It’s such a small and trivial feature, but Volkswagen is finally kissing its proprietary USB cables goodbye.
According to Popular Mechanics, Volkswagen will be phasing out its MDI (Media Device Interface) connectivity ports. The change is happening worldwide, but we likely won’t see the change appear in North American-spec Volkswagens by the 2016 model years.
“We are moving to USB in place of the MDI system because that’s what our customers in the U.S. have been asking us for,” Mark Gilles, VW’s product and technology manager.
Currently, Volkswagen’s MDI cables use connectors compatible with iPods and iPhones. Unfortunately, unless you use an adaptor, this leaves Android cell phone users out of luck. Along with the switch to USB ports, Volkswagen is also working on integrating Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto into its vehicles.
