Aftermarket CarPlay Support Faces Technical Hurdles, Uncertain Future

[mfram]

Remember, the pipeline for "new technology" in the auto industry is totally unlike the technology industry. Cars are designed to last 10+ years and "new models" come out about every 6-7 years. In the technology industry, the pipeline is measured in months, not years.

There's no way Apple can introduce "new technology" for cars and have it actually make it to common automobiles in the reasonable time-frame consumers have come to expect from the tech industry.

 

[InfoTime]

Don't expect car manufacturers to retrofit this into their existing models. Even if every customer agreed to pay $4,000 to have a CarPlay system adapted to their one to three year old car it would still suck. The dashboards, buttons and other design elements of the vehicle just wouldn't be right for this.

If they caved and offered it for existing vehicles I think it would generate a lot of ill will for the makers. It'd not be free, too expensive, too many headaches getting it installed and working well.

The user will have a much better experience getting this in a new car that was designed from scratch to work with this system.

Car manufacturers are in business to sell new cars and this helps them sell new cars. If you don't like that concept maybe you should consider moving to North Korea.

 

[liavman]

Currently our [radios] support many of the features found on Apple CarPlay including SIRI control, AV content and even Navigation Apps, so perhaps this interface will have more of an impact with OEM systems that lack that kind of connectivity?

Laughable!

Self-serving gobbledegook.

 

[Lepton]

I'm thinking, wouldn't an iPad Mini make a good aftermarket CarPlay device? You just need some good mechanical mounts and enough dashboard space. That gives you touch screen, microphone, bluetooth connections to the car... you might not even need an iPhone if you get the cellular option on the pad.

 

[itguy06]

Yes- yes they do- but your implementations always SUCK ASS!

Yup. I have yet to see an aftermarket solution without cheesy graphics, hard to use UI, and just generally an afterthought mentality. And very hard to use.

I'll take my OEM solution thanks!

 

[CDew]

No Chance Your Late Model Car Will Get Retrofitted

I really hate to say it, having just purchased a 2014 Ford C-Max last week, but there is *no* chance that the big four automakers will retrofit existing infotainment systems in late model cars to support this.

Although they don't sell a high percentage of vehicles with multi-thousand dollar navigation systems, they put a ton of time and money into developing and testing each release.

There's just no way they will eat those costs, when they would rather you buy a new car that supports it.

That's particularly true for Ford since their QNX-based system is going to consume nearly all available resources. We'll be lucky to see another SYNC update with all the effort the next generation will take.

 

[TimeSquareDesi]

You'd think Apple could just let users enable a CarPlay mode on their phones and iPads to get the car interface. Who needs a new head unit!

But that would be toooooo easy and not generate more money

precisely.... this is why i am using an ipad mini mounted on my dash for music/movies. no navi since it's just a wifi model. i use my iphone + google maps for navi and saved $2,500.

F.U. STEALERSHIPS!

 

[lewisd25]

I just purchased a new 2014 Jeep Chrokee with an 8" Uconnect touchscreen. I would love for Chrysler to announce their support for CarPlay. Uconnect already runs off of QNX, so Carplay support should simply be a firmware upgrade, correct?

 

[LordVic]

First guess? Apple being mum on the API's and SDK's who aren't OEM's. Meaning, it will probably open up in time, but not this year. Next year's not looking too good either.

And I find it BS as an excuse to buy a new car, especially for those who got a new car in the last year or two.

i have a 2012 car that cost around $30,000. sure not exactly luxury, but you're right.

most people with any common sense isn't going to go out and replace a perfectly good new car just because the head unit doesn't have a very superfluous feature.

Something that will be nice if your car came with for sure, but not something worth actually losing time and money over.

 

[IJBrekke]

This is silly...I've been able to plug my ipod and/or iphone in via USB since 2006 with my Pioneer deck. They're not touting new technology, just a new interface.

The next Pioneer AppRadio will support CarPlay, it just makes sense. Give it a few months and it will be available.

 

[LordVic]

precisely.... this is why i am using an ipad mini mounted on my dash for music/movies. no navi since it's just a wifi model. i use my iphone + google maps for navi and saved $2,500.

F.U. STEALERSHIPS!

why not tether your ipad to your phone when in the car and use the mini for maps?

 

[nebo1ss]

Don't expect car manufacturers to retrofit this into their existing models. Even if every customer agreed to pay $4,000 to have a CarPlay system adapted to their one to three year old car it would still suck. The dashboards, buttons and other design elements of the vehicle just wouldn't be right for this.

If they caved and offered it for existing vehicles I think it would generate a lot of ill will for the makers. It'd not be free, too expensive, too many headaches getting it installed and working well.

The user will have a much better experience getting this in a new car that was designed from scratch to work with this system.

Car manufacturers are in business to sell new cars and this helps them sell new cars. If you don't like that concept maybe you should consider moving to North Korea.

