What you need to know
- Alpine is introducing a new head unit in its Halo line at CES this week.
- The iLX-F411 boasts an 11-inch screen — the company's largest yet.
- It also works with both the Apple and the Android ecosystems.
If you don't have the fanciest car but are in the market for giving it some smarts, you might have heard of Alpine. The company makes a range of in-car infotainment and driving assistance products. And at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, the company unveiled its latest head unit.
Its largest yet, the new iLX-F411 is an 11-inch head unit that Alpine says has all the features of the Halo9 line from before and more. It retains the same 'hovering' design as the company's previous head units, meaning the device is stationed above a flexible stand that can be used to adjust its height, rotation, and tilt. The design also allows for the whole thing to be mounted using just one DIN slot, despite its larger size.
You can have three customizable home screens and up to 22 widgets on the head unit. And it works with both Apple's and Google's ecosystems via CarPlay and Android Auto, respectively. On the Android side, the iFX-F411 also supports Google Assistant for hands-free navigation.
While the larger screen should be a boon for controlling music or checking your texts on the go, the screen's resolution is decidedly archaic at 800 x 480 pixels (WVGA). You do, however, get your choice of media inputs via a USB port, AUX input, or HDMI. There's also support for Bluetooth, and you can use the head unit to display any front or rear cameras mounted on the car.
Alpine will start selling the iLX-F411 in June of this year for a price of $1,200.
