If you don't have a vehicle with CarPlay installed natively, there are a number of third-party aftermarket CarPlay receivers from companies like Alpine and Pioneer, which can be an affordable way to get CarPlay integration in your car.
Boss Audio, known for its range of car speakers and accessories, recently launched a new CarPlay receiver, the BVCP9685A, and its $250 price tag makes it one of the cheaper CarPlay options on the market. For a limited time, there's a $40 coupon available on Amazon, dropping the price even further to $210.
The BVCP9685A from Boss Audio features a 6.75-inch capacitive touchscreen LCD, and the company says that this new version has a number of upgrades over the prior BVCP9675A option. The unit depth is now 5.3 inches instead of 6.7-inches, with the shallower body allowing for an easier installation process.
With proper car wiring, steering wheel controls and backup camera are supported, and an external mic improves voice pick up when giving voice commands to Siri.
Other BVCP9685A features include Android Auto support, AM/FM radio receiver, RDS and RBDS tuner, Aux and AV input, subwoofer pre-amp outputs, USB charging, multi-color illumination, and true double din.
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Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app.
Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action.
Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr.
The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models:
iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhon...
Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory.
A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June.
The original AirTag was announced...
Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by Juli Clover
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
What are you talking about???? I fitted an aftermarket head unit like this and it involved none of the steps you described... there are companies that sell specific wiring loom converters so it’s litterally plug and play.. getting the dash open to see what you’re doing takes way longer than the wiring side, but anyone with some practical skills and YouTube can carry out the fitting.
Yea sure if the seller wires the car harnesses to the receivers' wiring for you. But if you don't opt for that route, you have to splice wires and you do that by reading the wiring diagrams. Not every car is the same my friend. [doublepost=1553040209][/doublepost]
I would want wire not wireless and lose audio quality
That makes no sense. The wireless is over WiFi, which by today's standards are at least 300 Mbps. Nothing is lost. Not to mention if it was bad enough to cause audio loss, then it's way too bad to project an interface onto the display.
Having wireless CarPlay would be cool but is it really worth spending an extra $400+ just for that feature? No..
Most of us like to have our phones charging while we drive, so that means we're going to have to plug in a cable anyways. Yes i know there's wireless Qi charging but its slow compared to USB.
That being said, for those interested in a budget CarPlay headunit should really check out the Soundstream VRCP-65. Its currently $199 on Amazon right now and supports CarPlay, Android PhoneLink, SiriusXM, Bluetooth, DVD, etc.
[doublepost=1553026633][/doublepost]So... what's yours? Model and price?
Well, there is a major price difference. Mine's a bit more expensive Mine's an Alpine, and doesn't support Android Auto. Specifically built for Apple Wireless CarPlay. [doublepost=1553026996][/doublepost]