Not sure i agree with this. I have a 2013 BMW my phone is already integrated to some extent through IDrive with Music, handfree calling, Telephone directory voice selection of contacts working. I do not have Siri, SMS Messages and Maps integrated. However, BMW offers a user software update through a USB stick. Unless carplay has a hardware specific piece that is required I can see a software update providing what is missing. The only thing that i am interested in that is missing would really be Maps. Do not use SIRI today and have no need to text when driving.

 

[noisycats]

Okay, this idea hit me last night...

To extend Apple into the older car or aftermarket stereo arena, they need a tiny AirPlay fob that plugs into the aux port found in almost any car or aftermarket car stereo made in the 5-10 years.

These cars/stereos are already wired for aux input, the port is industry standard. The fob would need a controlling chip and wifi chip and little else.

Sure, no CarPlay features, but a way to elegantly AirPlay from your iOS device into your older car would be awesome. And at 40 bucks, the margins would be into the 100s of percent.

Someone do this.

 

[LordVic]

Okay, this idea hit me last night...

To extend Apple into the older car or aftermarket stereo arena, they need a tiny AirPlay fob that plugs into the aux port found in almost any car or aftermarket car stereo made in the 5-10 years.

These cars/stereos are already wired for aux input, the port is industry standard. The fob would need a controlling chip and wifi chip and little else.

Sure, no CarPlay features, but a way to elegantly AirPlay from your iOS device into your older car would be awesome. And at 40 bucks, the margins would be into the 100s of percent.

Someone do this.

Not necessary.

there are hundreds/thousands of aftermarket headunits that can easily be retrofitted into late model cars that have full i-device compatibility. (I had one in my old car as early as 2006).

Not to mention prior to that, Many OEM headunits did have the ability to use a 3rd party module like you talked about to include remote capabilities for i-devices. I installed one into my own 2003 Sunfire (and it was quite honestly the only good thing about that car) and my 1992 cavalier before that

 

[Heltik]

For me the compelling sales point of CarPlay is that it effectively extends the iPhone into the car, thereby meaning one doesn't need to share one's internet connexion to another device. Given the cost for creating a personal hotspot, and given that even a 2 year old car probably has another 3-5 years' use from its existing owner (or recent secondhand owner) this is a big saving, which would warrant the investment in an aftermarket solution compatible with CarPlay - especially given many of the automakers solutions don't provide free map updates.

 

[hauntvictim]

I love you Apple but this irritates me. Hopefully car manufacturers and Apple can work together to implement older vehicles. Not everyone can upgrade to a new car.

 

[paradox00]

You'd think Apple could just let users enable a CarPlay mode on their phones and iPads to get the car interface. Who needs a new head unit!

But that would be toooooo easy and not generate more money

It would also be an inferior experience. The whole point is to integrate with the head unit that controls the rest of the cars features, instead of requiring you to use your phone for anything iPhone related and the head unit for anything else.

Developers are free to build "car modes" into their apps btw. No need to wait on Apple.

 

[jettredmont]

Don't expect car manufacturers to retrofit this into their existing models. Even if every customer agreed to pay $4,000 to have a CarPlay system adapted to their one to three year old car it would still suck. The dashboards, buttons and other design elements of the vehicle just wouldn't be right for this.

From the looks of the original models, we are talking about a double-DIN head unit in a conventional car, with steering wheel or other secondary controls for the common functions. This doesn't seem like a system it would be hard to build an aftermarket stereo to mimic (the steering wheel controls are hard, but you just use whatever controls are there already; the other secondary controls just need to be installed and wired up).

If they caved and offered it for existing vehicles I think it would generate a lot of ill will for the makers. It'd not be free, too expensive, too many headaches getting it installed and working well.

I doubt anyone would be upset that they would have to pay money to get a new stereo head unit, with large touchscreen display, etc.

The user will have a much better experience getting this in a new car that was designed from scratch to work with this system.

Um, no, probably not. OEM car stereos, across the board, suck compared to what can be gotten aftermarket. Yes, a new car might work better for someone than an old one, but just from the stereo system perspective, likely not.

Car manufacturers are in business to sell new cars and this helps them sell new cars.

Yes, exactly. That is why all the car manufacturers are claiming aftermarket devices will never work; their interest lies in getting you to buy a new car, not make the old one "habitable" by upgrading the stereo head unit.

Note that car manufacturers officially profess that after-market stereos don't work in their vehicles. That doesn't mean it is true. They just want you to see a modern stereo system as something you get when you buy a new vehicle.

If you don't like that concept maybe you should consider moving to North Korea.

And you get the Overreaction of the Thread award! Congratulations!

 

[unplugme71]

Alpine and Pioneer - I'll use these two as they are common manufacturers of aftermarket and OEM units.

To me, the auto manufacturer prevents them from making their aftermarket units 'better'. By this I mean, speed and usability. Why does it take 20-30 seconds for my backup camera to appear on screen when in my car with OEM navi it pops up right away? Both are made by the same company!

Aftermarket units need faster processors, they need SSD/flash drives, they need better image resolution, they need better user interfaces that flow more natural like OEM's.

I've paid $1499 for an Alpine in-dash unit. That's a lot of money for a navi unit considering most car manufacturers offer an indash unit for $1500-$2000 with improved audio speakers/amp combined.

