Alpine Planning to Release Aftermarket CarPlay Console This Fall

[Crzyrio]

Or just buy a mount for your iPhone and call it done.

Its not the same, the phone is not optimized for use that far away from your eyes where as CarPlay would be.

 

[Santabean2000]

Its not the same, the phone is not optimized for use that far away from your eyes where as CarPlay would be.

My eyes are on the road, not electro-whiz-screens. Maps have turn by turn nav, Bluetooth some music. Can't say that one 'needs' much more.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I haven't paid attention to aftermarket car stereos since I was in high school and college in the 90's.

Is this something that will even be feasible today? Almost all recent cars have elaborate built-in radios and other electronic systems. And it's been like that for quite a few years.

You'll need a car that is capable of accepting an aftermarket car stereo with a large screen... and be willing to part with $1000+

Obviously the folks at Alpine have though of this... I'm just curious how it will work out.

 

[CFreymarc]

This is going to be a such a home run, a cottage industry will start selling this on eBay an other auction site for as much as 10x the retail cost. Gray markets in eastern Europe and parts of Asia are going to hoard this as much as the iPhone if not more. It'll make a big car culture status symbol when this ships.

Having worked on several automotive system designs, I have learned the hard way the "sleaze" that is most automotive retail sales goes up the management chain of these companies. I have seen user experience requests muffled in margin arguments, attorney reviews, union assembly fee analysis and (why I left) intentional reduction of features creating a significant dealer or aftermarket mark up.

Apple coming into automotive is like a white clad paladin throwing their holy symbol turning away the undead running most automotive middle and junior executive management.

Yes, I have been teaching my children how to play D&D for a last few months. They are having a blast killing off orc's after watching LOTR movies.

----------

I haven't paid attention to aftermarket car stereos since I was in high school and college in the 90's.

Is this something that will even be feasible today? Almost all recent cars have elaborate built-in radios and other electronic systems. And it's been like that for quite a few years.

You'll need a car that is capable of accepting an aftermarket car stereo with a large screen... and be willing to part with $1000+

Obviously the folks at Alpine have though of this... I'm just curious how it will work out.

This is one thing that has driven me crazy for the last few years. For some reason, almost half of new models (Ford and Range Rover are the worst) have totally redesigned their dashboards where placing in an aftermarket stereo is nearly impossible. Why??

 

[Lapidus]

My new Nissan Qashqai has an "App Store" in it's main unit. Maybe they release an app with Car Play.. *hopeful thinking*

 

[Robert.Walter]

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.



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.

Have to agree all's not perfect with TomTom.

Was very pissed to find Western Europe ended at Vienna. To have TT in Budapest, I had to buy Eastern Europe or full Europe. Pissed because I thought there should have been a path to upgrade from W E to full E for a nominal price. Nope. (Actually, the App Store is generally stupid like hat. Why, after buying the paid premium version of a free app am I not given he option of completely deleting the free app from my library, instead of just deinstalling from my device?

I think the AM graphics have prob now surpassed TT. And the use interface as well. Some of the menus in TT are not really clear, so I can understand your mom's frustration.

 

[Lestat14s]

Car Play

I was made aware yesterday that in the UK there is a draft white paper coming for legislation to ban any such hands free systems on the move. They could only be used whilst a vehicle is stationary with the engine off. UK legislators may nod it through without any thought. However technology is far ahead and the EU supports WiFi enabled cars it appears. The UK wording would also appear to prohibit systems that send out an emergency 999 call if the car is in a high speed accident. Where systems are automatic and come with the car without being able to be switched off the driver could still be prosecuted under the draft wording. It would be really good if Apple could use their skills and money to persuade UK government at senior level to rethink the wording because technology is outstripping the legislation before it is written and these systems will make cars safer not less safe. A smart phone running a sat nav app will be banned by the wording amongst other things and it may be impossible to use it as a media player in the hi fi system as well. You may only be allowed to plug an IPod in because it's not also a smart phone.

 

[olowott]

will wait for the next CarPlay console 2

 

[cdmoore74]

Its not the same, the phone is not optimized for use that far away from your eyes where as CarPlay would be.

