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Alpine Planning to Release Aftermarket CarPlay Console This Fall

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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Car electronics manufacturer Alpine will begin selling a standalone aftermarket console that will support Apple's CarPlay vehicle integration feature, reports Japanese business newspaper Nikkei. Alpine's offering, which will likely be the first aftermarket device to support CarPlay, is said to hit the United States and Europe this year with a cost of around $500 to $700.

carplay_screenie_2-800x337.jpg
While CarPlay will be found in a number of announced and upcoming vehicles from manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, BMW, Ford, GM, and Honda, the integration of the system into older vehicles has been a topic of much discussion in recent months. Pioneer Electronics expressed interest in implementing CarPlay compatibility with its existing and future products, only to back away from its comments soon after. Other companies, such as Kenwood, have indicated to MacRumors that CarPlay is only being looked at for integration and that adoption is not currently imminent.

Recently, automotive peripheral company Clarion also hinted at the possibility of bringing CarPlay its aftermarket in-dash systems. In an email to MacRumors, the firm noted that it has been working with Apple "from the start" and that it would be further developing its Smart Access in-car infotainment system and CarPlay for different purposes. Ultimately, the company stated that it will support CarPlay in both its aftermarket and OEM products at some point in the future.

Apple announced its CarPlay iOS vehicle integration feature last month at the Geneva International Motor Show. The feature allows an iPhone to take over the in-dash display of a car, providing Siri voice controlled access to aspects such as navigation, phone functions, messages, and music. The feature was included in Apple's iOS 7.1 update and works with Lighting-enabled iPhones including the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5.

Article Link: Alpine Planning to Release Aftermarket CarPlay Console This Fall
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/04/13/alpine-carplay-console/
mdelvecchio

mdelvecchio

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2010
3,151
1,149
excellent. I have no doubt after market are going to market third-party CarPlay implementations... I've had a couple versions of pioneers' appradio, and was excited when pioneer sent me the email stating they were looking into it, but if alpine beats them to it, oh well.
 
Alisstar

Alisstar

macrumors 6502
Jul 12, 2008
359
34
Orlando, FL
I would buy it if it costs around $300. However, I'm afraid that won't happen for a couple of years. I'll be in the market for an entirely new vehicle by the time these systems are within the $300 price range.
 
e-coli

e-coli

macrumors 68000
Jul 27, 2002
1,935
1,149
I wish Audi would get on board with CarPlay. I sort of get it b/c their MMI is so rich, but the writing is on the wall.
 
B

brendu

Cancelled
Apr 23, 2009
2,472
2,703
I want one. Now.

Also, I wonder if this is one of the multiple new product categories Cook spoke of earlier this year.
 
B

bdkennedy1

Suspended
Oct 24, 2002
1,275
528
I bought an Alpine 4 years ago. When I upgraded to an iPhone 4 a year later, they had no way to update the firmware thus leaving my bluetooth useless.
 
Black Magic

Black Magic

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Sep 30, 2012
2,787
1,499
This sounds good in theory but I would love to see it in action. In particular, going on a road trip and using the iPhone maps to navigate. If you lose signal, wouldn't that make the maps app and phone useless at that point? I seen this before with an older phone thinking that a phone could replace a portable Garmen.
 
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brendu

Cancelled
Apr 23, 2009
2,472
2,703
Black Magic said:
This sounds good in theory but I would love to see it in action. In particular, going on a road trip and using the iPhone maps to navigate. If you lose signal, wouldn't that make the maps app and phone useless at that point? I seen this before with an older phone thinking that a phone could replace a portable Garmen.
Click to expand...

Unless there were a way for an aftermarket unit to include a gps chip that apple could partner with a tom tom or garmin type company to allow for navigation in the car without using cellular service. (I don't think this is going to happen but it would be cool)
 
TwoBytes

TwoBytes

macrumors 68040
Jun 2, 2008
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so it's an iPad that pops out and fits into a double din rack? Expensive. I'll buy though ;)
 
Robert.Walter

Robert.Walter

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Jul 10, 2012
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4,336
Black Magic said:
This sounds good in theory but I would love to see it in action. In particular, going on a road trip and using the iPhone maps to navigate. If you lose signal, wouldn't that make the maps app and phone useless at that point? I seen this before with an older phone thinking that a phone could replace a portable Garmen.
Click to expand...

Haven't used apple maps much because I had the tomtom app before AM debuted and apple maps was kind of lousy at debut, do I just continued to use my tomtom app. The tomtom app continues to respond to changes even w/o gsm signal. My earlier experience with apple maps showed that w/o a gsm signal, one could only continue to run the last set of routing info d/l before the signal was lost.

I recently tried apple maps again and was much impressed by the -relative to the original version - current feature rich status and aesthetic and functional upgrades. I haven't tested the off grid functionality though.

