You Might Not Need A New Ferrari To Use CarPlay After All

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Most Apple fans would undoubtedly love to have CarPlay in their vehicles. But unless you shell out for a brand new whip from the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes, you’re out of luck.

Well, at least for now.

A new report claims that Apple and Alpine Electronics are working on an aftermarket version of CarPlay that will go on sale this fall.

Japanese publication Nikkei claims that Alpine Electronics “aims to boost business further by quickly bringing the first stand-alone console that can use CarPlay to market.” The Japanese company’s sales of car entertainment systems in North America have been on the rise.

CarPlay wirelessly pairs with the iPhone to give handsfree access to music, Messages, Maps, and more. The aftermarket version Alpine is making will connect with an iPhone through a Lightning cable, according to Nikkei.

The console will allegedly retail for between $500-$700 in the U.S. and Europe. While that seems steep, it’s pretty competitively priced against dash navigation systems from companies like Kenwood.

Apple has partnered with Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volvo, Honda, GM, Ford, and others to put CarPlay in new vehicles. But that strategy ignores the majority of potential customers without brand new cars.

Luckily, Alpine isn’t the only one working on a solution. Pioneer, Kenwood, Mercedes-Benz, and others have expressed interest in making aftermarket CarPlay systems as well.

Source: Nikkei

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