If you’re looking to make your car “smarter” through connected features like Android Auto or CarPlay but don’t want to have to buy a new car just for those features, not to worry as there are quite a few after market solutions out there. In fact if you might recall, in August Sony unveiled their own affordable head unit, and the good news is that it is now available for purchase.
Dubbed the XAV-AZ100, this head unit features a 6.4-inch display and will be able to support either Google’s Android Auto platform or Apple’s CarPlay. It is also priced at $499 which makes it much more affordable than buying a new car with those features, or buying some of the other after market solutions out there.
It will feature a rotary knob, a 10 band graphic equalizer, and will also play nicely with cars that have a reverse camera. There are also 3 pre-outs that lets drivers link up with their car’s sound system. There is also a feature called Dynamic Stage Organizer that lets users recalibrate the frequency output so that the speakers by the door sound like they’re coming out from the dashboard.
That being said we should remind you guys that with Android Auto, an update to the feature means that users can now use their phones, meaning that unless there are certain features in the Sony XAV-AZ100 or other head unit models that you want, using your phone is a much cheaper alternative. Otherwise you will be able to get your hands on the unit from Amazon or Best Buy.
Filed in . Read more about Android Auto, Carplay and Sony.