That's why I use a Note 3 and cheap bluetooth head units. Once Apple releases a larger iPhone interest in this goofy idea will die quickly. I own 2 cars, a truck, a motorcycle and I built a custom mount for all 4.
Other than music, gps and hands free calling what else do you really need while driving? What else are you suppose to do while driving a vehicle?

----------

I was made aware yesterday that in the UK there is a draft white paper coming for legislation to ban any such hands free systems on the move. They could only be used whilst a vehicle is stationary with the engine off. UK legislators may nod it through without any thought. However technology is far ahead and the EU supports WiFi enabled cars it appears. The UK wording would also appear to prohibit systems that send out an emergency 999 call if the car is in a high speed accident. Where systems are automatic and come with the car without being able to be switched off the driver could still be prosecuted under the draft wording. It would be really good if Apple could use their skills and money to persuade UK government at senior level to rethink the wording because technology is outstripping the legislation before it is written and these systems will make cars safer not less safe. A smart phone running a sat nav app will be banned by the wording amongst other things and it may be impossible to use it as a media player in the hi fi system as well. You may only be allowed to plug an IPod in because it's not also a smart phone.

Maybe they got tired of people driving off cliffs while paying all their attention to car tech. While I find it convenient to put tech in our vehicles many people can't handle it especially while driving. The moment someone turns their attention to a screen you're just asking for trouble.

 

[Four oF NINE]

So I'm not clear on this. If I have a Chevrolet Avalanche with factory xm-fm-am radio with navigation, would this system integrate with that or would the head with screen be pulled out and this unit substituted?

Or,

Is this something that would be mounted externally somehow? I hate external mounts for anything and would wait until I get a new vehicle if that's the case.

 

[jlc1978]

This is one thing that has driven me crazy for the last few years. For some reason, almost half of new models (Ford and Range Rover are the worst) have totally redesigned their dashboards where placing in an aftermarket stereo is nearly impossible. Why??

I would guess it is since stereos are not basically part of the included features interior designers design the dash and the radio is made to fit; when they were an option it probably was easier and cheaper to do a standard size and source radios to that since it would be hdd to gauge model specific demand. If each radio only matched one model the manufacturer risked either having too many or even worse too few and losing sales since ether could produce cars but didn't have enough radios.

Even worse than the dash design is the proliferation of vehicle specific busses so that an aftermarket radio would need to be designed for a specific make and possibly year; or you have to run wires all over the place to get one to work.

 

[Chazz08]

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)

Apple already partners with tom tom, so it could be more possible than you think.

 

[bearda]

I get the impression that anyone complaining about the estimated price has never looked as the MSRP for aftermarket stereos. The retail on Alpines cheapest double-DIN unit is already over $500. From the description this isn't just a CarPlay receiver, this is a normal aftermarket double DIN stereo that can use CarPlay. Why would it cost less than any other stereo on the market? A good DVD receiver can easily go for $1000-1500. Anyone expecting it to go for the price of an iPhone dock is deluding themselves.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

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.

I don't believe this is true… unless you mean downloaded and cached every time. It reads like you think the frequency of times you need a map leads to it being downloaded and stored in an iDevice so that it is available whether one has a signal or not. Best I know, that's not true at all. It always needs a signal to download a map if it is not already on board. But I do wish it worked as you say (or implied or I misunderstood you implying).

To the OP, if the map is already in iDevice memory and you drive into a zone with no towers, you're probably OK as long as you stay on the course. For instance, you can't be in a no-signal zone and decide you want to go see something else (and hope maps will re-route for you). I've found it's very good about preloading from "here" to "there" and retaining that map without a signal- just don't stray off that course or decide to overly zoom the map for more details.

I wish there was an option to ask the app to download the detailed maps between "here" and "there" or maybe "within 200 miles of this location" or similar. However, I suspect Maps- like many other apps- has a hidden motivation to burn data to keep the cell phone partners happy: burn data, get us to higher tiers, cell phone partners make more money. Lots of recent iDevice software "innovations" are data hungry hogs like that.

All that said, there are other map apps in the app store that do allow you to download your maps to the iDevice so they are on board and don't need a signal. MotionX GPS drive is one of them. So if you anticipate that issue, you might want to try an app like that one.

 

[bearda]

I haven't paid attention to aftermarket car stereos since I was in high school and college in the 90's.

