimedia peripherals. Brilliance or nonsense we will find out in this review.
The sales package is very simple, both outside and inside, offering only the instruction manual in Chinese and English, but a QR Code will transfer you to a link to download the manual in all languages. We are explained how to connect the dongle and any peripherals via HDMI. We then find the USB dongle which has a rectangular shape and with non-compact dimensions compared to what has already been analyzed here on the blog, but this is precisely because compared to other solutions we find on one side the HDMI input while on the opposite side the Type-C input for power. Also in the package we find two cables, very short, to power the gadget either via USB-A or USB-C socket.
The materials used for the dongle are not premium but to the touch they do not seem at all "cheap" and the company has thought well to insert a series of grids for heat dissipation along all edges. During my test, which lasted over 2 weeks, in which I traveled with external temperatures that even touched 35 degrees, the LAMTTO RC25 gadget never showed signs of overheating. Finally, next to the USB-C power input, we find a small LED that attests to the operating status of the product.
Pairing is very easy. Once the accessory is inserted into the car's USB data port (the vehicle must be compatible with wired CarPlay, as well as the iPhone itself) just connect via Bluetooth to the dongle and in an instant the Wi-Fi connection to the hotspot generated by the device itself will also be automatically performed (Buetooth 5.0 version and dual-band WiFi). And at that point we will be ready to use wireless CarPlay on our vehicle. Everything works well, without problems, and with a fluidity comparable to the wired version, the steering wheel controls are recognized and operation is guaranteed even with non-touch screens but controlled by joystick. Furthermore, if your car does not allow the phone assistant to be called up via steering wheel controls, you can always do so via the magic phrase "Hey Siri!".
The options and applications are the same as the wired version, without any distinction, including Siri, and the boot times from a stationary vehicle are in the order of ten seconds, with a quick and automatic connection every time. Even after intense use, the dongle does not tend to heat up too much. It's time to talk to you about HDMI: from the start screen you can select whether to use LAMTTO RC25 as a CarPlay Wireless dongle or as an HDMI input. By selecting this item, you will basically have a mirroring and I underline this term, of what you have connected to the device.
I underlined the term mirroring because even if you have a touch display in your car, the touch controls will not be recognized, so if for example you have connected a Fire TV Stick, you will also have to equip yourself with its remote control. For example, you can connect a tablet with a TV output or smartphone to share content with the driver's side passenger, or potentially also connect a PS5. The real problem is that in reality, as interesting as the idea is, in practice we will necessarily find ourselves with additional clutter in the car and above all with a series of cables that we actually wanted to eliminate precisely to have wireless CarPlay. In short, an interesting idea, but which only raises the final price and therefore I do not find it interesting to promote. For the rest, LAMTTO RC25 also works well for what concerns HDMI, so if you were looking for a product that offers these features, then stop looking.
