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Dozens of Former Apple Employees Team Up to Launch ‘RearVision' Vehicle Camera

Is this really for older cars or is it a play at creating a demonstration product now so that Apple either buys them back up or creates a relationship when Apple's car team needs parts suppliers? When Apple needs a backup camera that works with CarPlay, here's a company with something that could be easily modified to work and knows their business model.
 
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People willing to spend that sort of money are more likely to have a newer car I'd guess. Certainly in the UK most new cars that are not at the bottom of the range come with rear cameras now. Certainly both of my 'average family cars' do.

I can't see this selling if it was half the price.
 
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Yikes. No thank you. Bless my Golf 7 with its parking sensors.

wemclaughlins said:
Yeah not for $500.

Besides, I learned to drive--and parallel park--without a rear view camera and have done just fine for 20 years. They talk about distracted drivers these days- every time I drive by a brand new car going down the highway at night with a giant fully illuminated touch screen shining bright in the car cabin I can't help but think we've missed the point. I go nuts when my kids need the cabin dome lights on for 30 seconds to find a dropped Cheerio when I'm driving at night because of the distraction.
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Totally agree. Don't have kids, but then I have my wife. :)
 
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LOL, just search Amazon for "rear camera license plate frame", you can get these for less than $20. Adding "iOS app" to the search shows models for $125. This is just a rip-off similar to the Automatic branded OBD dongle which you can get from countless companies for under $10.
 
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gonzoguy24 said:
What will keep people from stealing these?
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Lack of knowing what it is, I assume, is what will keep them from being stolen.

I feel like the market for this product is ridiculously small.

Backup cameras first started being put onto production cars in Japan in 1991. By 2000, some US cars had them. By 2012, over half of all new cars had them.

So the first assumption for the market for this car is that their car is either pretty old, or has less than average technology for its model year.

The second assumption is that they want this technology and have $500 and a smartphone.

I feel like the first and second assumptions cancel each other out though - if you wanted it, you had the spare money, and you buy tech savvy products, why didn't you get a car with a backing camera?

I kind of meet both assumptions, but my 2004 car would have been replaced a few months ago if it weren't for the fact that I'm waiting for the Model 3. I'm not going to buy something like this that's only useful for the next year or so though - that's silly. My car is going to the junkyard when I'm through with it - this camera will be worth more than it is.
 
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clayj said:
Interesting, but this will be (1) easily stolen and (2) illegal in NC and other states where you cannot have ANYTHING obscuring the license plate.
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Ha-ha-ha-ha
As it is the driving season in the USA, I dare you to could the number of vehicles driving around with all sorts of stuff attached to the rear of the car/pickup/suv.
Bikes, coolers, BBQ's and even Kitchen sinks all obscuring the number places.
 
I'm pretty sure that rear view cameras have to be standard in cars sold in the US. Is this is a few years too late?
 
What's the 10 year plan of this company? They can't just rely on outfitting old car models for revenue. Aren't backup cameras becoming standard across the board? I recall Honda announcing that backup cameras will be a basic feature in all their cars.
 
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In Texas it's illegal to obscure the name of the state on license plates (which makes sense). I would like this much better if the frame didn't obscure any of the information on the license plate.
 
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MistrSynistr said:
Anyone that would have $500 to spend on this device for their plate already has a new model car with a rear view camera pre-installed. This price point is bizarre.
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I have $500 to spend on something like this because I don't want to spend $35,000 on a new car with this built in.
 
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I'm thinking this is a short term business/product given that many cars already have this and going forward, I assume many more would. And how does the price of this 'add on' compare to an OEM installation?
 
acegreen said:
Except for that little dongle you have to plug into the car, this looks great. Solves a real problem. Would have been also nice if it attached the license plate without a screw, maybe just a clip on multiple sides.
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It's a great idea, except, like you say, the ODB dongle means me and a lot of other people won't use it, my ODB port is plugged into my stereo unit to give it access to car info, not unplugging that for a camera that could do the same thing by being tied into reversing light power - it's overly complicated.

Not to mention almost every new car comes with a reversing camera these days. And why or when is power ever an issue, they're all tied into reversing lights and only come on when needed anyway.
 
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This needs to work with car play. without having to open an app when I want to go in reverse
 
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