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Pioneer Brings Apple CarPlay to Existing In-Dash Receivers

derbothaus

derbothaus

macrumors 601
Jul 17, 2010
4,093
30
OldSchoolMacGuy said:
Fuuuuuuuuuuu......... Have an AppRadio 3. I want CarPlay support.
Click to expand...

I have an AppRadio 1 and want iPhone 5 support:mad: They have jumped the AppRadio boat apparently. But all my hookups should work with the cheapest one there at 700.00. No way will I pay 1400.00 to be left out in the cold again.
 
A

abbstrack

macrumors 6502
Nov 21, 2008
278
90
SoCal
i dunno. I bought Pioneer's appradio (both 1 and 2) and vowed after both debacles never to do that again. Part of the problem was the design/functionality of the units, and the other part was the installer did such a horrible job that it cost me two alternators on my car because the units were draining my battery. And the dealer wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, so i had no choice but to use third party installers.

I'm hesitant to take my working system & bluetooth in my new car and experiment with a third party installer again. iOS in the car would be great, especially if i could then get navigon to show up on the dash instead of on my phone sitting in a window mount, but the risks outweigh the rewards.
 
TwoBytes

TwoBytes

macrumors 68040
Jun 2, 2008
3,093
2,040
I can't wait until the generic screens you can buy cheap from china turn up on ebay
 
L

liavman

macrumors 6502
Sep 22, 2009
462
0
CaryMacGuy said:
I can spend only about $800 to get CarPlay functionality in my 2012 Focus...vs $25,000 for a new car...this is good news :)
Click to expand...

I am actually thinking of buying a Focus ( I assume you will approve ) but holding to see the news around CarPlay support. Given we haggle for $100 in a $18000 car ;), I do not want to spend on after market CP if I can avoid it.

Ford, get on CP. You will have one extra buyer right now.
 
J

JPLC

macrumors 6502
Dec 20, 2011
429
1,089
Netherlands
Am I the only one here who's confused about this news? This is not a display. It's a device. A device with an Apple product supported interface. In other words: It's pioneers hardware with Apple's software. Last time I've seen this, Motorola pretended to have iPod Phones with iTunes.

These are the borders that Apple kept secure to controll quality. It's not Jobs vision about the vertical business model. It's not an integrated software-hardware approach.
 
S

SHNXX

macrumors 68000
Oct 2, 2013
1,901
663
well this will work much better than getting other in-dash units aftermarket.

the nicer in-dash units that currently exist that don't devalue your nice car (let's say you drive at least a Merc, Porsche and up) already cost ~1000 or more.

this just brings a nice UI although I imagine restrictive.

I think I will try this out on my Benz and see how it goes.
 
L

liavman

macrumors 6502
Sep 22, 2009
462
0
JPLC said:
Am I the only one here who's confused about this news? This is not a display. It's a device. A device with an Apple product supported interface. In other words: It's pioneers hardware with Apple's software. Last time I've seen this, Motorola pretended to have iPod Phones with iTunes.

These are the borders that Apple kept secure to controll quality. It's not Jobs vision about the vertical business model. It's not an integrated software-hardware approach.
Click to expand...

No, this is Apple's HW/SW talking to some SW running on a QNX OS. It is no different from iBeacon talking to a POS iBeason xmitter, that does not mean Apple needs to integrate POS terminals. Apple devices do talk to a wide variety of external systems using a variety of protocols. In this case, the difference is the other guy is running something that is specified by Apple.
 
spinedoc77

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,394
5,257
Nunyabinez said:
I see a couple of benefits. One, you don't have to figure out how to mount it securely.

Two, you can do handsfree phone calls with it without fumbling to find your phone.

Three you use your existing cellular data plan without having to get a separate plan for the tablet.

I'm sure there are more, and these may not be important benefits for you, but they are things that make this interesting for me.

