Aftermarket touchscreens for your car aren’t new by any means, but this one is pretty clever. It lets you put a touchscreen in cars where one otherwise wouldn’t fit.
Alpine’s new head unit floats the display slightly in front of the unit itself, allowing you to pack a 9” touchscreen into a single DIN slot.
Once installed, the screen can be slid in or out to make sure it’s in just the right spot, or tipped up or down by up to 45 degrees to help with glare. It works with CarPlay and Android Auto, and has Bluetooth, SiriusXM, and HD Radio — but no CD slot, as there’s not really anywhere for one to go. It’s got the standard USB/AUX ports you’d expect, and, if you feel like getting fancy with further customizations, there’s an HDMI port for adding whatever your heart desires.
It won’t work perfectly all single DIN cars, of course; depending on where your AC controls are, for example, a big touchscreen might block things you need to reach regularly. But in cars where it’ll fit, it seems like quite the upgrade from your standard single DIN deck.
Alpine says the units should start shipping in February, and will cost $1,100