Four affordable car radios that put Apple CarPlay in your car
CarPlay is still a luxury in 2021. Few cars come with built-in CarPlay support, especially if you don’t want to spend too much money on a new car. Fortunately, there are also affordable car radios that bring CarPlay to your unsupported car.
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Which CarPlay car radio suits you best?
Below we highlight four affordable car radios with CarPlay support. The term ‘affordable’ is of course relative; we have opted for prices between 100 and 390 euros. Which radio suits you best depends mainly on your budget and requirements. From low to high, these are our top four Apple CarPlay car radios.
1. Boscer 2-DIN car radio
This infotainment system is from Boscer. This car radio is universal; which means that it is suitable for almost all cars with a double din dashboard. You also don’t have to worry about cables, because they are included.
The device also has all standard functions and can be connected to any iPhone with CarPlay support – either the iPhone 5 or newer. It is also good to know that the Boscer radio has a 7-inch touchscreen and you can choose from two variants: with or without physical control buttons.
2. Pioneer SPH-DA120
Pioneer has years of experience in building radios. However, a well-known brand also comes with a higher price tag. In addition to a solid build quality, you will get extras at your disposal, such as the option to personalize the button lighting and themes to taste.
With this car radio you can operate apps, listen to your favorite music hands-free and watch videos and photos – when you are not driving, of course. It is available online at Mediamarkt, among others.
3. Pioneer SPH-DA130DAB
This car radio – the successor to the SPH-DA120 – is immediately a lot more expensive. It is therefore a very complete device. Make phone calls, navigate and listen to music via your favorite streaming service. You can listen to digital radio thanks to the DAB + function.
Furthermore, the luxurious Pioneer car radio has Siri and you can always check the current situation on the road with Waze. We can also be nothing but positive about the build quality. A disadvantage of this CarPlay car radio is that it is regularly sold out. So you have to act quickly if you want to get one.
4. Kenwood DM-X7018DABS – 390 euros
Here we are somewhat pushing the boundaries of ‘affordable’. This is the most stylish CarPlay car stereo on this list – and it’s worth it, too.
It offers support for CarPlay and Android Auto – which is handy if you want to switch in the future. Thanks to the DAB + tuner, you can also enjoy noise-free radio quality with this car radio. Also cool: thanks to the USB storage you can, for example, play music in high flac sound quality.
Not every CarPlay car radio fits in your car
Before you immediately put a car radio in your shopping cart after reading this article, it is important that you know which type of radio fits in your car. Most car radios are 2-DIN.
These radios generally look tablet-like and modern. 2-DIN car radios therefore take up a lot of space. Older cars often only have room for a 1-DIN car radio. You can recognize this by a flat, rectangular shape.
Modern 1-DIN car radios often use a folding screen, in order to still be able to offer the functionalities and appearance of a 2-DIN radio. The number of 1-DIN car radios that support CarPlay is a lot smaller – but they are there. However, you won’t find them on this list, because 1-DIN car radios with CarPlay support are unfortunately also priced higher.
Make CarPlay wireless with an adapter
Does your car already have CarPlay, but don’t feel like plugging in your iPhone all the time? Connect a wireless CarPlay adapter to your car via a cable, then connect to CarPlay via Bluetooth on your iPhone. Note: this is possible only if your car already has CarPlay as standard. There are dozens of adapters in circulation, such as the CPLAY2air wireless adapter.
Of course, you may not feel like doing anything here – and don’t mind plugging in your iPhone with a cable. Then make sure that your next car naturally features CarPlay. Do you have a new car in mind, but not sure if it has CarPlay? Apple has released a list of all cars that support CarPlay. View the list here.
Want to read more about CarPlay?
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