Pioneer's Wireless Android Auto Head Units Are Now Available

Pioneer showed off its wireless Android Auto head units at CES, followed by Google showing them off at Google I/O earlier this month. Now these new head units are finally available. These are the AVH-W4400NEX, AVIC-W6400NEX and AVIC-W8400NEX head units, which start at $700 and go up to $1200 a piece. These can be installed in pretty much any vehicle and will give you Android Auto as it was meant to be.

Wireless Android Auto is exactly what it sounds like. When you get into your vehicle, your smartphone will automatically connect to the car’s Bluetooth and WiFi network and start up Android Auto. So you don’t need to plug it in using a USB cable any longer. This makes it easier to use Android Auto on those shorter trips, where you might be heading to the store and going back home, but want to listen to your music, or perhaps use Google Maps to see if there is any traffic. Although, it’s still going to be a good idea to plug in your phone when using wireless Android Auto, because there is a lot of resources being used with Android Auto, which is going to deplete your battery pretty quickly. But it is nice to have the ability to not need to plug it in. The reason why you need a new head unit for wireless Android Auto is because you need the head unit or the vehicle to have its own WiFi connection, since Bluetooth isn’t strong enough to drive the display on these head units.

The AVH-W4400NEX head unit is the cheapest here, with a price tag of $700. While the AVIC-W6400NEX goes for $800 and the AVIC-W8400NEX runs around $1200. These are not cheap head units, but they are jam-packed with features. Including satellite radio, Apple CarPlay, of course Android Auto, and there are add ons for rear cameras and other things here. Now it’s a good idea to get this installed by a professional, unless you do know what you are doing. As these can take a lot of work, depending on the vehicle you are driving. You can purchase all three Pioneer head units using the links below.