Sam Oliver
iPhone owners looking to make the most of Apple's nascent in-car initiative without buying a vehicle now have a number of new choices, as industry heavies Pioneer and Kenwood have announced several new CarPlay-compatible replacement head units at CES 2015.
Pioneer has brought three new models into the CarPlay fold with the AVIC-8100NEX, AVIC-7100NEX and AVH-4100NEX. The second-generation NEX head units include external microphones for voice input as well as a wired remote to use with built-in steering wheel controls and support for Google's Android Auto.
The AVIC-8100NEX sports a high-resolution 7-inch capacitive touchscreen, while the AVIC-7100NEX and AVH-4100NEX ship with similar, resistive touch displays. All three units are equipped with HDMI input, wideband speech and A2DP AAC Bluetooth connectivity, HD Radio, and dual-zone audio and video playback.
Interested buyers will be able to purchase the new head units in March, beginning at $700 for the AVH-4100NEX, $1,200 for the AVIC-7100NEX, and $1,400 for the AVIC-8100NEX.
Rival kenwood, meanwhile, has announced its own DDX9902S, which also supports both CarPlay and Android Auto. Kenwood says the DDX9902S ships with an MHL-supported HDMI port which will allow iPhone 5, 6, and 6 Plus owners to charge their device while in use.
Bluetooth connectivity, HD Radio, and SiriusXM support are included alongside a "high-sensitivity touch screen." Buyers also have the option of adding a rear-view camera and factory steering wheel control integration.
Pricing and availability information for the DDX9902S is not yet available, but Kenwood says it will be released "soon."
AppleInsider Staff
Malcolm Owen
Oliver Haslam
Andrew O'Hara
Wesley Hilliard
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
11 Comments
Please don't tell me these units are running Android as the base OS? If they are, no thank you. Give me one of these that run QNX please!
Meanwhile, BMW has demoed a touchless gesture-based version of iDrive. In case you were wondering why BMW hasn't jumped on the CarPlay / Android Auto bandwagons. http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1075960
Why should I have to pay for Android Auto support if I don't want that garbage?
[quote name="TheWhiteFalcon" url="/t/184181/pioneer-kenwood-unveil-new-third-party-head-units-for-apples-carplay#post_2658142"]Why should I have to pay for Android Auto support if I don't want that garbage? [/quote] Where does it say that you have to pay for anything?
Why the f*** do these things cost so much? There are almost no internal components.