Is this something that will even be feasible today? Almost all recent cars have elaborate built-in radios and other electronic systems. And it's been like that for quite a few years.

You'll need a car that is capable of accepting an aftermarket car stereo with a large screen... and be willing to part with $1000+

Obviously the folks at Alpine have though of this... I'm just curious how it will work out.

Depends on the car. None of the Mazdas I've worked on (including recent models) haven't been a problem, but I can imagine that the touchscreen in my wife's Chevy Sonic would be problematic since the menu system on the stereo also controls a bunch of the lighting and alarm settings.

 

[BornAgainApple]

I'll wait until a product has a "Made for CarPlay" certification. Being so deeply integrated into a vehicle's existing electronics, I'm not going to risk a malfunction affecting the safety of a moving vehicle unless it's certified.

 

[bpcookson]

- 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.)

Have you seen this guide yet?
http://www.overthought.org/blog/2014/the-ultimate-guide-to-solving-ios-battery-drain

Hope it helps!

 

[W1LLk]

Audi

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.

I agree. When I didn't see Audi on the list I was a little bummed out. The funniest thing about Audi MMI is the way she says, "miles".

they actually confirmed a while ago that they are working on it.

I would LOVE to see where you saw this. As far as I know they have never been on the CarPlay lists and Audi seems to be currently invested in Google Earth integration with their MMI system.

 

[nostresshere]

Okay, some people will spend $500-$1000 for a fancy music player.

I just do not get it. Why?

My iphone does all this stuff now. Not as elegant, but....

I just don't get it.

 

[apolloa]

This is one thing that has driven me crazy for the last few years. For some reason, almost half of new models (Ford and Range Rover are the worst) have totally redesigned their dashboards where placing in an aftermarket stereo is nearly impossible. Why??

Mainly theft, car stereos were being stolen so much, the manufacturers designed their own. And now hardly any are stolen because they only fit in one make and model of car.
As a by product car systems and coms have come along so much that they are fully integrated with the car stereos. For instance you use some sort of interface device and the stereos screen to change suspension etc.

 

[lzyprson]

This is great news...

 

[akatsuki]

I was all set to install an iPad mini into my dash, but this changes everything. Instakop when available.

 

[Southern Dad]

Pioneer has been doing this for years with the Pioneer AppRadio.

 

[subterFUSE]

Mainly theft, car stereos were being stolen so much, the manufacturers designed their own. And now hardly any are stolen because they only fit in one make and model of car.
As a by product car systems and coms have come along so much that they are fully integrated with the car stereos. For instance you use some sort of interface device and the stereos screen to change suspension etc.

Theft might be one reason. I think the better reason is what you said about cars becoming so integrated. For example: The MMI in my Audis allows control of transmission, suspension, seat positions and massage, climate control, bluetooth phone, stereo, navigation, etc...

In older cars, the stereo was just the stereo. Now it's all linked up into a user interface that affects many systems in the car.

Another reason is possibly because the car companies want to force consumers to pay for their expensive audio system upgrades. They probably saw the aftermarket audio business taking some of the market share for their higher-end audio offerings, and found that integrating their OEM gear into the other systems prevents customers from wanting to upgrade with aftermarket. A typical Audi owner might not want to do an aftermarket install, but they might pay the $6500 for the Bang & Olufsen upgrade.

That said, the aftermarket audio industry has evolved along with the changing OEM audio options available. I personally just installed a full audio system in my 2013 Audi S6. We kept the MMI system intact, and used a processor to tap into the audio signal. Then we feed that processor into the amplifier and on to the speakers. The MMI works just as it did from the factory, but the rest of the audio system has been upgraded.

 

[0388279]

Will the Playlist Display on the CarPlay Radio Connected by Bluetooth

I have looked at a number of new vehicle and after market radios that offer Bluetooth streaming of music from the iPhone. In each implementation, none of the radios will show the iTunes playlist--only the metadata for the current song. To get the playlist, the iPhone must be hard connected to the car radio.

Will a CarPlay product resolve this issue? Or, is the lack of a playlist when connected wirelessly just a limitation of BlueTooth.

Maybe Apple is bypassing this issue by not connecting to the CarPlay radio via Bluetooth but instead using AirPlay.

Don Barar