All right Apple and Pioneer fans, listen up!  Pioneer Electronics just announced that they are offering Apple’s highly anticipated CarPlay feature that makes it easy for you to use an iPhone or iPad with their car radios.

Pioneer said it just began shipping a new CarPlay-capable AppRadio 4 car stereo deck to dealers around the country, according to an article on CE Outlook. They also launched a firmware update for their five current NEX model radios so that they are also compatible with CarPlay.

CarPlay brings Apple’s familiar interface to the car for accessing messages, music, maps and iTunes Radio.  It also features apps like Beats Music, iHeartRadio, At Bat (MLB baseball), Spotify, Stitcher, CBS Radio and Podcasts. With CarPlay, the radio recognizes an iPhone 5 or iPhone 6 when its plugged in. Users can then access most features by voice including the ability to respond to texts and have texts read aloud. It also features large icons for simple menu navigation.  Check out the Video below from Pioneer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDWFs1yHRmo#t=178

The firmware update is available at: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Support/Downloads, and may be downloaded to a USB device and then uploaded to the radio. The radios that are available for the firmware update include the Pioneer AVIC-8000NEX, AVIC-7000NEX, AVIC-6000NEX, AVIC-5000NEX, and AVH-4000NEX.

AppRadio 4

pioneer_appradio_4Pioneer’s new AppRadio 4 is a powerhouse receiver, packing features not found in most premium stereos including Bluetooth and a 6.2″ capacitive touchscreen similar to your smartphone or tablet. You can take full advantage of the high-resolution WVGA screen with the onboard HDMI input, and it also has MirrorLink to mirror and control certain non-Apple smartphones. Android users will also rejoice in the seamless Android Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) for deeper access to files and folders, as well as the Google Voice integration. But worry not, iPhone users! You will love the intuitive iPhone/iPod interface and the ability to use Siri for voice commands.

 

 

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