As the first units are shipped to the first backers, unfortunate news has hit the popular “AAWireless” dongle that is bringing Android Auto wireless to more vehicles – it’s going to get a price hike.
In an update posted to the official IndieGoGo campaign, lead developer Emil confirmed production is still booming, with 6,000 units manufactured this month and another 10,000 slated for April to fill back orders.
Unfortunately, due to the industry-wide chip shortage some changes are being made to the AAWireless dongle that will affect the price. Future batches of the dongle will be upgraded from the current RockChip RK3308 processor to the RV1109. Emil explains that this processor is “overkill” for what the product needs, but it is the best chip available that has sufficient stock to meet production needs.
This means that while we are making the current promises, we also need to rethink the board and change the current processor from RK3308 to RV1109. The new processor is a massive overkill for our product, just like the current processor. But due to the shortage and lack of components, we really have no choice but to go.
As a result of the CPU swap, the commodity price on AAWireless has increased by around 50%. This price increase will not be passed on to current donors, but future pledges will see a higher price. The latest commitment, available for June 2021, has increased by $ 10 from $ 65 to $ 75.
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