Note
- the tomtom's pan European app weighs in at 2.0GB.
- not sure what app is doing it, but since iOS 7.1, something is chewing through my battery life. (And in the last week or so, my phone is freezing and crashing - I'm on a 4s 64GB, w/~20GB free.)
 
Nevaborn

Nevaborn

macrumors 65816
Aug 30, 2013
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327
Pass.

Aftermarket is the key to Carplay success but at these price points they will not sell in large quantities.
 
springsup

springsup

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Feb 14, 2013
1,222
1,209
musio said:
so it's an iPad that pops out and fits into a double din rack? Expensive. I'll buy though ;)
Click to expand...

No, it's just a screen with a lightning cable attached. Your device serves the actual display, similar to how your laptop can drive an external monitor.

I know that because the entire CarPlay experience is contained on the device. That's how developers can enable it in the iPhone Simulator, and how Apple are able to transmit it wirelessly (over AirPlay, but that will actually need a semi-intelligent controller chip, so it's coming next year).

$500-$700 is ridiculously overpriced for what it is. I'm sure it will be reverse-engineered soon enough; then you could build one with a Raspberry Pi or something.

There are two parts to doing that:

- Finding out the command which makes the iPhone display the CarPlay experience.
- Finding out the protocol which is used to send touch commands to the device.

Robert.Walter said:
Haven't used apple maps much because I had the tomtom app before AM debuted and apple maps was kind of lousy at debut, do I just continued to use my tomtom app. The tomtom app continues to respond to changes even w/o gsm signal. My earlier experience with apple maps showed that w/o a gsm signal, one could only continue to run the last set of routing info d/l before the signal was lost.

I recently tried apple maps again and was much impressed by the -relative to the original version - current feature rich status and aesthetic and functional upgrades. I haven't tested the off grid functionality though.

Note
- the tomtom's pan European app weighs in at 2.0GB.
- not sure what app is doing it, but since iOS 7.1, something is chewing through my battery life. (And in the last week or so, my phone is freezing and crashing - I'm on a 4s 64GB, w/~20GB free.)
Click to expand...

I despise the TomTom app. Every tiny map movement causes a redraw of the entire map, making browsing and checking out your route absolutely impossible. So much of the UI is ridiculously bad - search, entering addresses, etc.

I bought it as a gift for my mother, and she absolutely hates it. She's used to the Google experience of just typing in where you want to go, not entering every detail of the address and trawling through menu after menu.

Also, I find Apple Maps to have very good traffic data. TomTom get their data from people who drive around with LIVE-connected TomToms, which isn't very many these days. Even the TomToms which are built-in typically don't include 3G modems (and those that do require a yearly subscription to use it).

I don't like to diss other Apps, even though we're not in that area - I'm sure their developers try hard - but on a personal level I just can't break the association of "TomTom" with the worst App I've ever wasted so much money on. Consumer advice: avoid it.
 
S

swingerofbirch

macrumors 68040
Oct 24, 2003
3,641
4,442
The Amalgamated States of Central North America
I still don't even get what the CarPlay does that's so amazing. I think it's been explained to me before. But haven't people been able to do what the CarPlay does wirelessly for years? I don't have a car with one of those screens or a smartphone, but I see people with their phones wirelessly connected to screens all the time. It seems like the iPhone does that but over a wire.
 
S

shiseiryu1

macrumors 6502a
Sep 30, 2007
534
294
Well, all the other companies are dragging their feet...looks like alpine will be getting my money this fall! :)
 
Swift

Swift

macrumors 68000
Feb 18, 2003
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Los Angeles
brendu said:
Unless there were a way for an aftermarket unit to include a gps chip that apple could partner with a tom tom or garmin type company to allow for navigation in the car without using cellular service. (I don't think this is going to happen but it would be cool)
Click to expand...

The iPhone has gps. And they have a deal with Tom-Tom over the maps. routes you need, which are usually needed over and over -- work, home, downtown, like that -- are downloaded and cached; unless it changes, you have the maps you mostly need all the time.

----------
musio said:
so it's an iPad that pops out and fits into a double din rack? Expensive. I'll buy though ;)
Click to expand...

It's not an iPad. It's a radio with a screen. I guess it would have to be a double DIN for Maps, but I don't know.

----------
swingerofbirch said:
I still don't even get what the CarPlay does that's so amazing. I think it's been explained to me before. But haven't people been able to do what the CarPlay does wirelessly for years? I don't have a car with one of those screens or a smartphone, but I see people with their phones wirelessly connected to screens all the time. It seems like the iPhone does that but over a wire.
Click to expand...

I connect with Bluetooth all the time, for music and podcasts and stuff. I can also use an app -- if parked, of course -- but the screen is had to read in the daylight sometimes, and it's always small.

The car companies or third parties make radios with touch screens. You attach via the Lightning cable, and the screen still can play music, etc., but you can also touch selected apps on the larger screen. Or, if parked, watch a video on the screen. It's made more for arms' length touching. So the screen of the radio becomes an iPhone.
 
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