Many people working on in‑vehicle connectivity products have heard of HiCar and HiPlay – but most don't understand how they differ, and some even assume HiPlay is a newer version of HiCar. In reality, the two technologies are completely independent – HiPlay has its own technical specifications and certification process – don't confuse them with HiCar.
HiPlay is Huawei's wireless high‑definition audio casting protocol – its core function is to transmit music audio from a phone to a playback terminal – head units, speakers, etc. Main application scenarios fall into in‑vehicle and home audio devices – using local network or device‑to‑device direct connections.
Simply put: music playing on a phone can be wirelessly transmitted via HiPlay and played directly through the vehicle's speakers or HiFi system. The user only experiences the audio‑casting function – behind the scenes, the protocol stack covers device discovery, link negotiation, media transport, and playback control.
From June 2026, Huawei has opened pre‑testing permissions to qualified third‑party labs – but final review and certificate issuance remain with Huawei. If a product wants to claim HUAWEI HiPlay audio‑casting support – full official certification is required – there is no simplified path.
2. Protocol Technical Positioning
When developing HiPlay, the technical focus was on optimising wireless audio playback – prioritising lossless high‑definition audio output, minimising audio latency, and smoothly adjusting transport links under fluctuating network conditions.
It's not a direct counterpart to CarPlay or Android Auto – those are full phone‑projection solutions – a different category from HiPlay's single‑audio‑transport protocol. HiPlay certification focuses on audio‑link quality and Wi‑Fi RF performance – video decoding and rendering are not in scope. Getting the R&D direction wrong leads to extensive later remediation.
For stable protocol operation, hardware platform fundamentals matter: the audio processing unit must support the full protocol stack – Wi‑Fi module transmit power and receiver sensitivity have clear minimums – antenna placement directly affects wireless casting stability. During solution pre‑review, Huawei checks these hardware conditions – non‑compliant solutions will be asked to replace modules.
3. Three Connection Modes
3.1Local network mode: phone and playback terminal on the same router Wi‑Fi – audio transport via the local network.
3.2Wi‑Fi Direct point‑to‑point: no router – phone and audio device connect directly.
3.3Smart dual‑link scheduling: maintains both local‑network and point‑to‑point links simultaneously – automatically switches to the better channel when network conditions change. Aftermarket in‑vehicle dongles typically use this solution – link‑switching latency is a mandatory test item.
The three modes have different test items – products with smart dual‑link add link‑switching stability tests. When applying, honestly declare which communication modes the product supports – adding modes later means supplementary testing – additional cost and workload.
4. Which Products Require HiPlay Certification?
In‑vehicle: front‑load head units, aftermarket head units, in‑vehicle speakers, external aftermarket dongles. Aftermarket dongles are a key focus – USB external adapters, add‑on connectivity hardware – if firmware integrates the HiPlay SDK, or marketing claims Huawei high‑definition wireless audio casting – certification is required.
Home: wireless HiFi speakers, desktop audio amplifiers, streaming media players.
Products that do not require certification: pure wired adapters, charging docks, Bluetooth FM audio‑forwarding devices.
One often‑missed scenario: dongles connected to head units via USB – with built‑in Wi‑Fi modules for wireless audio transceiver – not pure wired – certification is still required.
5. Certification System and Test Framework
HiPlay certification has two stages: pre‑testing and formal testing. Authorised third‑party labs can conduct preliminary pre‑testing – but pre‑test reports cannot be used directly for certification. Full formal testing must be performed within Huawei's authorised system – final document review and certificate issuance are handled by Huawei.
Seven test modules:
·Device discovery.
·Connection establishment.
·Playback control.
·Multi‑device pre‑emption.
·Network switching.
·Media performance.
·Long‑term stability testing.
For in‑vehicle devices, additional tests: signal‑wave adaptation under driving conditions, navigation‑audio and media‑audio mixing, low‑voltage operation stability.
Network connection success rate: a basic threshold – metrics update with Huawei specification versions – not fixed static values.
Audio latency: three grades – B, A, S – B is the minimum passing grade. Exact latency values – refer to the current Huawei official specification – non‑official online data should not be used as development targets.
Again: testing focuses on audio latency – there is no audio‑video sync assessment – don't apply video‑projection standards.
6. Key Points at Product Definition Stage
·Hardware selection: confirm that the main controller solution can adapt to Huawei's authorised SDK. HiPlay requires official authentication keys for two‑way validation – without proper authorisation, the high‑definition audio channel cannot be enabled – the device falls back to ordinary Bluetooth audio – failing HiPlay standards.
Clarification: there is no mandatory list of specific DSP models – any hardware platform capable of running the SDK and completing encryption/authentication is eligible.
·Marketing language must be precise. If the SDK is integrated and HiPlay is supported – state it clearly. If the protocol is not deployed – don't use vague language suggesting high‑definition wireless audio casting – that creates compliance risk.
For HUAWEI HiPlay certification, contact BlueAsia at 13534225140 (King) or email king.guo@cblueasia.com.
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