Sony announced one of the more inexpensive CarPlay and Android Auto radios due for the market.
Reaching stores in November at $499, it strips out the CD and DVD player, so you get your music from your iPhone or Android phone plus the built in AM/FM radio.
With CarPlay you get a simple user interface familiar to Apple users that pops up on the radio screen with large touch screen buttons. You can control music, navigation and even text messages by voice. The version for Android phone users is Android Auto.
Sony’s radio XAV-AX100 comes in about $100 cheaper than other CarPlay/Android auto radios on the market. However two other companies JBL and Jensen have announced $399 radios that may arrive by the end of the year or January (either with CarPlay or both CarPlay and Android Auto).
Sony’s system gives you a 6.4 inch 800 x 480 touch screen with “improved visibility” including better night vision and less sun glare than past Sony models. It has Bluetooth, and built in sound processing technology plus a 10-band equalizer.
With the XAV-AX100 Sony joins Pioneer, Kenwood, Alpine and JVC in shipping CarPlay (or CarPlay/Android Auto) car decks.
Would like to see a feature on which of these carplay/Android play units has in respect to its audio dac chips. That’s the most important feature to me and the hardest to get info on.
So far, Kenwood is the only one that is “high res” audio certified. It will play 192/24bit flac audio files… along with some other types. You won’t get that out of a phone though. Most connectors & phone outputs only support 392/16 or 24 bit. Like an mp3 that’s least compressed @ 392. You have to put your high res music on a flash drive, then use the menu of the head unit to play it. The DDX9903S from Kenwood Excelon is going to be your best choice for a better experience.