Car audio products are syncing well with Apple’s new iOS 7 running on smartphones used in the car, based on initial tests, suppliers say.
While true validation may take weeks to complete, several leading suppliers say early tests show that music, Bluetooth, WiFi and app functions sync up or stream well between an Apple device running iOS 7 and leading car audio products in the field.
Kenwood, Alpine, JVC and Clarion report no major issues in preliminary tests.
Pioneer and Sony said they are still in the testing process.
Alpine said its initial testing of iOS 7 in Beta “found it to be compatible for music listening, streaming, and Bluetooth audio and streaming,” according to a spokeswoman.
Kenwood said it “found no compatibility issues” in its early testing.
Suppliers said they will want to test the new 64-bit iPhone 5S (on sale as of Friday) against their radios, and also to see how the new iTunes Radio performs. It should take several weeks or more to complete those tests as multiple phones must be trialed by multiple carriers and against many models of car radios.
iSimple (Aamp of America) which makes kits to integrate with car radios said, “We have not seen a single issue at all with any of our products and we’re not expecting any…” according to iSimple’s Scott Rothstein.
Many of the changes to iOS 7 are cosmetic. Others, like fingerprint scanning should prove useful in the car, as drivers will no longer need to look down to unlock a screen while they are driving, in order to change to a new song, he said.
Functions like track up/down, walking up Siri, Bluetooth are working in order, he said. Commands display on the screen of the car devices, as they are supposed to.
JVC Mobile said, “We had good success testing the developer version of iOS 7. Testing of the market version with our 2013 products is in progress,” according to JVC’s Jacob Hardin.
Clarion notes that no issues were found in its early testing, according to Justin Lee.
The transition to iOS7—Apple’s new operating system made available to users Wednesday—is a sharp contrast to the shift a year ago to iOS 6. Following that launch there were over 200 complaints on Apple user forums citing compatibility issues with Bluetooth, simple music playback and song information displaying on radio screens. It took months to resolve in some cases.
iOS in the car— a new feature of iOS 7 that is tailor-made for use in automobiles—won’t be activated until 2014. With iOS in the car, your radio shifts to a special user interface with large buttons for easy use. Drivers will be able to control Apple Maps from the car radio we are told. The feature will also let you control music, phone functions and messages, said Apple. It will also let you use Siri Eyes Free for voice control over these functions.
For updates from individual suppliers, industry members may visit http://caraudioupdater.com
Source: CEoutlook
