ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The AAWireless Two Plus prices $65, and helps each Android and iOS wi-fi connectivity.
- There’s nonetheless a multifunctional pairing button for seamlessly machine switching.
- For those who’re an Android person, go for the cheaper $55 mannequin.
nov / 2025
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Dozens of tech merchandise make their approach onto my reviewer’s desk yearly, however solely a choose few handle to have sufficient endurance to stay my on a regular basis carry. Final 12 months’s AAWireless Two was a type of rarities, and it by some means simply acquired higher in two methods.
For one, AAWireless has launched the much-anticipated successor to the wi-fi Android Auto adapter, named the Two Plus. Whereas it is designed the identical because the earlier mannequin, that means it is nonetheless a plug-and-play affair, now you can use the machine to run Apple’s CarPlay working system wirelessly. So, as an alternative of getting to wire your iPhone to an older automobile to run the iOS-based platform, you possibly can merely pair it to the dongle.
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The whole course of, together with the flexibility to modify between Android Auto and CarPlay with the press of a button, works magically. For households with completely different cellphone manufacturers, tech fans who swear by the duo-phone life-style, and customers who simply need a dependable, useful, and pretty priced wi-fi automotive adapter, that is the one I’ve settled on — and suggest you do the identical. Here is why.
For those who’ve learn my evaluate of final 12 months’s AAWireless Two, then it should not come as a shock that I nonetheless use it in my automotive (a Mazda CX-5) day-after-day. Since organising the adapter final October, which concerned plugging the machine into my automotive’s USB-A port, long-pressing the multifunctional button to provoke Bluetooth pairing, and confirming the pairing from my cellphone, the AAWireless Two has lived in my middle console all through the seasons.
The one friction got here once I was reviewing a brand new iPhone and located myself tapping into CarPlay extra usually than Android Auto, which required a wired connection since my Mazda did not help wi-fi.
That was till a month in the past, once I changed the AAWireless Two with the Two Plus, eliminating the necessity to dig out a USB-C cable and battle to plug it into my cellphone throughout the darkish, end-of-year days. Now, I merely begin the engine of my automotive, look forward to 5 to eight seconds for the dongle to react and my cellphone to pair, and voilà: wi-fi automotive software program goodness.
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Whereas I can solely attest to the consistency and reliability of the wi-fi pairing with my 2023 CX-5, I additionally used the dongle on a weekend street journey just lately with an older 2019 Audi Q5. Apart from the one time, when long-pressing the multifunctional button did not immediate any pairing indicator (a pulsing gentle ring surrounding the button), I did not have any points connecting my iPhone or Android to the automotive. Your mileage could fluctuate.
I’ve truly discovered that the AAWireless Two Plus usually works extra time, as it should nonetheless maintain a neighborhood Wi-Fi connection even after you flip off your automotive and stroll away. The idle state lasts for just a few seconds, so it is nothing to fret about. Nonetheless, I usually discover the “pairing in course of” notification and second-guess whether or not I powered off my automotive.
Each the AAWireless Two and Two Plus share an analogous app interface with customizable settings.
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
I will add that the Bluetooth connection is powerful sufficient to set off my Spotify playlist (set to autoplay when paired with a automotive) even once I’m nonetheless inside the home and have solely began the automobile to heat it up. My solely qualm with this habits is that podcasts or different audio exhibits could begin enjoying forward with out you realizing it.
To take advantage of your AAWireless Two Plus, you will need to dial into the companion app. Inside settings, you may make finer changes, corresponding to adjusting the DPI, enabling split-screen modes, and setting a pairing precedence chain for a number of related gadgets.
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This setup is useful in the event you enter the automotive with a accomplice or member of the family. For instance, the adapter at all times pairs to my Android cellphone first, however mechanically switches to my iPhone if the Android is not current.
Just like the earlier mannequin, you possibly can nonetheless entry diagnostic and troubleshooting instruments from the cell app, together with the choice to toggle pass-through mode for information switch, repair audio stutters, disable TTS sink for routing navigation audio, and extra.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
In the end, the AAWireless Two Plus does what it is marketed to do, and it does it effectively. I nonetheless extremely suggest the older (and now cheaper) AAWireless Two for Android-only customers, because it does practically the whole lot the identical, apart from not supporting Apple CarPlay. Nonetheless, for iPhone customers or these seeking to swap working programs, the Two Plus is the brand new best choice.
At $65, the AAWireless Two Plus is not essentially the most cost effective auto adapter. A fast Amazon search reveals listings that hover across the $40-$50 vary, with evaluations that present promise. However I doubt these choices have the identical performance, software program help, and in-app instruments because the AAWireless, which is why it is the adapter I will be recommending to most individuals going into the brand new 12 months.
