Pioneer launches two new Android Auto head units

Pioneer has launched new AV receivers that have the support for Android Auto, Google’s app that offers you to connect your phone to the car display. For all those who have an older car that does not already come with Android Auto, the receiver can be mounted to your car dashboard and used by connecting it to a compatible smartphone, which is, for this time being, only Pixel and Nexus smartphones. Soon, with an Android P release, many more devices will be added to this list. You can use Bluetooth, USB or, as of a recent update, Wi-Fi to connect your smartphone to your car.

Two new units, AVIC-W8400NEX and AVIC-W4400NEX, are compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, while the third released unit AVIC-W6400NEX is compatible only with Apple CarPlay and allows the use of Siri Eyes Free, meaning not only Android but also iPhone users can implement these new products into their car rides. All of them support FLAC files which do not need to be converted to be played. What differs between the products is the size of the display and the type of the touchscreen. While -W8400NEX and -W4400NEX have a 7-inch display, the -W6400NEX model has a smaller 6.2- inch display. Capacitive touchscreen display can be found on -W8400NEX model and other new releases have a resistive touchscreen display.

 

The prices of the new AV receivers range from $700 to $1,200.

 

Read also: Android Auto now works wirelessly on Google devices