Pioneer Brings Apple CarPlay To Older Cars.

Revealed at last month’s Geneva Auto Show, the Apple Carplay system is an integrated hardware and software ecosystem which brings the iPhone experience to vehicle dashboards. Featuring Siri voice control, CarPlay gives users total hands-free reign over the most popular iOS functions including access to Apple Maps; streaming and stored music libraries; and the ability to make phone calls, check voicemail and send and receive messages. Users can also interact via the display’s touchscreen, or even with each vehicles unique physical controls.

At the time of its announcement, the CarPlay system was slated to be OEM only in select vehicles from Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes Benz and Volvo. Other manufacturers were lined up to offer CarPlay options in the future, but anyone who already owned a car was out of luck. That changed with Pioneer’s recent announcement of the industry’s first aftermarket Apple CarPlay compatible head units.

Compatible models will be part of the Pioneer NEX lineup, which currently consists of five different double-DIN, 7-inch touchscreen headunits. These units are already available for purchase, though they’re not currently equipped to handle the CarPlay system. That functionality will be added later this summer via a simple firmware update.

In the meantime, installing one of these Pioneer head units, like the entry-level Pioneer AVH-4000NEX, still gets you a state-of-the-art, interactive entertainment unit for your vehicle. With Bluetooth connectivity and a vivid touchscreen, the NEX series car stereo receivers give you access to any entertainment available on your iOS or Android Phone. When the CarPlay goes live, you’ll get even more ways to interact with your iPhone, and a great head unit will become even better.

For more info on the Pioneer CarPlay stereos, visit the Pioneer website.