You can get Android Auto in two ways. One is by buying a new car that has Android Auto built in. The other being an after-market head unit from either Pioneer or JVC Kenwood. There are only a handful of after-market head units available, but we’ve picked out three of the best, to recommend this holiday season. These are all great head units that do much more than just offer Android Auto for your car.
Kenwood eXcelon DDX9902S
Kenwood wasn’t first to the scene with Android Auto support, but the DDX9902S here is a pretty decent model to pick up. In addition to Android Auto and Apple Carplay, it also has an HDMI input, allowing you to mirror your smartphone on the display in case you don’t want to use Android Auto. It also has HD Radio, as most of these head units do. And it sports a 6.95-inch display.
Pioneer AVH-4100NEX
Here’s Pioneer’s entry-level model that has Android Auto as well as Apple Carplay support. It’s a great model and in fact it’s the one we use here at Android Headlines. It does have a built in DVD player, as well as having support for Pandora over Bluetooth and HD Radio. It sports a 7-inch WVGA display. While the display isn’t that high in pixel density, it’s still quite good for what you’re using it for in the car.
Pioneer AVIC-7100NEX
This model here is a bit more expensive than the AVH-4100NEX that was listed above. And the primary reason for that is that it has built in navigation, while the latter does not. The AVIC-7100NEX has built-in navigation from the likes of Nokia’s Here maps and also has some internal storage to store maps offline for you. It also has Pandora compatibility over Bluetooth, along with HD Radio, and of course Android Auto and Apple Carplay support. It also sports a 7-inch display.