Car AUX Port (Auxiliary) | The Final Goodbye

What is the AUX port used for in cars?

The Car Aux ports as the name suggests is a communication port that helps the user to interact via audio signals. The AUX port is typically used for audio equipment that receives peripheral sound sources, such as digital music players or audio speakers. An auxiliary port is also known as an auxiliary jack or auxiliary input.

In a generation where having musical experiences directly tailored to us, AUX had an era of its own. “Pass the AUX cable” became a phrase where one could not predict the next form of entertainment. You could never guess if someone was going to drop a typical Bollywood song or the latest Post Malone album. It represented the multitude, the unknown.

But the era of AUX cable is slowly descending into its armageddon. The descend began when Apple came out with a concept of no headphone jack. After Murdering the audio jack Apple came to an alternative to replace it with Bluetooth technology “Air Pods”. Well, we all have an opinion on this new relegation on using Bluetooth technology to access our private listening session. Where Bluetooth technology is rendered less reliable than plugging a cord into a hole.

The AUX cable played a huge role in controlling the auditory entertainment in our cars. Road trips were made a mesmerizing experience by “Pass the AUX cable” phrase and then changing the vibe in accord to the mood. An ethos of fun took-over the whole car scenario where one person in control of the AUX cable set the mood and the passengers took in the vibe. But now when car AUX port is overcome by Bluetooth connectivity, a hassle will always prevail of connecting your device first to the Bluetooth receiver and then executing your so-called DJ skills.

While Bluetooth is used in a host of different ways today, the way that most people interact with the technology on a daily basis is via their phones. Since Bluetooth allows for the creation of secure, local, wireless networks, the technology has seen widespread use in connecting wireless headsets to phones. The wireless control over audio output and hands-free calling is the main vector by which Bluetooth arrived in our cars. The rest is history.

Here’s a fun read: 7 Questions You Should Ask About Your Car Engine Oil

Is Bluetooth audio better than aux?

Whether Bluetooth is better than aux in terms of listening to music in a car comes down to two major issues: audio quality and convenience. Bluetooth can be a little finicky to set up. You have to set your device as “discoverable” and then use the other one to find the first one. And if the devices don’t pair, you may have to repeat the process until it does. Once your phone and car stereo have found each other, you will typically have to input a short passcode that will allow the two devices to successfully pair.

The main benefit of Bluetooth in terms of convenience is that, barring unforeseen circumstances, you shouldn’t have to repeat the pairing process. When your phone comes into the range of your car stereo, and both are powered up, the two should pair automatically. This is definitely more convenient than needing to physically plug in an aux connection every time you get in the car.

What are the drawbacks of using Bluetooth?

The main drawbacks of using Bluetooth to listen to music in your car:

• Audio quality: While it may be more convenient in the long term, the audio quality will typically be worse with Bluetooth than with an aux connection.
• Transmission of audio signals: The reason that Bluetooth audio typically isn’t that great is due to the way that devices use the technology to transmit audio. Rather than transmitting an uncompressed analogue signal, like a physical aux connection, sending audio via a wireless Bluetooth connection involves compressing the audio at one end and then decompressing it at the other.
• Fidelity: Since Bluetooth audio transmission involves a form of lossy compression, some level of audio fidelity is necessarily lost whenever you use this type of connection. It is possible to transmit data via Bluetooth, in the form of complete files, without losing anything, but that doesn’t really come into play in this type of usage scenario.

The difference between Bluetooth and aux isn’t as great, the reality is that some level of audio fidelity is lost with Bluetooth even with the A2DP profile.

What are the advantages of Bluetooth over AUX?

• Hands-free calling: Plugging your phone into your car stereo via a physical auxiliary connection will totally rule out hands-free calling. This is due to the fact ​that many phones will automatically want to use the wired connection to handle any incoming or outgoing calls when the wired connection is present. Of course, this typically will result in a situation where you can hear the person on the other end of the call through your car speakers, but they can’t hear you.
• Hassle-free connection: When you pair a phone to a Bluetooth car stereo or a compatible OEM infotainment system, the main purpose might be to listen to music. However, creating this type of connection also gives you access to hands-free calling without the need to establish a separate connection or fiddle around with a wireless headset. Using Bluetooth to stream music is the best way to avoid this type of problem since your phone and car stereo will typically be able to swap from the music-streaming profile to the communications profile during a phone call.
• Quick & Easy: A firm advantage over the car AUX port is that setting up Bluetooth connection though a bit finicky is a more convenient and easy process. After you have established a connection between two devices, you can add that device to your phone’s “Trusted devices” and wouldn’t have to go through the process all over again. Once you switch on your Bluetooth connectivity your device will automatically pair to the device added as ”Trusted devices”.

Bluetooth or Auxiliary | Which is the best for your car?

Like so many things in life, there’s no easy answer. Each audio connection technology has its own strengths and weaknesses, meaning it’s suited to specific purposes. If you’re looking for the most convenient way to carry out your business in the car. Bluetooth cannot be beaten in providing a quick and easy way to do so. If you’re looking for the versatility of value and good music quality AUX is the best way to go.