Pioneer announced earlier this year that its latest aftermarket NEX infotainment systems will be compatible with CarPlay, allowing customers to use the Apple technology in an existing automobile. The company was in San Francisco this week, showing off the technology, which requires only a firmware update that is expected to arrive in “a few weeks.”
As noted by Macworld, demo cars included the high-end $1400 Pioneer AVH-8000NEX system, which contains an in-dash capacitive touchscreen that allows the driver to tap on the infotainment screen to interact with the CarPlay system. CarPlay also supports hands-free operation using Siri to control many of the available functions.
The current version of Apple’s CarPlay requires a Lightning cable connection between the iPhone and the console system, which limits its attraction to users who own an iPhone 5/5c/5s. Wireless support has been rumored, however that has not been confirmed by Apple.
Pioneer is among the first automobile electronics companies to make CarPlay available to buyers of its aftermarket systems. Alpine has also announced a series of aftermarket CarPlay-capable systems, which are expected to arrive later this year.
