In this review, I look at the new AMIHUSEl Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Adapter. You can currently buy this 4th generation wireless dongle for only $49.99 (with coupon) from Amazon US – https://amzn.to/4djizYT.
TL/DR: The AMIHUSEL 2-in-1 Wireless CarPlay & Android Auto Adapter features a 4th-generation PCB board that promises faster boot-up, response, and reconnection times compared to previous models. The adapter has a basic boot menu and lacks multi-user support, unlike some earlier 3rd-gen models. Wireless CarPlay connected in 9 seconds, closely matching the performance of other top 2-in-1 adapters, while Android Auto connection took slightly longer at 12 seconds. Overall performance was smooth and native-feeling for both CarPlay and Android Auto, with good audio quality. The adapter has a useful configuration menu with options to improve compatibility, though the GPS passthrough feature doesn’t seem to be fully supported. At $49.99 after a $20 coupon, this adapter is considered good value compared to more expensive 2-in-1 options on the market.
I have seen several wireless adapters from sellers using the BOYI Electronics PCB boards. These wireless adapters are great performing and bring a responsive experience in a mostly tethered body shell that looks the part in any car interior. Most of these have been using BOYI Electric’s 3rd-generation PCB board, but I had yet to see one in the metal since I was told BOYI is now on their 4th-generation, until now.
The 2-in-1 Wireless CarPlay & Android Auto adapter from AMIHUSEI features this 4th-generation PCB board that promises a fast boot-up time, a better response speed, and reconnection time. These are all areas that wireless adapters could improve, although its third generation was already pretty good at that!
In the box, you get a small paper user manual, the adapter itself with its USB-A tethered cable, a small adhesive sticker to fix the adapter to your car interior, and a USB-A to USB-C adapter for more modern CarPlay ports.
It took 12 seconds from connecting the adapter to seeing its new fourth-generation boot menu. So this is slightly slower than the DRERYRIT, BINIZE and MSXTTLY 2-in-1 adapters.
The new boot menu is more visually refined, but it is still pretty functionless. This time around, it is even more so because there is no multi-platform/user support in this generation of multi-functional adapters, which isn’t like the 3rd-generation Cuarko Android Auto adapter I tried a few months back. The screen basically serves as a visual prompt on how to connect the adapter to your iPhone or Android device. Tapping anywhere on the screen takes you back to the car system menu.
I soon saw wireless CarPlay appear on my Golf 7 Discover Pro Display in 9 seconds after pairing up my iPhone. This is a time that closely matches the timings of the MSXTTLY 2in1, which beats this adapter ever so slightly by a very negligible margin.
From here, the experience is slightly improved. It is certainly not night and day different. Smooth frame rates remain and it is also quick to navigate through touch input. The audio sounded just fine and call quality and audio delay were a solid pass in both camps.
Jumping into the adapter’s config menu (192.168.18.9) brought a familiar and basic config menu that mirrors the Cuarko. There are enough features here to improve the experience with your car system, such as adding a start-up delay, Wi-Fichannel, and background mode. Updating the adapter was easy and it had the same ability to choose up to two different firmware versions. On completion, I was able to also adjust the audio delay from a list of preset options. These are all important features that work with the adapter’s compatibility and turn this adapter into a recommended one in that regard. There is a GPS passthrough option present in the config menu but after receiving mixed results with it enabled, I confirmed with the makers to be told this option isn’t supported in this adapter—yet it isn’t hidden and makes you question are any other options useable.
Connecting to Android Auto took 9 seconds, yet total boot to AA time took over twice as long as Apple connection for CarPlay. This adapter may not be the fastest to Android Auto, yet its overall performance still makes it the 4th fastest 2-in-1 adapter in my list of tested adapters.
Again, everything felt native, from connection to interaction, with resolutions faithfully mirroring my system’s own cable connection. Animations and navigation felt smooth, and call quality and audio delay were also a solid pass.
This adapter’s marketing imagery says it has 1:1 native sound and picture quality, but I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between this one and other adapters in my stock Golf 7 system, so you could chalk that down as marketing fluff.
At the time of writing, this adapter has a $20-off coupon on its US Amazon page. With that, it makes this adapter a steal at $49.99. Many other 2-in-1s cost much more, which makes this adapter a bargain considering its performance against its peers. If you can get around the lack of multi-user support (which many don’t support anyway) and its hidden omission of GPS passthrough support (if your car has an antenna), then this adapter is worth your consideration.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Brief overview
0:28 – Unboxing
0:51 – Features, Size & Design
1:33 – Generation 3 & 4 Compared
2:33 – Installation & Demo
3:25 – Wireless Apple CarPlay
5:24 – Microphone & Calling Delay Test iPhone
5:56 – Config Menu & Updating Adapter
8:50 – Wireless Android Auto
10:31 – Calling Delay Test Android
11:37 – My Impressions
