I realize this info will only be of interest to a small percentage of you but for those of you who have either purchased a 2021 (CD Prep is no longer included thus the CD player in glovebox install isn't an option anymore beyond the 2020 model year) or just want to know if any of those external USB CD players being sold out there work, I can confirm that I have found one that does!
I looked at 2 other versions that I was told did not work so took a chance on a 3rd option out there which is the Accele CDUSB. I was actually expecting it not to work, but it did and I'm pretty excited. I plugged it into the USB by the cupholder to test. The head unit recognized it and I was able to control the tracks through the head unit. This unit is a little bulkier than others and doesn't fit really well in the armrest (where I was hoping to install it) especially considering where the cord come out of the unit so I don't think I will be able to permanently attach it inside the armrest. That said I can fit it in there, just not in a way that I could easily load cd's into it.
I paid about $300 which is a lot, but there appears to be a lot of scam sellers out there for this thing so beware. I ended up getting it from this place:
https://lockdownsecuritycanada.ca/pr...r-usb-add-a-cd
All of that said I've really warmed up to Apple Car Play so am not sure how much I will use it, but for those long trips or rides home from the record store, I'm excited to have it. Long live CDs!