Alpine Working On Aftermarket CarPlay Console For Vehicles

Back in March, Apple announced CarPlay which was basically their finalized version of iOS in the Car feature that debuted at WWDC 2013. CarPlay, for those unfamiliar, integrates iOS in certain brands of vehicles, allowing iOS to power the vehicle’s infotainment unit and allow for interaction with their iPhone without actually having to touch the phone itself, thus making it a safer experience if you wanted to navigate songs, phone calls, maps, and so on.

Not all brands are participating, naturally, and not all models will be receiving it as well. So what do you do if you have an older model? Does this mean that you’re out of luck? Well it looks like Alpine does not want customers to feel left out and will be joining Pioneer as one of the companies that will be offering aftermarket CarPlay consoles to non-supported vehicles this Fall.

This is according to a report from Nikkei who reports that Alpine is expected to release an aftermarket CarPlay solution in both the US and Europe markets this Fall where the device could cost anywhere between $500 to $700. It is unclear what kind of features Alpine’s aftermarket solution will feature, but presumably all, if not most, of CarPlay’s features will be supported.

As it stands, companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, BMW, Ford, GM, Honda are some of the car manufacturers that will officially support the new system from Apple, so for those who’d rather not buy a new car just for the feature, perhaps an aftermarket solution from Alpine or Pioneer could be something worth checking out, especially if the idea of CarPlay appeals to your senses.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Transportation
Tags: carplay