Harman cuts the cable and makes Apple CarPlay work wirelessly

Soon you won't need to plug your iPhone into your in-car system to play tunes. That's because in-car hi-fi company Harman has developed a version of Apple CarPlay that works over Bluetooth instead of requiring a cable.

CarPlay effectively puts your iPhone's operating system on your dashboard. Once synced, you can make calls, play tunes and view photos via the car's dashboard screen. It usually requires a Lightning cable, but not anymore.

Once connected, data is beamed back and forth using wi-fi, which should make connecting as easy as getting on your home wireless network. It will also free up a USB port on the dashboard for charging another device.

MORE: What is Apple CarPlay? How it works, the apps, cars, features

Harman is the first company to make CarPlay work over Bluetooth, but this step forward for in-car audio tech has been a long time coming. Apple first announced it would add wireless functionality to CarPlay back in 2015.

The 2017 BMW 5 Series is said to be one of the first cars to feature wireless CarPlay. Look out for it rolling out to other models soon.

MORE: Apple announces nine new CarPlay partners

Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 20 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine (now defunct), Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more. His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.

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