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First, I understand that I'm walking a fine line but, to be clear, I am sticking to the FAQ and I am not asking for hardware recommendations. Instead, I simply want to know if there are any car stereos out there that have AirPlay built in. If not, why not?

This seems like a no brainer, especially considering that AirPlay has been around for a while. Nevertheless, other than hack-it-together solutions, I can not find a means of getting AirPlay to work in my car.

Does anyone have any insight? Is there a chance that I'm searching for the wrong type of product (i.e. Apple allows for car stereo manufacturers to integrate with iOS devices through some other means) and that's what I should be looking for?

Any tips would be helpful.

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5 Answers 5

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AirPlay works over UDP and it requires that both the sender and receiver device exist on the same TCP/IP-based network. That's generally not possible in your car because you aren't running an 802.11-based wireless network in that space.

For wireless audio streaming in your automobile you want to look for a head unit that supports the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP). This is a BlueTooth spec that lets two BT-enabled devices exchange high quality audio streams. Your iDevice supports it, you just need an A2DP compatible head unit and you can stream your music to your car system without any wires.

Happily, there are many head units that support A2DP on the market today, both aftermarket and OEM.

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    I've always felt that cars should support connecting to a WiFi network. It would open up a tremendous amount of potential. [/slighty-ot]
    – Jason Salaz
    Jun 19, 2012 at 22:06
  • @JasonSalaz this question got me thinking about running a small WiFi router in my car actually. Wouldn't be hard, but without built-in support at the stereo head it's kind of limited in its usefulness. You'd need to slide in an AppleTV or something like that to do audio streaming and it starts to seem like over kill.
    – Ian C.
    Jun 19, 2012 at 23:11
  • Don't get me wrong, in the face of this question alone there are logistical issues. I'd just love a smart stereo that has it's own storage that I could dump music on in cases where my phone has no signal, broke, or something like that. Plus I could remotely start my car from a web page if it were nearby. (Yes, I am aware there is a plethora of remote start technologies already.) Or pull diagnostic/mileage/etc. information? The possibilities of other things are endless.
    – Jason Salaz
    Jun 20, 2012 at 0:18
  • That makes a ton of sense. I appreciate it. I should have thought about a BT option, but I had a lot on my mind yesterday. :(
    – RLH
    Jun 20, 2012 at 12:19
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Kivic one is what you want; when it gets here!

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    Welcome to Ask.Different! Can you add some more details and link to better explain your answer?
    – nohillside ♦
    Jul 1, 2012 at 9:36
  • I think they mean kivic-one.com
    – parsley72
    Jun 14, 2016 at 19:23
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I realize this is an old thread but I thought I'd share. My Airplay setup:

  • Radio with Aux audio port

  • Dolry HiFi Stone - use direct play, manual DHCP, just enter IP and subnet. No DNS.

  • Dock cable with USB and audio jacks

  • SNI-1/3.5 filter or other ground loop isolator

  • USB Charger for cigarette lighter

Set up is about $100

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  • Just to confirm you are using the Dolry HiFi in your car? How does that work exactly, I thought it was wifi based?
    – Adam
    Jul 14, 2014 at 12:31
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Check out the AirEnabler - http://airenabler.qnology.com/.

The AirEnabler is a plug and play solution that allows you to AirPlay enable any speaker system such as your existing home stereo or old iPhone/iPod dock. It will even work with your car stereo. Add AirPlay support to any speaker system with a audio aux-in port (3.5mm or RCA).

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The 2014 Ford Fiesta has a radio system that links via Bluetooth airplay.

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