Video Walkthrough of Apple CarPlay on Pioneer Receiver Shows Siri, Phone, Maps, and More

Last week, Pioneer announced that it became the first company to offer support for Apple's CarPlay vehicle integration feature in five of its 2014 NEX in-dash multimedia receivers through a firmware update. Now, Josh Carr of technology repair firm Fix Denver (via TUAW) has put together a four-part video walkthrough of downloading, installing and using CarPlay on Pioneer's $700 AVH-4000NEX receiver, giving an overview of various apps and features.


After the 200 MB firmware update is downloaded from Pioneer's website, the user is required to create a bootable USB drive for the update which can be done through Disk Utility on OS X. From there, users plug the USB drive into the powered-on receiver and scroll to the device's settings to initiate the firmware update. Carr notes that the vehicle containing the deck must be on during the process with its emergency brake enabled. CarPlay then pops up on the receiver's home screen as an option, and boots into its own interface once selected.


Carr demonstrates a variety of different apps on CarPlay including Phone, Music, Spotify and Apple Maps along with how Siri integrates itself into the interface. Like on the iPhone, the Phone app contains options for Favorites, Recents, Contacts, Keypad and Visual Voicemail and uses Siri to tell the driver who is calling. The Music app contains options for iTunes Radio, Genius playlists, Artists and Now Playing, as Siri can also play a song when requested.


Meanwhile, launching the Messages app allows users to compose a message and send it to a specific contact through Siri. Incoming messages can also be read back to the user, and can also be replied to. When showing the Spotify app, Carr notes that there is no way to search for songs and that its interface is generally buggy and unresponsive at this time. Apple Maps and its GPS directions appears to be as responsive as the iOS app, and also allows for routes to be read back to the user.

Early reviews of CarPlay from Consumer Reports and Australian technology EFTM gave the system positive reviews, saying that it was easy and safe to use because of exceptional Siri integration. Aside from the $700 AVH-4000NEX, Pioneer is also bringing CarPlay support to the $1400 AVIC-8000NEX, the $1200 AVIC-7000NEX, the $900 AVIC-6000NEX, and the $750 AVIC-5000NEX. CarPlay is also compatible with Pioneer's new $600 AppRadio 4 smartphone receiver.

CarPlay for supported Pioneer NEX in-dash systems is enabled through a free firmware update available on the manufacturer's website. The interface requires an iPhone 5 or later along with iOS 7.1 or newer.

Related Roundup: CarPlay
Tags: Pioneer, TUAW

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...

Top Rated Comments

Dwalls90 Avatar
140 months ago
I would never pay several hundred dollars to have this put into my car, but if it became a standard in the industry, I sure wouldn't complain ...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
140 months ago
Does CarPlay stop working when you update the software? Does it bend?

Still? Really?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
140 months ago
I like that the guy's name is Carr.

Carr plays with CarPlay.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
UpperQuadrant Avatar
140 months ago
Does CarPlay stop working when you update the software? Does it bend?

Well, it obviously doesn't stop immature comments on MacRumors.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TantalizedMind Avatar
140 months ago
Do you have a newsletter listing the cities and dates of your traveling comedy show?

I don't have a current listing online because .Mac got shut down.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rdlink Avatar
140 months ago
Just another way to separate people from their money, most consumers don't need a GPS often enough to justify this, though their phone already has it, what exactly is the appeal here, "safety", "convenience"? The guy doing the demo seemed pretty distracted by the device, I don't see how this beats having your iPhone 6 plus on some kind of mount on your steering wheel or elsewhere in your line of vision. I suppose the other big appeal is music, but if that and GPS are the main reasons to buy (most of the stuff you do on your iPhone shouldn't be done while driving anyway), it's not appealing to me.

So, by "most consumers don't need a GPS often enough to justify this" you meant that YOU don't need it? Because there's no freaking way in the world you know what I need.

----------

Omg the future is here.

Denver? Best place in the world? Never heard of it.

So sad for you... ;)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)