----------



Yes, it appears that USB is the general method for this as posters who actually own one corrected me.
Click to expand...

Those are not strong benefits at all, but I respect that they help you out. I'd rather figure out how to mount a tablet than figure out how to replace a car radio, one of those just seems much easier. You can also hands free with most modern stock radios these days, most of them come with bluetooth. Data plan is $10/month or you can tether, but is that relevant, does the head unit come with free data? Or any data at all?

I used to love after market head units when stock radios were crap, I have a heck of a lot of nostalgia installing and using many of them over the years. From a Kraco years ago, to Alpine and Pioneer. But I've grown to love the stock look of a car and hate to mar it with an 80s looking aftermarket radio sticking out like a sore thumb.
 
swm

swm

macrumors 6502a
May 29, 2013
517
848
kyjaotkb said:
For less money, you can also dash-mount an iPad and use it at home... These prices are ridiculous!
Click to expand...

you don't have the amp with the iPad. but i 100% agree, those prices are damn too high!

just look at it, what is it at the end of the day?

a 7"-9" touchscreen
2-4 channel amplifier
probably a fm or sat radio (in case you might need it)
a double din enclosure
probably up to $200/piece to produce.

ok, i understand, being part of mfi costs a load of money for the aftermarket vendor. but all the (overpriced) bells and whistles normally present in those car-tertainment systems are missing... but ...

the ui comes from the iPhone, the main source of entertainment comes from iPhone, navigation comes from iPhone, voice integration comes from iPhone.
 
K

Keebler

macrumors 68030
Jun 20, 2005
2,960
207
Canada
I just emailed Pioneer hoping they'll add older or 'more recent' models to the mix.

I received the AVH-X4500Bt at Christmas and the apps are good, but having the native Apple apps would be that much better, imho - particularly Apple or Googlemaps.

The screen is big enough I believe and it's touch so hopefully, they'll add it later.

Cheers,
Keebler
 
T

troy14

macrumors 6502a
Mar 25, 2008
773
130
Las Vegas (Summerlin), NV
spinedoc77 said:
Those are not strong benefits at all, but I respect that they help you out. I'd rather figure out how to mount a tablet than figure out how to replace a car radio, one of those just seems much easier. You can also hands free with most modern stock radios these days, most of them come with bluetooth. Data plan is $10/month or you can tether, but is that relevant, does the head unit come with free data? Or any data at all?

I used to love after market head units when stock radios were crap, I have a heck of a lot of nostalgia installing and using many of them over the years. From a Kraco years ago, to Alpine and Pioneer. But I've grown to love the stock look of a car and hate to mar it with an 80s looking aftermarket radio sticking out like a sore thumb.
Click to expand...

Depending on your car, replacing a unit with a double din (ala these radios) is simple. You just connect a few wires, running Sirius XM / GPS antennas if necessary, and routing any Usb / aux / iPod cables if necessary.
 
E

EndsoftheWorld

macrumors newbie
Apr 15, 2014
2
0
mdelvecchio said:
theyre different products. the top-tier head units are nav-equipped (wifi ipad doesnt have GPS chip) DVD entertainment decks + HD radio that can run a bunch of audio equipment in your car like external subs, external GPS antenna, in-car mic, rear camera, steering-wheel controls, etc. may not be your cup of tea but the top units have been this price for a decade, long before CarPlay existed.

also, mounting an ipad in your car will require either: 1) expensive custom install work to hack apart your dash, or 2) a ghetto mount that holds it up in the air, which looks ridiculous, invites theft, and cant drive exterior audio equipment.
Click to expand...

Ding ding ding. And technical reasons aside, what I find ironic about some Apple users here suggesting ducked-taped solutions over more elegant ones is the fact that Apple themselves are about not only using elegant design, but using the right design / interface for the right situation. (Which is why you didn't see OSX desktop on phones.) iPads and iPhones are for one type of use case, while CarPlay is for a different case entirely - driving - with added safety and convenience issues to keep in mind. Bigger, simpler and less distracting UI than that of typical iOS apps is most certainly a necessity to put everything at a fingertip on a dash, something you often control without taking your eyes off the road (touch screen or not).

