Alpine announces Halo9 Android Auto head unit with a 9-inch 800×480 display for $1,100

Head units that support Android Auto are quickly becoming thing. We’re seeing more and more of these pop up and because we’re still in the thick of CES 2018, Alpine has announced a brand new in-dash unit — the iLX-F309 — that comes with a huge 9-inch display.

The iLX-F309, also known as the Halo9, is fully compatible with Android Auto and only uses a single DIN slot but before you get too excited — let me stop you right there. That big display? Well, it’s only 800×480 resolution for a staggering 104 PPI. Yeah, you’re probably not going to want to do much with that display but should be fine for navigation or flipping through your Spotify playlists.

The real kicker? The iLX-F309 will retail for $1,100 when it launches next month. It’s a bit on the pricey side, but there’s still plenty of audio hardware to be found. In any case, you might want to start saving your money now or you could always try strapping an Android tablet to your dash. Here’s the full spec sheet for those interested:

iLX-F309 Mech-less 9-inch Audio/Video Receiver

• 9-inch WVGA capacitive touch screen
• Audio, video and Bluetooth® feature set
• Works with Apple CarPlay®
• Android Auto™ now with the Google Assistant
• HD Radio™ tuner built-in
• Made for iPod® and iPhone®
• SiriusXM-Ready™ (SXV300 Connect Vehicle Tuner Kit sold separately, SiriusXM subscription required)
• Pandora® control from iPhone® and Android™ smartphones
• FLAC/MP3/WMA/AAC/HE-AAC music playback via USB
• Alpine TuneIt® App integration
• BT Plus Bluetooth® wireless technology with audio streaming
• My Favorites feature provides custom shortcuts to favorite audio sources, places and phone numbers
• Touch screen control of electrical accessories via KAC-001 External Accessory Control Module (sold separately)
• 4-way swipe action graphical interface control
• Touch screen control of multiple camera systems via KCX-C250MC Multi-Camera Selector Interface (sold separately
• One HDMI input or expand via KCX-630HD HDMI Selector Interface (sold separately)
• Available February, SRI: $1,100

via Press Release