Alpine to Sell First Aftermarket Car Play Radio

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CarPlay Apple

Alpine Electronics will start selling the first aftermarket car radio using Apple’s CarPlay system starting this fall, according to Japanese news outlet Nikkei.

The car radio will connect by cable to an iPhone 5 or later smartphone and allow drivers to view maps on the radio screen, and use voice commands to hear their messages, as well as make calls and play music, said the report.

The Alpine radio is expected to use a 7-inch screen and it may sell in the U.S. and Europe at about $500 to $700.

CarPlay is Apple’s new software for car radios that acts like MirrorLink for iPhone, giving you the familiar screen views of the iPhone on the car radio screen and letting the radio control your phone.   There’s a simple, elegant screen for iTunes Radio, for maps, music and phone, and users get voice control through Siri so that texts may be read aloud and you can send responses.  You can scroll through all the functions here or see it in action in a Ferrari here.

While car makers announced in March they would begin offering radios with CarPlay, no suppliers have yet announced an aftermarket car radio with CarPlay.

Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Ferrari, and Honda all showed CarPlay prototypes recently and are expected to offer CarPlay in new cars this year. Hyundai is also expected to offer CarPlay this year and about 13 additional car makers will offer it in the future, according to Apple.

Alpine could not immediately be reached for comment.

Source: Nikkei Asian Review, via MacRumors

Photo: CarPlay screen as shown by Apple

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