My old trusty 2006 aftermarket is due for an upgrade. Originally I got it when iPods were popular and that's all it officially supported, but I found that my iPhone not only charged but played audio straight through the docking cable with nearly any program, so long as music from the iPod application played first upon start. However, it doesn't always support some of the more modern things like controlling music skipping through the dash itself, requiring using the phone, which I won't do on the road unless stopped. And especially with iOS7, I often get the dreaded "Error 01" message when the phone does something the head unit doesn't like. So time to update and I'm glad I waited...interested to see where CarPlay goes. If I can get GPS on it along with Podcast / simple Spotify control (as Apple already advertises it will have), that would be worth it to me, but I'm interested to see if more of the development area opens up in the future.
 
M

Makosuke

macrumors 604
Aug 15, 2001
6,662
1,242
The Cool Part of CA, USA
This is a nice add-on for those of us who buy less-expensive older vehicles, particularly if the audio unit your car came with is cheesy so you want to replace it with something that has better audio output anyway.

That said, I don't know I'd buy one until they put a friggin' volume knob on the thing!

I mean, seriously--I understand the desire to get the most screen real-estate possible out of a small dash unit, but 95% of my interaction with my car's in-dash unit is going to be one of two things: Adjusting the volume or skipping a track. Not looking at the display, not fiddling with the nav, not using some fancy app, not watching TV.

And I don't care how nice your capacitive touchscreen or stylish, edge-mounted buttons are--when I'm driving down the freeway, a volume knob is the easiest, most efficient tool for the job of adjusting the volume. It's not rocket science, it's basic UI.

When I retrofitted my current car with an older Pioneer unit so I could use a junker iPod in lieu of the radio, I specifically went out of my way to buy a "lower end" model off eBay that still had a volume knob on it. Are people really so enamored with giant touchscreens in their dashboard that they would prefer it to an actual volume knob?
 
McGiord

McGiord

macrumors 601
Oct 5, 2003
4,558
290
Dark Castle
Makosuke said:
This is a nice add-on for those of us who buy less-expensive older vehicles, particularly if the audio unit your car came with is cheesy so you want to replace it with something that has better audio output anyway.

That said, I don't know I'd buy one until they put a friggin' volume knob on the thing!

I mean, seriously--I understand the desire to get the most screen real-estate possible out of a small dash unit, but 95% of my interaction with my car's in-dash unit is going to be one of two things: Adjusting the volume or skipping a track. Not looking at the display, not fiddling with the nav, not using some fancy app, not watching TV.

And I don't care how nice your capacitive touchscreen or stylish, edge-mounted buttons are--when I'm driving down the freeway, a volume knob is the easiest, most efficient tool for the job of adjusting the volume. It's not rocket science, it's basic UI.

When I retrofitted my current car with an older Pioneer unit so I could use a junker iPod in lieu of the radio, I specifically went out of my way to buy a "lower end" model off eBay that still had a volume knob on it. Are people really so enamored with giant touchscreens in their dashboard that they would prefer it to an actual volume knob?
Click to expand...
Most new Cars have volume buttons in the steering wheel.
Certainly a simple knob is needed on an after market device like these. Too expensive for me. Maybe a knob to be installed on the steering wheel can be also bought? If you are paying for something as expensive as this, you may afford the extra controls needed...do they offer it?? I have no clue. I know in some old units they did like 15 years ago (CD changers).
 
spinedoc77

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,394
5,257
troy14 said:
Depending on your car, replacing a unit with a double din (ala these radios) is simple. You just connect a few wires, running Sirius XM / GPS antennas if necessary, and routing any Usb / aux / iPod cables if necessary.
Click to expand...

