Apple’s CarPlay Coming To Your Vehicle With Aftermarket Pioneer Kit

Apple’s CarPlay looks to be one of the more innovative products that the company has created since the passing of Steve Jobs, and although it’s likely that we’ll see new cars on the lot with CarPlay technology built in yet this year, Pioneer is offering an aftermarket CarPlay product that you can pop into the car that you already own.

The in-dash multimedia system will be available this summer on Pioneer’s NEX receivers via a firmware update and should offer all the features promised by any Apple CarPlay system.

Pioneer Apple CarPlay

“Pioneer’s years of expertise integrating smartphone connectivity into the automotive environment has provided us the opportunity to be among the first to offer CarPlay to drivers,” said Ted Cardenas, vice president of marketing for the Car Electronics Division of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. in a press release. “By providing an aftermarket option, Pioneer’s 2014 in-dash multimedia systems give many iPhone owners the ability to add CarPlay to their current vehicles.”

Pioneer Apple CarPlay

And boy oh boy will it cost you a pretty penny; the Pioneer NEX receivers start at $700 and range up to $1,400. That’s a luxury buy to be sure, but it’s still quite compelling. We wonder what the markup will be for built-in CarPlay on new vehicles.