Dual Electronics maker of aftermarket car stereo and multimedia systems, is developing Apple CarPlay systems for 2016.
Dual Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Matt Vinson told AUTO Connected Car News, “We have CarPlay currently in development and will have CarPlay units available in 2016.”
A member of the CEA research committee, Vinson says that radio is still the number one thing people do with their car stereo, playing CDs used to be number two. Today, the number two use of a car audio system is integration with other sources.
When asked to how much CarPlay headunits will cost, Vinson would not would not reveal pricing but hinted, “Dual is an affordable brand.”
CarPlay is the Apple user interface designed for cars, using Siri for voice commands. CarPlay for iPhones requires iOS 8.0 and a connection to a lightning cable that allows for streaming media, voice calls, texts and “Siri” requests through the microphone and audio system. The first aftermarket company to introduce CarPlay was Pioneer Electronics, followed by Alpine and Kenwood.
Dual Electronics currently offers many Do-it-Yourself solutions for every man and every woman who like good sound quality and smartphone integration in their cars notes Vinson.
He says that Dual wants consumers to embrace the same everyday technology they have found in their phones in their cars. For instance, the company offers stereos with AUX, USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (with a Wi-Fi dongle) or MHL/HDMI connections. Most Dual multimedia systems mirror what is on the smartphone with DualMirror technology.
Dual Electronics is a member of the Bluetooth SIG and is working on deploying Bluetooth Smart technology.
Dual Electronics Corporation recently acquired the Jensen branded aftermarket car audio business from Voxx International Corporation.
Dual Electronics just introduced the DC525Bi
Dual Electronics car stereos are available from major retailers including Amazon