​The Android Auto And Apple CarPlay Stereos You've Been Waiting For

If you've been putting off upgrading your stereo to get in on that sweet Android Auto or Apple CarPlay integration, your wait is officially over.

Pioneer, Kenwood, and Parrot brought out the first round of aftermarket head units with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration to CES this week, and while ditching your dumb stereo for a smart one isn't cheap, the options are enticing.

Pioneer has been offering CarPlay-compatible head units since last year, but now it's finally offering Android Auto in its new range of NEX head units.

Three models are available, each with a 7-inch touchscreen and capable of running without a phone connected. The top line AVIC-8100NEX comes in at $1,400 will a capacitive touchscreen, while the $1,200 AVIC-7100NEX makes due with a resistive screen, and the least expensive AVH-4100NEX ($700) nixes the onboard navigation software, which you don't need anyway when running with Google or Apple Maps.

Kenwood is offering the Android Auto/Apple CarPlay compatible DDX9902S, which also comes with all the standard bells and whistles including Bluetooth integration, built-in Pandora and iHeartRadio apps, and Sirius XM. Kenwood hasn't announced pricing or availability, but it should be on sale in the first half of the year.

Parrot has been selling its Android-powered Asteroid head units for a few years, but the RNB6 (they gotta come up with some better names for these things) looks like one of their best efforts to date. It's running Android 5.0 Lollipop controlled through a 7-inch capacitive display, comes with Bluetooth 4.0 low energy, has a 5GHz WiFi receiver on board, and like the Pioneer, offers embedded navigation. Inputs for both rearview cams and dash cams (!) are part of the kit, along with plugs for in-vehicle networking, HDMI, ethernet, and even an OBDII port for diagnostics. It's damn pretty and pretty nuts, and should be appropriately priced when it goes on sale later this year. Check it out below.