CarPlay Update from carstereochick.com

[NOVAK]

http://carstereochick.com/blog/2014/09/10/pioneer-carplay-release-update/

[DP3343]

I'm sorry but bullshit. They've been saying they were ready since July. I think around then is when pioneer uk said they were ready right? Yeah whatever.

[CuznVinny]

people still buy iphones???

[Spankey]

Good to see Annie blogging again. It's been reported over and over again. The hold up is with Apple. No one with the exception of Ferrari has released CarPlay. Huyndai has not updated the firmware in its vehicles either. Waiting until next week when iOS gets released to the public is a reasonable expectation. After that, frustration is more justified. No one knows what Pioneer was promised when it stated the early summer release. We don't know what issues may have come up with CarPlay during the firmware testing.

[Pjrm68]

More likely, the issues have come up with Pioneer's implementation of CarPlay. If it works in a Ferrari, it should work on our head units too

[Spankey]

As CSC posted, word is that all issues have been resolved and we are waiting on Apple to give the go ahead. This is the way they work. If Alpine, other car manufacturers were offering Carplay today I would be concerned. This just isn't happening.

[Pjrm68]

Then how do you explain CarPlay being good to go on Ferrari, but not on Pioneer?

[CarStereoChick]

Hi all,

In the conversations I had with two different sources it sounded like the 1st delay was due to Pioneer's implementation and working out bugs and getting it right.  I think the delay pushed it so far back that by time Pioneer was ready, Apple probably decided to hold off on the release until Fall when iPhone 6 started shipping.  Just my guess, but I genuinely believe it is in Apple's hands at this point and I think the information I was given was accurate.  The story never varied and neither source wanted to be named in the article, but we'll see how it pans out (hopefully real soon).  Thanks for linking to my blog by the way, I'm happy to finally have the time to work on it again

[EricVII]

I am glad you have joined the site and continue with the great articles.

[DP3343]

Welcome to the forum. Glad to have you here.

[Spankey]

Then how do you explain CarPlay being good to go on Ferrari, but not on Pioneer?

 

When an Apple Senior Vice President sits on the board of Ferrari it's not a giant leap to assume that Ferrari would be first out the door. That being said, I don't believe you will be seeing more than a handful of these cars on the road. 

 

It seems reasonable that Pioneer didn't have the update ready for an early release and as time went buy it made sense that Apple would wait until the release of iOS 8. I guess we'll see next week. After that, there really are no excuses. 

[ptkdude]

I don't understand how it seems reasonable that Apple would wait until the release of iOS 8.  CarPlay is designed to work with iOS 7.1.whatever, which is already out.  Can you expand on why you feel it is reasonable that they would wait?  I fully agree with your comment regarding Ferrari, I'm just curious to know your thinking on the iOS 8 piece.

[TheEdge]

One thing to keep in mind is that carplay has to connect to the head units. Each HU is differant and will require work on the manufacturers part to make the intragration functional and smooth. Just because CarPlay is working with one HU, does not mean it is ready to go with any others. CarPlay is not just an app. It is a middleware between the phone and the HU. Pioneer has to get it right, and Apple has to approve it. My guess is that Pioneer is late in getting it right.

[Spankey]

Yes, CarPlay works with iOS 7, and was really only "released" with iOS 7.1in March. Given that no head unit was capable of using it in the open it seems like a beta version. It allowed manufacturers to write firmware and for Apple to test 3rd party apps. It was a six month window and as the months went by and iOS 8 was announced I never got the sense that Carplay would happen this summer. Apple will say that a software release (OS X) is due in a given month and they will get it out, but often it is on the last possible day of the month. 

 

iOS 8 is a pretty decent upgrade to 7. The podcast app (used in Carplay) is on the main screen. Don't forget the rumors of the Apple Maps team having issues and updates to Maps occurring throughout the summer. With all these issues and expected improvements it isn't a stretch for me to think Apple wanted to wait until a general release. 

[Pjrm68]

One thing to keep in mind is that carplay has to connect to the head units. Each HU is differant and will require work on the manufacturers part to make the intragration functional and smooth. Just because CarPlay is working with one HU, does not mean it is ready to go with any others. CarPlay is not just an app. It is a middleware between the phone and the HU. Pioneer has to get it right, and Apple has to approve it. My guess is that Pioneer is late in getting it right.

 

I think this makes the most sense. Pioneer wants to play the "Apple won't let us release it" card, but the reason Apple might be doing that is because there's something wrong with Pioneer's implementation. So, of course Apple won't give the green light until Pioneer gets it right.

 

As for Ferrari getting it first, I think we all expected that. But once that happened, Pioneer should have had it out there shortly after. As that hasn't happened, that seems to suggest even more strongly that Pioneer still hasn't gotten their programming right and Apple keeps sending them back to fix it.