Sony previews new XAV-AX200 receiver with Apple CarPlay support

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone
Sony on Monday revealed the XAV-AX200, its latest aftermarket receiver with support for Apple's CarPlay, due to ship in North America by the end of the year.

Sony's AX100.
Sony's AX100.


The unit will sport a 6.4-inch touchscreen, and also run Android Auto, Sony said. Some other features will include Bluetooth, a DVD player, configurable steering wheel input, FLAC lossless support via USB, and SiriusXM radio.

A 4-channel amplifier will deliver up to 55 watts per channel, with a 4-volt pre-out. When driving it will allow switching between three external cameras, including a dedicated reverse input.

Sony has yet to publish images or a pricetag. The CarPlay-compatible AX100, however, costs $449.99.

A growing number of automakers now offer CarPlay, including brands like Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, and Kia. Most compatible vehicles are 2016, 2017, or 2018 models however, which may force owners of older cars to pay for aftermarket upgrades. Some other third-party receiver brands include Alpine, Clarion, Kenwood, and Pioneer.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,166member
    Can't work out if it is wireless CarPlay.
  • Reply 2 of 12
    joe28753joe28753 Posts: 82member
    The AX100 doesn’t have HD radio. I wonder if this new version will get it. Not a huge deal, I mostly use mine for CarPlay anyway. I think it’s the best aftermarket option. Very nice looking software and hardware design. Looks very clean. All the other aftermarket head units feel like they were designed by a 50 year old guessing what a 12 year old would think is cool. Also it has a physical volume knob which I like. Sounds pretty good too. Only other thing I might add is the HD radio for the occasional short trips when I’m not plugged in. Oh also the safety warning pops up on bootup every time and you have to physically press OK every single time and you can’t disable it. 
  • Reply 3 of 12
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    1) I'd love to see a review of Alpine's new iLX-107 with wireless CarPlay. A friend has one and I was concerned about the performance of the UI between devices but he says it feels instant. Still, he doesn't do reviews so I'd love to see a site like AI tackle it, if possible.


    2) At this point I think it's important for any article about CarPlay to start using the wired or wireless modifier for CarPlay (and Android Auto).
    redgeminipa
  • Reply 4 of 12
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    Hello Sony, sell this unit to Toyota. They can't figure out how to implement Carplay in any of their models. It's win for Sony, Toyota and Toyota customers.
    edited August 2017
  • Reply 5 of 12
    h.dasmithh.dasmith Posts: 6member
    I have the AX100 and it's really good. Not sure what's changed for this though. I did have the Pioneer, but that broke after 18 months. The 100 is better than the Pioneer SPH-DA120 that I did have in every way except one - on the Sony, you can't tell it you have a right hand drive car which moves the home button, time, and shortcut buttons in CarPlay to the right hand side of the screen.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    h.dasmith said:
    I have the AX100 and it's really good. Not sure what's changed for this though. I did have the Pioneer, but that broke after 18 months. The 100 is better than the Pioneer SPH-DA120 that I did have in every way except one - on the Sony, you can't tell it you have a right hand drive car which moves the home button, time, and shortcut buttons in CarPlay to the right hand side of the screen.
    I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the Japanese version supports drivers on the right side...if not then it's really weird they don't have a model that supports their home market...

    Edit: LOL...I went on a limb and was wrong.  They don't appear to have a model with either the physical controls or UI on the right for their home market.  That's funny.
    edited August 2017
  • Reply 7 of 12
    GG1GG1 Posts: 483member
    wood1208 said:
    Hello Sony, sell this unit to Toyota. They can't figure out how to implement Carplay in any of their models. It's win for Sony, Toyota and Toyota customers.
    Toyota won't be implementing it anytime soon.

    https://www.autoblog.com/2015/08/05/toyota-telenav-over-apple-carplay-android-auto-official/
  • Reply 8 of 12
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    GG1 said:
    wood1208 said:
    Hello Sony, sell this unit to Toyota. They can't figure out how to implement Carplay in any of their models. It's win for Sony, Toyota and Toyota customers.
    Toyota won't be implementing it anytime soon.

    https://www.autoblog.com/2015/08/05/toyota-telenav-over-apple-carplay-android-auto-official/
    Telenav is to Toyota as CurrentC is to CVS.
    robin huber
  • Reply 9 of 12
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,286member
    wood1208 said:
    Hello Sony, sell this unit to Toyota. They can't figure out how to implement Carplay in any of their models. It's win for Sony, Toyota and Toyota customers.
    It's not that they can't, it's that they chose not to.
    Soli
  • Reply 10 of 12
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    joe28753 said:
    The AX100 doesn’t have HD radio. I wonder if this new version will get it. Not a huge deal, I mostly use mine for CarPlay anyway. I think it’s the best aftermarket option. Very nice looking software and hardware design. Looks very clean. All the other aftermarket head units feel like they were designed by a 50 year old guessing what a 12 year old would think is cool. Also it has a physical volume knob which I like. Sounds pretty good too. Only other thing I might add is the HD radio for the occasional short trips when I’m not plugged in. Oh also the safety warning pops up on bootup every time and you have to physically press OK every single time and you can’t disable it. 
    If that is required every car startup just to use it for something as basic as FM radio airplay then it's a deal breaker for me. I don't need a car driving experience to be like flying an aircraft with a preflight checklist.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,166member
    Linkman you're gonna hate the future once our nanny state overlord revolutionary liberators finally subdue the reactionary forces of self determination.
  • Reply 12 of 12
    vmarksvmarks Posts: 762editor
    Soli said:
    1) I'd love to see a review of Alpine's new iLX-107 with wireless CarPlay. A friend has one and I was concerned about the performance of the UI between devices but he says it feels instant. Still, he doesn't do reviews so I'd love to see a site like AI tackle it, if possible.


    2) At this point I think it's important for any article about CarPlay to start using the wired or wireless modifier for CarPlay (and Android Auto).
    We're writing this review at the moment. I've had it in my car for the past week, and it's been excellent. Your friend isn't wrong.

    linkman said:
    joe28753 said:
    The AX100 doesn’t have HD radio. I wonder if this new version will get it. Not a huge deal, I mostly use mine for CarPlay anyway. I think it’s the best aftermarket option. Very nice looking software and hardware design. Looks very clean. All the other aftermarket head units feel like they were designed by a 50 year old guessing what a 12 year old would think is cool. Also it has a physical volume knob which I like. Sounds pretty good too. Only other thing I might add is the HD radio for the occasional short trips when I’m not plugged in. Oh also the safety warning pops up on bootup every time and you have to physically press OK every single time and you can’t disable it. 
    If that is required every car startup just to use it for something as basic as FM radio airplay then it's a deal breaker for me. I don't need a car driving experience to be like flying an aircraft with a preflight checklist.
    The Alpine ILX-107 mentioned just above does not have the safety nag screen. Every other unit I've had in our rolling test lab has had it - units from Pioneer and Kenwood, specifically.
    edited August 2017 Soli
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