To me, Alpine, Pioneer, Kenwood, etc need to wake up. There's lots of potential for money to be made. Even if its not integrating CarPlay for 2014 since their models have already been announced and I doubt they'll make it by 2015 either as most of these units are probably long in the works already and possibly going to manufacturing prototypes and testing in the next 6 months.

 

[mdelvecchio]

More CarPlay news! It appears that Apple's decision procedure has serious problems. Many things are toooooo slow. Maybe that is the common problem for Huge companies in general...

what in the world are you talking about? if they dont do CP as an API for third-party hear units right now, it's due to exclusive deals w/ Ferrari/Volvo, not because apple is too slow to decide.

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"Furthermore, Caswell suggested it’s possible that CarPlay will never come as an aftermarket solition, since as an OEM option, it’s an atractive way to sell someone a new car."

...good thing neither Apple nor Pioneer/Kenwood sell new cars.

trust me, if/when this drops, these guys will be all over it.

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You'd think Apple could just let users enable a CarPlay mode on their phones and iPads to get the car interface. Who needs a new head unit!

But that would be toooooo easy and not generate more money

actually, thats exactly what apple did -- please see your iOS 7.1 settings. you can enable it.

this is purely up the aftermarket manufacturers to get onto. currently they have a lot invested in their s*** solutions, like Pioneer's AppRadio bs. they dont want to abandon that yet. but they will.

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What I'm reading is that carmakers are agreeing to put this into their new vehicles as long as Apple doesn't license the thing to the Pioneers and Kenwoods of the world; effectively forcing anyone who wants this to buy a new car, or an aftermarket version of CarPlay from an auto manufacturer.

this is most likely. just like AT&T did w/ the iphone. how long the exclusivity clause is, nobody knows.

 

[AppleP59]

Slow to adopt new technology

Everything relating to vehicle audio is so slow to adopt new technology.
Why can my iPhone do everything play - music, navigate, make phone calls, surf the internet etc etc when I need to buy a separate device to do each single action, generally with little or poor links between each other.

 

[mdelvecchio]

"Currently our [radios] support many of the features found on Apple CarPlay including SIRI control, AV content and even Navigation Apps,"

this is why Kenwood/Pioneer arent jumping at it -- their product teams have spent years building alternatives that are now obsolete. they arent pressuring for access because they havent come to terms w/ their offerings being undesireable junk (which they are).

 

[phillipduran]

Can someone please explain to me what specific "Technical Hurdles" they might have to overcome? Shouldn't it be as easy as installing a new touch screen radio will a cord that you can plug your iPhone into? It doesn't seem that difficult to me.

There aren't any. They can sell a head unit and all supporting connections, remote controls and mic's. You can then drop that into anything with a car battery and some speakers and it should work.

What may vary, is your experience, and that might be what they are trying to control. Some features may not work the way they want them to unless they have mics, speakers and other parts calibrated the way they want them to be.

 

[mdelvecchio]

I wouldn't be interested in an aftermarket product. The system needs to be integrated by the oem, lots of sensors, microphones, cameras?, etc installed throughout the car, it needs to be connected to the car's computer, it needs to have a clean ui, thought up by a small thinktank, and consistent among all oems for the sake of app development, user experience, and regulation.

you have a misunderstanding as to what CarPlay is -- it does not require sensors and cameras. it's entirely driven by the iOS version on your phone, but gets input from the head unit in the form of microphone input (already supported by head units today w/ Siri Eyes-free mode), and touch. Pioneer's AppRadio does touch interaction w/ iOS currently, but in a jury-rigged way. once apple licenses it there is nothing special about CarPlay in an aftermarket head unit

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I can already play my iPhone in my car...Ford SYNC

anybody can play music off their iphone in their car today. not what CarPlay is.

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That isn't a Technical Hurdle though. Carplay is apparently built on Blackberry software

no, CarPlay is a set of functionality offered by and residing on iOS. QNX is being used as a client OS on the publicized head units, but the functionality is being driven by iOS.

there really should be no reason Pioneer can't make a radio with this function. I see how they can have technical problems adding carplay to an existing radio but as for an after market radio, it should be no problem.

agreed.

You should be able to walk into best buy, buy a new car radio, have them install it, and have all the functionality as these other car manufacturers(minus maybe a siri button).

youll get that too -- Pioneer's AppRadio already has a Siri home button that interfaces w/ apple's Siri Eyes-free mode.

 

[noisycats]

Not necessary.

there are hundreds/thousands of aftermarket headunits that can easily be retrofitted into late model cars that have full i-device compatibility. (I had one in my old car as early as 2006).

Not to mention prior to that, Many OEM headunits did have the ability to use a 3rd party module like you talked about to include remote capabilities for i-devices. I installed one into my own 2003 Sunfire (and it was quite honestly the only good thing about that car) and my 1992 cavalier before that

Ok, help me out then. I have an iPhone and a car with an aux port. Tell me how to play my music through the car stereo without wires and/or a $100+ modulator? Bonus if my wife or other passengers can tap in also.