The first aftermarket Wireless CarPlay receiver to hit the market is now available to order. Alpine’s iLX-107 was introduced back in January and can now be purchased through authorized dealers.
Although Wireless CarPlay has been an official feature since iOS 8.3, adoption has been slow so far with only BMW introducing the wireless feature to its 2017 cars and Alpine being the first to introduce a solution for existing cars.
Aside from BMW and Alpine, all other CarPlay implementations are wired and require connecting the iPhone to a Lightning cable to display information on the in-dash screen. Wireless CarPlay works with a combination of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to work without having to connect a cable (and battery status can be displayed when using CarPlay wirelessly).
Alpine iLX-107 features a 7-inch capacitive touch display and can integrate with backup cameras. Although we haven’t tested the new aftermarket Wireless CarPlay receiver (yet), we did go hands-on with a demo unit earlier this year:
Alpine iLX-107 retails for $900 and can be purchased through authorized dealers (no direct orders yet). Stay tuned as we hope to get our hands on one of these units this summer.
For more on CarPlay, check out these stories:
- Best aftermarket head units with Apple CarPlay for iPhone
- Best CarPlay apps for iPhone
- CarPlay in iOS 11: Lane guidance, interface tweaks, and more
