CarPlay on Pioneer's last-generation aftermarket NEX system
Pioneer's website does not distinguish what the differences are between its new NEX systems and existing AVIC-8100NEX, AVIC-7100NEX, AVIC-6100NEX, AVIC-5100NEX and AVH-4100NEX models, which remain available for sale. The 7-inch in-dash units continue to support Siri Eyes Free and Google's rival Android Auto platform.
Pioneer, Alpine and Kenwood are the official providers of aftermarket CarPlay systems, which bring Apple's in-dash software to older vehicles. HARMAN also announced its JBL Legend CP100 aftermarket CarPlay system at CES 2016, featuring a 6.75-inch capacitive touch screen, "push to talk" button for Siri, Android Auto support and more.
HARMAN's new JBL Legend CP100 aftermarket CarPlay system
CarPlay, available in a wide range of 2016 vehicles, provides hands-free or eyes-free access to Maps, Phone, Messages, Music, Podcasts and third-party apps including Spotify, iHeartRadio, CBS Radio and MLB At Bat. The software uses Siri and interfaces with your vehicle's knobs, dials and buttons for safer access to common iPhone features.
Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by Juli Clover
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing.
Test Settings
I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
Wednesday October 22, 2025 4:44 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Back in 2012, an Apple retail employee named Sam Sung went viral because his name is similar to Samsung, one of Apple's main competitors. In a recent interview with Business Insider, he detailed that period in his life, how Apple responded, and he explained why he ultimately changed his name.
Someone posted an image of Sung's Apple business card on Reddit in 2012, and it spread rapidly....
Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
Apple's new iPhone lineup launched in the fall of 2027 will be called the "iPhone 20" models, rather than the "iPhone 19," according to research firm Omdia.
Speaking at a conference in Seoul (via ETNews), Omdia Chief Researcher Heo Moo-yeol corroborated rumors that Apple plans to move the launch of its standard iPhone to the first half of the year and provided some additional clarity about...
Thursday October 23, 2025 3:55 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is one of several tech companies that will contribute to the construction of U.S. President Donald Trump's 90,000-square-foot ballroom, reports CNN.
Construction began on the ballroom this week, and the White House's east wing was torn down. Trump claims that the ballroom will cost $350 million, and that it will be privately funded through donations. The cost has already increased $150 ...
Thursday October 23, 2025 7:44 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
Starting today, the feature is available to residents of West Virginia. To set it up, open the Wallet app and tap on the plus sign in...
Wednesday October 22, 2025 11:34 am PDT by Juli Clover
General Motors began phasing out support for CarPlay in its electric vehicles back in 2023, leading to complaints from iPhone users, but the company has no plans to back down.
In fact, GM is going further and plans to remove CarPlay from all future gas vehicles, too. In an interview with The Verge, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company opted to prioritize its platform for EVs, but the...
Apple is "drastically" cutting production of the iPhone Air and shifting focus toward the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models, Nikkei Asia reports.
The business publication claims to have learned of a major cut to iPhone Air production motivated by weaker-than-expected consumer interest, nearly to "end of production levels." Despite early reports of the iPhone Air selling out within hours of...
Wednesday October 22, 2025 10:48 am PDT by Juli Clover
iPhone Air demand failed to meet Apple's expectations and the company's supply chain is scaling back shipments and production, reports Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Suppliers are expected to reduce capacity by more than 80 percent between now and the first quarter of 2026, and some components with longer lead times will be discontinued ...
As a current (Alpine) CarPlay user, the people waiting for wireless are wasting their time. For 98% of drives, you want to be plugged in anyway, just for battery life reasons.
Yes, for very short drives, it would be nice to have wifi/Bluetooth autoconnect as an option, but if you get your stereo installed by any decent place, they should be able to wire it so that the plug is right in your center console so plugging it in is as simple as inserting your key. It honestly does not put me out one bit.
What really cheeses me off is that if you have a decent recent-model car (say, 2012 or 2013), your car doesn't have Carplay and never will, but the factory sound system is integrated such that you also can't upgrade it with one of these units.
I for example just bought a 2013 Volt, and despite technology galore, there's not only no Carplay, but not even Siri eyes-free (that is, a button that will activate Siri on a connected phone). Plus, the Bose "premium" sound system falls short of my previous 2003 vehicle that I stuck a half-decent used Pioneer deck and some modestly-priced Pioneer speakers in. And I could have upgraded that vehicle to Carplay if I'd wanted.
Basically, you pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars over base price for a vehicle that doesn't even have rudimentary software upgrades after it ships, no ability to adapt to future technological developments (like Carplay), and doesn't even sound all that good.
It's one thing to buy a $800 phone with a ~4 year usable lifespan that you can't upgrade (although you do get free software upgrades, so it actually does everything it can to keep up with modern devices); it's another entirely to buy a $35,000 vehicle with a 10+ year usable lifespan in which they made sure you can't install a new stereo, can't modify it to handle new technology, you don't get anything but absolutely-necessary bug fix software updates, and all you get in exchange is the ability for the car to adjust the volume based on speed and some steering wheel controls.
Ironic that cars 10 or more years older than current-model ones now can be upgraded with much better mobile connectivity than the fancy new cars ever will.
I replaced my factory radio (2012 Chevy Silverado) with a CarPlay unit last year. While cars 15 years ago were much easier to upgrade, modern vehicles are not that difficult. Project took a long afternoon, but most of that time was spent adding a backup camera and routing the wire back to the cabin. Integrated the factory steering wheel controls and reprogrammed the call button to activate Siri.
I can read specs, too. I also know the difference between an OLED and and LCD screen, and what it means. But unlike you, apparently I also have experienced using the device in question and the fact that the pixels are backlit makes absolutely no difference at night.
This just means that your tolerance to stray lights at night is higher than mine, or you otherwise care about it less, which fine. Good for you. Bad for me at the moment.
However, to say that it "makes absolutely no difference at night" is just factually wrong. With OLED screen, a totally black screen produces 0 light. With LCD screen, a totally black screen produces >0 light - and in most cases a very perceivable amount of light. Some LCD are better than others, but it doesn't change the fact that some light is always produced by a LCD screen which is on. When displaying something simple, like the time, an OLED screen produces only the exact amount of light necessary to light up those very specific pixels, and not one lumen more. An LCD screen produces more light than necessary by it's very nature because it has to light the entire screen no matter what is shown - thus it can't produce less light than an OLED. Indeed, the only time an LCD screen is not producing more light than an otherwise similar OLED screen is when the screens are fully white, when both screens produce equal light, in every other instance the OLED screen produces less light.
So maybe you disagree in that it doesn't bother you, which is fine. But it's silly to say I'm wrong because something that bothers me doesn't bother you, and it's factually wrong to say there is no difference because there is certainly an objective and measurable difference.
Seems OLED would be ideal for automotive applications. One of the things I hate about all these touch-screen headunits is that even at night on their dimmest setting, the backlight is still too bright and it lights up even a totally dark screen. It would be nice if it only lit up the pixels that need to be lit up.
