Cars are aging slower than smartphones. This, at a first glance, pretty plain truth becomes a real headache when talking about car infotainment systems. When your last year’s iPhone is many generations ahead of your car’s default software and just for listening to music you need a bundle of adapters and connectors, never mind obsolete navigation maps and often even the absence of Bluetooth support. But buying a new expensive car or changing the whole infotainment system, which can be tricky, is not the only solution to this problem. That is where an alternative such as an aftermarket CarPlay Upgrade system becomes relevant. Let us discuss what the Apple CarPlay system is and what it is capable of in more detail.
First of all, let’s define what Apple CarPlay and Android auto are. These apps connect to the car’s infotainment system with a USB cable or Bluetooth support. They mirror the smartphone’s display to the car’s screen, allowing you to use smartphone functions from the infotainment system, such as calling, navigation maps, and audio streaming apps. Messages and WhatsApp are dictated via voice recognition. Factory functions are still available. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto often offer a much faster and smoother experience than the default infotainment system.
Despite that Apple CarPlay first appeared in 2014, (Ferrari FF) most car manufacturers started adding Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from 2017 – 2018. Considering that the average age of a car in the US, in 2021, was 12.1 years, it is not hard to deduce that most of the cars, on the streets right now, lack factory support for the apps mentioned. That’s where Mozart electronics’ Apple CarPlay Upgrade system enters the game.
To describe the system briefly, the Apple CarPlay Upgrade system is retrofitted behind the touchscreen with no visible change in the interior design. After plugging it into the infotainment system, your car leaps from the past to the present as it can now be fully integrated with any modern smartphone. Wireless navigation, Waze, Google Maps or Apple maps are now available on the screen and ready to use. As are wireless music sharing, Youtube and Spotify. Do not let the name fool you, the Apple CarPlay upgrade supports both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, enables app store and iCloud connection, also the device supports multiple language interfaces and a 4G network. Depending on the smartphone and vehicle model, phone swapping and some offline features are available too. After completion of installation, all your favorite apps can be used from the car’s display. Additionally, non of the factory functionality is lost and it is fully integrable with a secondary camera or aftermarket vertical screen.
It is not particularly hard to install the system, but different brands require different hardware, even the same models sometimes have non-identical infotainment systems depending on the year of release, it is sometimes tricky to identify which software is used in your specific car, If you are not sure your car is compatible with an upgrade device or not, you can send us an email with some photos of your center dashboard, main menu screen, controller and we will tell you exactly which product you need.
It is never a bad idea to consult a professional first. You can find contact details on our website. Our In-House experts will provide you with detailed guidelines for the installation and happily answer your questions about the product. Before placing an order make sure that your factory system radio and the screen are in good working condition, as an upgrade device is supposed to enhance its capabilities, it cannot fix an issue howitstart.