Aftermarket receivers compatible with Apple's CarPlay unlikely to arrive in 2014
iPhone owners searching for a way to make use of Apple's new CarPlay infotainment offering without replacing their current vehicle may be in for a long wait, as the system doesn't appear to be headed into aftermarket car stereos anytime soon.
CarPlay -- which will initially be available in new vehicles from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo -- seems to have resonated with consumers, who have clamored for aftermarket options since its unveiling earlier this month. Those calls will likely go unheeded, however, as representatives from two top-selling brands shot down reports that aftermarket CarPlay support was on the way.
Kenwood marketing manager Scott Caswell told AppleInsider that "Apple CarPlay won't be in any of our 2014 product," before noting that many current devices already offer a subset of CarPlay features like Siri support and A/V playback. Caswell suggested that Apple may be reserving CarPlay as an OEM option for automakers, a market segmentation strategy that could make some sense.
Such a strategy might allow marques such as Ford to tout CarPlay's deeper integration as an incentive to buy or lease a new vehicle, for instance, versus purchasing an aftermarket stereo system to upgrade an older model.
Meanwhile, Pioneer appeared to distance itself from recent rumors that it was working on CarPlay support following a statement from a customer service representative.
"The story was not an official statement by Pioneer and was taken out of context," Pioneer corporate communications executive Jaed Arzadon said via e-mail. Arzadon declined to provide further context.
At press time, representatives from competing brands including Alpine, JVC, Audiovox, and Sony had not yet responded to requests for comment. It seems unlikely that any "Made for iPhone"-style strategy for CarPlay would not include the participation of Kenwood and Pioneer, however, so it appears that the only way for consumers to get their hands on CarPlay in the forseeable future is to visit a local Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, or Volvo dealer.
CarPlay -- which will initially be available in new vehicles from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo -- seems to have resonated with consumers, who have clamored for aftermarket options since its unveiling earlier this month. Those calls will likely go unheeded, however, as representatives from two top-selling brands shot down reports that aftermarket CarPlay support was on the way.
Kenwood marketing manager Scott Caswell told AppleInsider that "Apple CarPlay won't be in any of our 2014 product," before noting that many current devices already offer a subset of CarPlay features like Siri support and A/V playback. Caswell suggested that Apple may be reserving CarPlay as an OEM option for automakers, a market segmentation strategy that could make some sense.
Such a strategy might allow marques such as Ford to tout CarPlay's deeper integration as an incentive to buy or lease a new vehicle, for instance, versus purchasing an aftermarket stereo system to upgrade an older model.
Meanwhile, Pioneer appeared to distance itself from recent rumors that it was working on CarPlay support following a statement from a customer service representative.
"The story was not an official statement by Pioneer and was taken out of context," Pioneer corporate communications executive Jaed Arzadon said via e-mail. Arzadon declined to provide further context.
At press time, representatives from competing brands including Alpine, JVC, Audiovox, and Sony had not yet responded to requests for comment. It seems unlikely that any "Made for iPhone"-style strategy for CarPlay would not include the participation of Kenwood and Pioneer, however, so it appears that the only way for consumers to get their hands on CarPlay in the forseeable future is to visit a local Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, or Volvo dealer.
Comments
Wouldn't you be much better off just getting a mount for an iPad connected by BT to your car's audio?
I hope it's not a question of waiting for a replacement car stereo compatible with CarPlay. I
would think the approach would be for someone to someone to come up with a QNX software package that you can load into your existing car's CPU-hard drive computer module (after wiping the car manufacturer's current crapware) and run CarPlay over top. Plus you'll need a hardware fix to get the lightning connection integrated. For older cars without a computer module already built in, installation of an after market CPU-hard drive module should be doable. With the many cars on the road in NA and elsewhere (250-million plus in the U.S., 22-milllion plus in Canada, 240 million or so in China, and so on) the financial rewards should be compelling.
Wouldn't you be much better off just getting a mount for an iPad connected by BT to your car's audio?
There are probably some benefits to using a factory head unit with deeper integration with other technology in the manufacturer's vehicle.
First: better antennae for satellite, cellular, and GPS reception. Second might be deeper integration with other systems like climate control, maybe programmable seat controls, rear window backup cameras, etc. Third: perhaps just having an avenue to work with manufacturers on future functionality, like some sort of collision avoidance, self-driving system.
Those are just a handful of quick ideas that rolled off the top of my head why working directly with the auto manufacturer would be preferable to pressing aftermarket companies to adopt the technology.
As long as Apple opens this up to the manufacturers as they did with AirPlay, the car stereo makers will be stomping all over each other to get this into their units; and as fast as they can.
But maybe Apple has some other plan?
Wouldn't you be much better off just getting a mount for an iPad connected by BT to your car's audio?
In some ways, yes, that's always an option (it's what I do with my iPhone) but CarPlay is better--and SAFER--in others:
- Driver-centric simpler controls, aimed to require minimum attention and minimum dexterity (this is the biggest thing)
- Support for the car's own unique knobs and buttons to control apps, not just the touchscreen (and not just music/audio); scrolling for instance
- No need to carry your iPad everywhere! And protect it from theft and temperatures. (Not an issue for iPhone users, who carry it with them anyway.)
- Not always easy to find a mounting solution in a good spot (but I'm up to the challenge and I want an after-market mounted CarPlay screen personally--ideally one I use with my existing non-touchscreen stereo. We'll see.)
