The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opens next week, which will showcase a ton of brand new and upcoming electronics for us consumers to buy in 2016, but what will it hold for us Apple CarPlay enthusiasts?
Amongst the big announcements, and the rather strange new technical creations, CES will unveil a whole hosts of brand-new products to be released in 2016 from a number of big tech companies. We will see new bigger, wider, curvier (?) TV displays, gaming’s new buzz word for 2016 – virtual reality, smaller and better drones, even more wearable devices, and lots of more ‘the internet of things’ home automation technology.
One thing I do believe we will hear more about at this year’s CES, will be new hardware announcements for Apple’s CarPlay.
It will be more likely that we will hear mostly from aftermarket manufacturers of Apple CarPlay, than car manufacturers that have already unveiled or announced their factory-fitted CarPlay models. We may even hear from those that have yet to announce their involvement (looking at you Ford and Smart), but I think the bigger news will come from the aftermarket stereo makers.
Both Pioneer and JVC/Kenwood have show floor stands/booths at this year’s show, whilst Alpine has a number of meeting rooms booked for the show, so I would expect some dedicated floor space or new CarPlay product unveilings to come from at least one of these automotive technology manufacturers. We may even see Sony join the party with a CarPlay enabled receiver this year.
Updated hardware is inevitable; so I would expect a new generation of AppRadio 4 (SPH-DA120) or ILX-007/700 maybe on the horizon, whilst Pioneer may also unveil more CarPlay enabled systems with updates to their first and second generation receivers. Wireless CarPlay receivers may also be finally announced for release in 2016, and I also hope late runners, Kenwood, will enforce their position in the CarPlay arena with more CarPlay enabled receivers for markets outside of North America.
We may even see some new competing CarPlay manufacturers coming to market in 2016, and CES is no better time to announce their products. Having a quick browse through the CES exhibitor list I found MagTarget LLC, who is going to unveil a new revolutionary patented technology, that will “Unleash the full power of your mobile device with touch connectivity. Simply touch the dock to, Charge, Securely hold your device, Handsfree driving via Apple CarPlay/Android-Auto, Sync w/ your computer, Mirror full HD video to your TV.” So we may see/hear more new product announcements throughout next week.
On Thursday 7th there is also a session titled: Reinventing the Phone-Car Connection, with speakers from General Motors, Driversiti and Pandora Media Inc. This will no doubt bring some insightful knowledge from some key members in the automotive entertainment industry.
Whether you’re looking to upgrade your in-car receiver to Apple CarPlay, or you think it’s time now time to upgrade your existing CarPlay stereo system; or perhaps you’ve been on the fence all this time, waiting to install a Wireless CarPlay receiver in your car, next week’s CES 2016 event should be on your radar, and I’ll do my very best to bring you all the latest news for Apple’s CarPlay from the show next week. Exciting!
