Roger Fingas
The 2017 Mirage hatchback will be Mitsubishi's first U.S. car with support for Apple's CarPlay standard, according to an announcement from the Japanese automaker.
The vehicle is slated to launch sometime in the spring of 2016, the company said. Like many new and upcoming vehicles, the Mirage will support Google's Android Auto standard as well.
Mitsubishi didn't offer any other details on the car's dash system, though audio will optionally be playable from a 300-watt Rockford Fosgate audio system with ecoPunch, meaning high energy efficiency and low weight.
The company already has CarPlay on the 2016 Pajero, but only in Australia and some European countries.
CarPlay is only now beginning to roll out as a common feature, despite having first launched in March 2014. It took several months for the first compatible vehicles to arrive, and even then they were luxury models from Ferrari, Volvo, and Mercedes-Benz, out of reach for the average person.
Car makers such as Honda and GM are finally rolling the technology into more popular models. Improved adoption should happen in 2016, with a greater number of both makers and models.
Mike Wuerthele and Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Oliver Haslam
Wesley Hilliard
17 Comments
CarPlay adoption thus far has been absolutely glacial. Not even "global warming" has helped! /s
Do you think Apple can take the dashboard market while simultaneously releasing a successful car of their own? Imagine that??
[quote name="cali" url="/t/190332/2017-mirage-will-be-first-us-mitsubishi-model-with-apples-carplay#post_2810227"]Do you think Apple can take the dashboard market while simultaneously releasing a successful car of their own? Imagine that??[/quote] Actually, I CAN imagine that!
[quote name="cali" url="/t/190332/2017-mirage-will-be-first-us-mitsubishi-model-with-apples-carplay#post_2810227"]Do you think Apple can take the dashboard market while simultaneously releasing a successful car of their own? Imagine that??[/quote] It would certainly be atypical for them, unlike Google and MS that have licensed SW to OEMs while also being and OEM in that same space. More of a conspiracy theory than anything, but what if these Apple Car rumours are mostly to get auto manufacturers to get going with CarPlay so they can at least get an Apple customer in their car before Apple releases theirs. (I did say conspiracy theory. :p)
Even if your theory isn't actually an apple strategy, you won't be the only one thinking it and therefore it will be having the same effect. What can you do when Apple comes rolling into your bit of turf? I'm just glad I'm on their team!