- (And for iPhone users: a bigger screen. Not true for iPad users.)
If Alpine and Pioneer aren't doing it, then open it up to new companies to get the jump on them via Kickstarter.
When I look at the GPS navigation head units on Crutchfield, it appears CarPlay would replace a lot of the capabilities these units already have. Maybe the head-unit manufacturers don't feel the need to change what they already have. Most of the existing iPod integration is fairly simple to almost the same as an iPod but to do a CarPlay head unit properly, they'd have to make sure all their existing hardware actually performs correctly and that could mean a totally new device. Wait, isn't that what most people who are interested in a CarPlay head unit actually want?????
Start with an iPad mini and go from there. Connecting an iPhone via Lightning or BT would simply allow data stored on the iPhone to be used as well as hand-free calling. Add the necessary pre-amp and amp, which don't really cost that much compared to all the other things, and you're off and running. Yes, a kickstarter project would be nice but I wonder how many stupid patents are involved in building a car stereo.
And who buys a Benz, Volvo, or Ferrarri that isn't under 65? C'mon Audi, VW, and BMW!!
And who buys a Benz, Volvo, or Ferrarri that isn't under 65? C'mon Audi, VW, and BMW!!
All those "kids" with way too much money, that's who!
I hope it's not a question of waiting for a replacement car stereo compatible with CarPlay. I
would think the approach would be for someone to someone to come up with a QNX software package that you can load into your existing car's CPU-hard drive computer module (after wiping the car manufacturer's current crapware) and run CarPlay over top. Plus you'll need a hardware fix to get the lightning connection integrated. For older cars without a computer module already built in, installation of an after market CPU-hard drive module should be doable. With the many cars on the road in NA and elsewhere (250-million plus in the U.S., 22-milllion plus in Canada, 240 million or so in China, and so on) the financial rewards should be compelling.
There are probably some benefits to using a factory head unit with deeper integration with other technology in the manufacturer's vehicle.
First: better antennae for satellite, cellular, and GPS reception. Second might be deeper integration with other systems like climate control, maybe programmable seat controls, rear window backup cameras, etc. Third: perhaps just having an avenue to work with manufacturers on future functionality, like some sort of collision avoidance, self-driving system.
Those are just a handful of quick ideas that rolled off the top of my head why working directly with the auto manufacturer would be preferable to pressing aftermarket companies to adopt the technology.
Those integrations some of the reasons why it is difficult if not impossible to install aftermarket head units in some cars today. Possibly a motivation of the car manufacturers themselves in order to prevent replacement of the factory audio system? Let's see if the car and stereo manufacturers will do things like making it impossible to operate CarPlay unless the car is in Park and parking brake is on, etc.
Wouldn't you be much better off just getting a mount for an iPad connected by BT to your car's audio?
Depends how the radio works. I found hardware to mount between my iPhone and car stereo using the multi CD changer function. I control the music with my phone which is the best interface I've found.
My truck has a bluetooth setup that I use with my iPhone or iPad. The car stereo takes over the iPhone and you have to access the music thru the car stereo. The car stereo has a hideous interface and even if I try to use the the phone, the car stereo overrides it. It is so bad I don't even use it anymore. I just listen to satelitte.
And before anyone comes at me with the "at least they do it right" argument, no they haven't come out with ANYTHING lately that didn't have absurd QC issues.
Apple, stop playing games and just release the stuff already. Your bugs aren't worked out until it hits the market anyway.
This does not suprise me at all. The 2014 aftermarket units have most likely had their designs ready for months now and are already in production since they usually get released in spring or early summer. These companies aren't going to try to make last minute changes to try to implement CarPlay. New cars however don't normally get released until late summer or early fall, that gives car manufacturers a lot more time to get their systems ready to go. Not to mention Apple seems to have been working with many of them for a while now.
I also don't see aftermarket companies trying to come up with upgrades to existing units. I don't think I have ever heard of aftermarket car stereo companies providing major updates like that after a unit is released. Usually it is hard enough to get a lot of them to release updates to fix known bugs in the software. Why would they want to come up with an update for their units that they would either give away or maybe charge a small fee like $100 for, when they can just try to get you to install a new head unit for $1000 the next year when they release it?
Car manufacturers on the other hand know that nobody is going to replace a 1 or 2 year old car just to get CarPlay (or at least a very limited number would). A lot would probably be willing to spend a couple hundred dollars on an upgrade though, and that would make the car owner very happy and looks good for the car manufacturer.
Wouldn't you be much better off just getting a mount for an iPad connected by BT to your car's audio?
Yes, of course.
You wouldn't have to deal with the stupid "safety" "features" they're putting in to keep you from doing what you want to do with your technology when you want to do it. You would be able to use the controls on your car without having to go through an app. And you wouldn't be tied to the crappy manufacturer stereo if you didn't want to be.
Wouldn't you be much better off just getting a mount for an iPad connected by BT to your car's audio?
Yes, of course.
You wouldn't have to deal with the stupid "safety" "features" they're putting in to keep you from doing what you want to do with your technology when you want to do it. You would be able to use the controls on your car without having to go through an app. And you wouldn't be tied to the crappy manufacturer stereo if you didn't want to be.
Speaking strictly to the issue of sound quality:
Bluetooth is not a good medium for audio. I've yet to hear a decent-sounding Bluetooth device. It's good enough for mono, telephone-quality audio, but I sure don't want to get my stereo music that way. Neither should you.
An aftermarket unit better be designed by Apple.