After all the unveilings and announcements this week, I am sure I am not alone in saying that I am disappointed at the lack of any Wireless CarPlay receiver announced at this year’s CES 2016. With Pioneer, Kenwood, Alpine and newcomers to CarPlay, JBL, all announcing wired CarPlay receivers this year, I thought we would never hear anything about Wireless CarPlay…until now!
A Wireless CarPlay receiver from Visteon has been spotted and snapped by @Auto_Bird on Twitter:
Checking out Visteon's application of Apple CarPlay wireless. Can finally say it's protocol is direct Wifi #CES2016 pic.twitter.com/uvjm3btcm6
— Colin Bird-Martinez (@Auto_Bird) January 6, 2016
You might be thinking “Who is Visteon?”, here is some info: Visteon Corporation is an American global automotive electronics supplier. They design, engineer, and manufacture systems for various clients, including BMW, Daimler, Ford, and General Motors. With close relationships with Chrysler and several Asian manufacturers, including Nissan and Hyundai, I think it is safe to say that Wireless CarPlay has a strong chance of appearing in vehicles with factory-fitted systems before OEM receivers. However, the time it takes system updates to come to new vehicles, we may see OEMs catch up and release before manufacturers are able to put Wireless CarPlay into factory-fitted vehicles.
One other important point to take from this unofficial source of info, is the mention of ‘direct Wi-Fi‘ being the protocol used for Visteon’s Wireless CarPlay solution. So no Bluetooth and Wi-Fi combo, or Bluetooth only. This makes it even more difficult to think that any 2016 receiver announced this week will be compatible with a future firmware update unless, like the rumoured Alpine ILX-700/007 Wi-Fi chip inside, some of these new receivers might include such a hidden chip, that ‘could’ be enabled with a simple firmware update.
Either way, it is good to see at least someone demo Wireless CarPlay in the flesh this week, and although you may not have heard of Visteon, having read up on them, they are the right company with the experience, expertise and client connections to be showcasing the technology this week.
I’ll keep an eye out for any more Wireless CarPlay news, and keep you posted on my findings.
