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 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.