CES 2026: Pioneer Announces First Aftermarket CarPlay Unit With Spatial Audio

[svish]

$1300 is quite high. Good to see this and might be a good addition for older car models. Screen could have been bigger and it could have had smaller bezels.

 

[bgillander]

I remember our Toyota 4Runner offering "Stereo AM" back in 1992, and it sounded amazing! Was just some fancy simulation, as AM is/was broadcast in mono audio only.

Actually, I had a Stereo AM receiver in the late 1980s, so that was very likely true Stereo AM... which was so well marketed that even owners that had it didn't realize they did! And, yes, it actually sounded surprisingly good.

Not only was there Stereo AM, but there were multiple competing versions (4, I thought, but Wikipedia lists 5) requiring different encoders/decoders which fragmented the market (though chipsets were eventually developed to decode multiple formats), but much like Quadraphonic sound in the 1970s, that fragmented scenario never helps acceptance, and I doubt broadcast stations liked having to choose which version to bet on when picking which transmission technology to buy. Fortunately, the electronics industry learned their lesson by the time Blu-ray/HD-DVD came around! 🙄

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AM_stereo

 

[bviktor]

Of course, it is becoming impossible to install anything like this in many cars, from 2020s onward, it is really difficult or impossible as most car manufacturers integrate other car computing with audio head units.

(Not that I really care about this feature specifically - but I am a bit sad that this is how car manufacturers force us all to use their own platforms and software instead of things like CarPlay / Android Auto.)

That's why you only buy a car if it supports CarPlay.

 

[zarmanto]

Not only was there Stereo AM, but there were multiple competing versions ... Fortunately, the electronics industry learned their lesson by the time Blu-ray/HD-DVD came around! 🙄

Obligatory XKCD Comic.

(Applicability: Corporations don't learn because there is money on the line, so they hire innovative idealists to come up with Great Ideas (TM)... and idealists don't learn because they are idealists.)

 

[bgillander]

(Applicability: Corporations don't learn because there is money on the line, so they hire innovative idealists to come up with Great Ideas (TM)... and idealists don't learn because they are idealists.)

Yes, but you would think that the non-idealists in charge of the corporations would eventually figure out that 1/15 of a successful patent is worth more than 100% of a failed patent. 😉

 

[zarmanto]

Yes, but you would think that the non-idealists in charge of the corporations would eventually figure out that 1/15 of a successful patent is worth more than 100% of a failed patent. 😉

The love of money has a bad habit of making people quite blind to the facts of the matter, frequently until it is too late to change course.

 

[BGPL]

I wouldn't expect much from Pioneer tbh, I have one of their CarPlay head units in an old beater. I also wouldn't expect much from a Spatial Audio system running on two pairs of factory speakers. It's like thinking you're getting Atmos sound from a soundbar when you don't have rear, surround or height speakers... I especially love the laptops with Atmos.

 

[shamino]

I wouldn't expect much from Pioneer tbh, I have one of their CarPlay head units in an old beater. I also wouldn't expect much from a Spatial Audio system running on two pairs of factory speakers. It's like thinking you're getting Atmos sound from a soundbar when you don't have rear, surround or height speakers... I especially love the laptops with Atmos.

Most cars have 4 audio channels, connected by (at least) four pairs of speaker wires (this is why your balance and fader controls work). The only reason surround isn't found in cars is because (as far as I know) nobody has shipped a head unit capable of outputting surround audio, whether synthesized from 2-channel audio (e.g. Dolby Surround) or from a 4-channel source like a DVD.

Yeah, Atmos is going to just be a marketing buzzword if you don't install extra height speakers, but even basic 4.0-surround would be a huge step up from what cars have today.

 

[zarmanto]

... The only reason surround isn't found in cars is because (as far as I know) nobody has shipped a head unit capable of outputting surround audio ...

I mean... true, but I feel like the follow-up questions have to be: why would anyone actually want surround sound in their car in the first place? And how much content could possibly take advantage of it? Outside of the not-quite-here-yet future when the driver can take his eyes off of the road, sit back and relax to watch a movie during their commute, I doubt that there is much of a meaningful target audience.

 

[shamino]

I mean... true, but I feel like the follow-up questions have to be: why would anyone actually want surround sound in their car in the first place? And how much content could possibly take advantage of it? Outside of the not-quite-here-yet future when the driver can take his eyes off of the road, sit back and relax to watch a movie during their commute, I doubt that there is much of a meaningful target audience.

When I was actively looking for this (late 80's early 90's), Dolby Surround was a new thing and many musicians were publishing surround mixes of their music. And many old quadraphonic recordings from the 60's and 70's were briefly reissued as surround mixes.

Also, HD audio formats like DVD-A and SACD have support for discrete-channel surround mixes. Today, these have pretty much gone away due to lack of interest, but that wasn't the case 20 years ago.

I enjoy these formats when I listen to them on my home theater stereo system. It would be nice to be able to hear them in the car as well.

