The iPhone 6 Plus due to go on sale shortly could find wider use in the car, due to its large 5.5-inch screen and slim form factor.
“The screen size is very close to what you would expect to see in the car for a radio screen,” said one supplier.
For that reason, the phone can be used as ‘a car radio freed from the dash.’ Suppliers expect to see more on-dash or windshield mounts for the device that charge it and link it to the car’s speakers. And for entertaining kids, they expect to see more headrest mounts for the iPhone 6 Plus to secure it for safety, so kids can watch it in the back.
Also in-dash kits that let the phone act as your radio are already being planned by retailer/fabricators.
Doug Bernards, fabricator and Revision3 video host said, “The bigger iPhone will be a great size for a vehicle,” as its big enough for easy viewing but small enough not to take up too much room on the dash. He’s planning kits for both the new iPhone 6 models within 60 days of their release on September 19.
Micah Williams of Sonus Car Audio in Tennessee, which fabricates kits and tools for installers, is planning an iPhone 6 Plus kit for the Ford F150 and Mustang initially because of the Ford Sync’s reliable Bluetooth. He aims to make kits that mount the phone with a quick release and that connects to the car audio system over Bluetooth to stream audio. He says charging the phone isn’t a big issue for most of his customers. “They are more concerned with the ease of getting it out of the car in two seconds. Those things will last 8, 10, 12 hours and more people are in their car for less than 2 hours.”
Jamie Fifield of Fifield Fabrications is thinking about a center console flat mount. The phone drops in and you can pull the phone out. It has a dock connector so it can connect to a car radio and it can stream audio over Bluetooth.
Chris Ott of Soundwaves of Tampa in FL, whose iPad installation videos received wide attention said of creating kits for the iPhone 6 Plus, “I’m definitely thinking about it.”
Source: CEoutlook
