Kmart shopper's handy find to solve annoying car problem: 'Quality is always good'
There's often a call we need to take or a route we need to check. Understanding our pain, Apple introduced Apple CarPlay back in 2014, and since then, the majority of cars made support it.
What is Apple CarPlay, you might ask?
Apple CarPlay is a clever bit of tech that allows you to link your phone to your car's dashboard screen. It means you can use various apps and features safely while driving. You can answer the phone hands-free, have Siri read a message out to you or use the maps from your phone. It's genius, but what's not genius is how your phone and the car are linked - via an annoying cable that snakes through the centre console and that you have to remember to clip into your phone before you start driving.
Thankfully, a USB-sized dongle to make Apple CarPlay wireless and, of course, everyone's favourite retailer, Kmart, is now selling them.
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Kmart shopper uses Kmart CarPlay adapter 'every day'
Aneila Brankovic popped into her local Kmart in Bunbury, WA, last week and was thrilled with the $49 find.
'I've heard people talking about wireless carplayers, but I had one which kept making my screen freeze and go black, and after throwing that away, I never got another,' Aneila tells Yahoo Lifestyle. 'But when I saw it in Kmart – I always shop there and the quality is always good, so I got one.'
Thinking others would be interested, she shared her purchase on TikTok, but she was shocked by the million views and 38,000 likes on her mini tutorial.
Aneila demonstrates how to put the USB-sized piece of tech into her Mazda CX5's USB port and then pair it with her phone using Bluetooth.
'You follow all the prompts on your phone and click pair, and then it'll say connected on your Bluetooth, and there you go. It's pretty straightforward,' she explains.
Now, instead of always having to plug her phone into a wire, every time she gets into the car with her phone, it will automatically link to her dashboard.
'I use it every time I'm in the car, every day, and so far there have been no problems,' Aneila says. 'I know my local Kmart is now sold out.'
Will the Kmart Car Play adapter work in all cars?
Aneila's video has prompted hundreds of comments, asking how it works and if there's a catch.
'If your car already has CarPlay, then yes will work,' Aneila tells people.
Of course, older car models won't support it, but if you already have CarPlay and use a wired adapter, this is the upgrade for you.
'Is it laggy with calls or music changes?' asked one man.
'Unsure about this Kmart one, but yes, most 'wireless' car play adaptors are slow. It uses the processor in the screen rather than having it wired... So long story short, yes it will work, but it will be slow,' replied someone else, although Aneila says she hasn't noticed any problem.
Other people came to the comments simply to say that they were annoyed they had paid way more for their own adaptors.
"So angry that I spent like $90 on one of these a few years ago and now they're tiny AND cheap," one person lamented.
"Should've waited a year for Kmart to bring out one. Paid $90 for one last year," another person added.
Shopper raves about other Kmart phone-car products
On a roll with the Apple CarPlay adapter, Aneila also bought a Kmart USB phone charging pad designed for use in the car.
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'It's $20 and you plug it into the USB port in the car and it charges your phone with no connections. OMG Kmart is my favourite shop!' she says.
Sharing this purchase on TikTok, she added 'Kmart has done it once again!'
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