Relatively simple, for us on these forums probably. I'm sure I've installed dozens of head units over the years, and some of them somewhat custom fabrications with fiberglass work and custom features. One of my last projects was a windows xp computer on a double din screen.

But for your average consumer pulling out a head unit, finding the appropriate wiring adapter and putting it back in is rocket science, even though it's not. Consumers can't even figure out how to change their own oil.

----------
EndsoftheWorld said:
Ding ding ding. And technical reasons aside, what I find ironic about some Apple users here suggesting ducked-taped solutions over more elegant ones is the fact that Apple themselves are about not only using elegant design, but using the right design / interface for the right situation. (Which is why you didn't see OSX desktop on phones.) iPads and iPhones are for one type of use case, while CarPlay is for a different case entirely - driving - with added safety and convenience issues to keep in mind. Bigger, simpler and less distracting UI than that of typical iOS apps is most certainly a necessity to put everything at a fingertip on a dash, something you often control without taking your eyes off the road (touch screen or not).

My old trusty 2006 aftermarket is due for an upgrade. Originally I got it when iPods were popular and that's all it officially supported, but I found that my iPhone not only charged but played audio straight through the docking cable with nearly any program, so long as music from the iPod application played first upon start. However, it doesn't always support some of the more modern things like controlling music skipping through the dash itself, requiring using the phone, which I won't do on the road unless stopped. And especially with iOS7, I often get the dreaded "Error 01" message when the phone does something the head unit doesn't like. So time to update and I'm glad I waited...interested to see where CarPlay goes. If I can get GPS on it along with Podcast / simple Spotify control (as Apple already advertises it will have), that would be worth it to me, but I'm interested to see if more of the development area opens up in the future.
Click to expand...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There are some very nice and svelte tablet holders out there, versus having an 80s head unit brick sticking out like a sore thumb.
 
E

eldervovichka

macrumors 6502
Jul 6, 2008
250
61
Queen Creek, AZ
Well, I have been thinking about buying a new car. Pioneer just made it so my car will last a couple more years. I am getting the 8000 model installed in my 2008 Lincoln MKZ. The 8000 model tested well in the showroom. I can't wait until CarPlay is added this summer.

I will let you all know how it works out.

Jeff
 
phoenixsan

phoenixsan

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2012
1,342
2
If any can do it.....

almost must be Pioneer. They have the expertise and resources to tackle a project like this. And Pioneer always had thrived to be in the front edge of radios and in-dash tecnnologies for autos....

Can we get/visualize an escenario where CarPlay would be a feature needed or deal breaker?...


:):apple:
 
A

applehappy

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2007
238
14
I want carplay

Not sure why, but appradio 3 cannot do anything with iTunes radion while the NEX models can put iTunes Radio stations in playlists. I think this might be an indicator that appradio 3 while not be able to do carplay.
The AVH-4000NEX is by far the best deal of the models Pioneer will upgrade to carplay. It's a AVIC-7000NEX without the nav essentially. I'm upgrading to that via $540 on Amazon and will sell my appradio on eBay.
 
Krevnik

Krevnik

macrumors 601
Sep 8, 2003
4,100
1,309
applehappy said:
Not sure why, but appradio 3 cannot do anything with iTunes radion while the NEX models can put iTunes Radio stations in playlists. I think this might be an indicator that appradio 3 while not be able to do carplay.
The AVH-4000NEX is by far the best deal of the models Pioneer will upgrade to carplay. It's a AVIC-7000NEX without the nav essentially. I'm upgrading to that via $540 on Amazon and will sell my appradio on eBay.
Click to expand...

AppRadio 3 isn't on the list, so it probably won't get it (I half expect an AppRadio 4 at the end of the year, personally).

The difference though is more that with the NEX, it uses "iPod Mode" to talk to the phone. AppRadio is using that Car Media Player app, which I don't think has access to those playlists.
 
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