 

[venom600]

I mean... true, but I feel like the follow-up questions have to be: why would anyone actually want surround sound in their car in the first place? And how much content could possibly take advantage of it? Outside of the not-quite-here-yet future when the driver can take his eyes off of the road, sit back and relax to watch a movie during their commute, I doubt that there is much of a meaningful target audience.

Dolby Atmos tracks are common now for the first time on several music services. Yes, most of them are poorly produced and sound like crap. But it isn't going away. You're sitting in a car with speakers throughout and likely a sub. Most people's best sound system is their car. Why wouldn't you want to leverage that?

 

[zarmanto]

... You're sitting in a car with speakers throughout and likely a sub. Most people's best sound system is their car. Why wouldn't you want to leverage that?

I'm skeptical of the validity of your assertion. I would posit that most people almost certainly do not upgrade their car's audio system on their own, so they're actually just stock -- that is to say, whatever the car manufacturer installed by default. Likewise, most people likely drive either a sensible commuter or a family car of some sort*... neither of which typically come stock with a sub and high-end speakers. In fact, if we just look at the world's best selling single model as our perhaps-slightly-better-than-anecdotal example, the Toyota Corolla: you'll find that premium audio (with a subwoofer) is part of a $1,200+ optional upgrade.

No; I expect most people choose to spend that money in their living room, rather than on upgrading their car. Four-plus channel audio tracks in the various formats that have been tried over the years might be an interesting discussion topic and all, but I would suggest that the amount of four-plus channel content available in movies and TV positively dwarfs the amount of standalone content in all of those other audio formats, combined.

You upgrade your speakers where you know you're going to use that upgrade.

* If you look too closely at the US market, you'll find that pickup trucks also constitute a ridiculously high percentage of vehicles... but I suspect adding those into this conversation would actually swing harder away from "premium" audio, so I'll just leave that as a footnote.

 

[wonderings]

I'm skeptical of the validity of your assertion. I would posit that most people almost certainly do not upgrade their car's audio system on their own, so they're actually just stock -- that is to say, whatever the car manufacturer installed by default. Likewise, most people likely drive either a sensible commuter or a family car of some sort*... neither of which typically come stock with a sub and high-end speakers. In fact, if we just look at the world's best selling single model as our perhaps-slightly-better-than-anecdotal example, the Toyota Corolla: you'll find that premium audio (with a subwoofer) is part of a $1,200+ optional upgrade.

No; I expect most people choose to spend that money in their living room, rather than on upgrading their car. Four-plus channel audio tracks in the various formats that have been tried over the years might be an interesting discussion topic and all, but I would suggest that the amount of four-plus channel content available in movies and TV positively dwarfs the amount of standalone content in all of those other audio formats, combined.

You upgrade your speakers where you know you're going to use that upgrade.

* If you look too closely at the US market, you'll find that pickup trucks also constitute a ridiculously high percentage of vehicles... but I suspect adding those into this conversation would actually swing harder away from "premium" audio, so I'll just leave that as a footnote.

I completely agree. Car audio sounds fine for the vast majority of people, and in new vehicles they only get better. There are audiophiles who will want to upgrade of course and there is a market for it, just not something the masses want or even care.

I have been fortunate to have new/newer vehicles and the sound in them is great. Currently have a Tesla Y and again the sound is fantastic. That being said if I am doing serious music listening I will do it at home where it is quiet, no road/wind noise as well as distractions.

 

[venom600]

I'm skeptical of the validity of your assertion. I would posit that most people almost certainly do not upgrade their car's audio system on their own, so they're actually just stock -- that is to say, whatever the car manufacturer installed by default. Likewise, most people likely drive either a sensible commuter or a family car of some sort*... neither of which typically come stock with a sub and high-end speakers. In fact, if we just look at the world's best selling single model as our perhaps-slightly-better-than-anecdotal example, the Toyota Corolla: you'll find that premium audio (with a subwoofer) is part of a $1,200+ optional upgrade.

No; I expect most people choose to spend that money in their living room, rather than on upgrading their car. Four-plus channel audio tracks in the various formats that have been tried over the years might be an interesting discussion topic and all, but I would suggest that the amount of four-plus channel content available in movies and TV positively dwarfs the amount of standalone content in all of those other audio formats, combined.

You upgrade your speakers where you know you're going to use that upgrade.

* If you look too closely at the US market, you'll find that pickup trucks also constitute a ridiculously high percentage of vehicles... but I suspect adding those into this conversation would actually swing harder away from "premium" audio, so I'll just leave that as a footnote.

Fair. I didn’t do a good job of explaining my premise. No one upgrades car audio anymore because it’s good enough for most people. What I was trying to get at was that Dolby Atmos and other Spatial Audio in cars isn’t something that should be written off. I imagine you’ll see a lot of factory car audio coming with Dolby Atmos logos soon and given the controlled environment with lots of speakers it could work really well.