Even though it arrived later than expected, Pioneer recently supplied updates for its existing NEX lineup of car stereos to support Apple’s CarPlay. The popular streaming music service, Spotify, was also updated to add support for Apple’s new car infotainment platform. For those of you who weren’t following the news from before, Pioneer had originally demonstrated CarPlay support for its NEX aftermarket car systems back in May. The company promised that the update would become available to users in “a few weeks.” The update was finally supplied by the company today Oct 02 2014.
Firmware updates are now available for download on the following model numbers: AVIC-X8610BS, AVH-4000NEX, and theAVIC-5000NEX, 6000NEX, 7000NEX and 8000NEX.
Pioneer also recently introduced a new more affordable unit, priced at $600, called the AppRadio 4. This unit features a 6.2-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen. CarPlay is compatible with iOS 7.1 or later running on an iPhone 5 or newer. The units are also equipped with Siri Eyes Free support which provides voice prompts to users and receives commands through an external microphone built into the head unit.
Vice president of marketing for the Car Electronics Division of Pioneer Electronics, Ted Cardenas, said the following about the AppRadio 4:
Originally Posted by :
The new AppRadio 4 embodies our idea of the connected car, providing the majority of smartphone owners the ability to utilize their devices in the car for calling, streaming music, and even controlling supported apps to enhance their driving experience.
For those of you who didn’t already know, CarPlay supports native Apple apps out of the box including Music, Maps and select third-party apps such as Spotify.
