I'm putting in a new Nav HU in my new car and trying to determine the best option for me. I've read through the forums here, the ARU thread on XDA, and on the AppRadioWorld site; however I'm still stuck on what direction I should go in.  Some sort of Nav feature with BT streaming is important, but I can't decide in which direction to go.  

NAV: I know the 4000 doesn't have the NAV unit included, but whereas we'll have our phones with us at all times I wondered if we can simply use either ARU or something to use and control Google Maps via our phone. I thought so, but does anyone have experience with this? Part of me wants to go with the 4000 because of the chance she might go with the iPhone at some point, but the AppRadio includes the NAV so if she gets frustrated with ARU, she would have the NAV built into the unit.

CarPlay: Apple seems to be pushing back CarPlay again and again. It was expected in July (??) and we're getting close to the September iPhone reveal with no news. Should I really consider that a selling point if it keeps getting pushed back? I've seen this with Samsung and their inability to provide timely system updates to their phones and I'm not excited about that happening again.

MirrorLink: I'm not entirely clear what MirrorLink does that ARU doesn't, but with the purchase of a new phone on the horizon I'm wondering when they will open the floodgates to other newer phones. I saw the M8 (one that I'm looking at with the LG G3 and the S5) was recently certified as a MirrorLink capable phone. 

XM: I don't currently subscribe to XM, but my wife's new car has a trial and if I can put a transponder in cheaply I might do it. I see the AppRadio 3 doesn't allow for that expansion. I'm honestly not sure it is a big deal, but it should be a consideration... same with the need for a disc drive. I haven't listened to a CD in FOREVER. 

BlueTooth Streaming: My wife loves this feature of her new van's stereo. Does one of these units perform considerably better than another? 

Finally the most important issue is cost. The AppRadio 3 can be had for nearly half the price of the 4000.  I can always sell her stock radio for slightly less than the price of an AppRadio 3, but is the future expansion of the 4000 worth the difference?

Get the 4000.

Neither unit has built in navigation. The AR3 has a built in gps but no built in nav.

The 4000 has a better bluetooth system, is compatible with more hardware, and is more capable as a radio when there is no phone involved.

Also once carplay hits (some time in the next few years) the 4000 will have a larger user base (especially since underneath the NEX hardware is identical across the line.) which means more updates from pioneer, and better community support for issues. The AR3 will go the way of the dodo soon.

Why does the AppRadio 3 come with a GPS antenna if it doesn't have navigation? It looks like there are apps that can be used that access that GPS antenna, but I don't understand the distinction.

Partly, I'm trying to understand how the 4000 works in relation to Nav. I assume it only works in some sort of mirror mode where the Droid's screen is cast to the radio screen via that HDMI connection, but I'm not sure. Unfortunately I don't live anywhere near a car audio shop where I can test this stuff out. It looks like the 4000 has no Nav abilities independent of working with a phone. 

I like the future-proofing of the 4000.

I started with an Appradio 3 model (the SPH-DA210) and then upgraded to the AVH4000NEX. I haven't regretted it for one second. One area in which the NEX is far superior is sound quality. The NEX4000 has a 13-band EQ as opposed to 5 on the DA210, and the time alignment feature alone is worth the cost of the upgrade. Also, once CarPlay hits (whenever that might be), you won't ever have to deal with the buggy and unreliable Appradio mode. The only way in which the NEX falls short of the DA210 is that the NEX doesn't have a capacitive touchscreen but, to be honest, I haven't missed it one bit.

Get the NEX, it's a much better unit.

I should mention I'm going from the 700BT, so my frame of reference with the these nav units is my experience with that HU.

I should mention I'm going from the 700BT, so my frame of reference with the these nav units is my experience with that HU.

Pjrm68, did you get the Nav add on for the 4000? If not, how did you make NAV work for you?

Now the 4000 can have the u-260 add on purchased for the radio which would give it stand alone navigation without the need for the phone. The Appradio already has a gps receiver, but that is solely used to assist the phone's internal gps unit. In my opinion it doesn't do very much at all. On my Appradio 2 it isn't even plugged in.

 

I should mention I'm going from the 700BT, so my frame of reference with the these nav units is my experience with that HU.

 

Pjrm68, did you get the Nav add on for the 4000? If not, how did you make NAV work for you?

 

I used the GPS MotionX and sometimes Waze apps in Appradio mode for navigation and they worked like a charm. I haven't used nav apps with my NEX yet because when I bought it, I didn't plan on using Appradio mode ever again and I didn't buy the cables for it. (That was when Pioneer was saying it would be "weeks, not months" until CarPlay would be enabled. LOL.)

I used the GPS MotionX and sometimes Waze apps in Appradio mode for navigation and they worked like a charm. I haven't used nav apps with my NEX yet because when I bought it, I didn't plan on using Appradio mode ever again and I didn't buy the cables for it. (That was when Pioneer was saying it would be "weeks, not months" until CarPlay would be enabled. LOL.)

Lol I did the same thing with my unit, but I caved recently and just bought the cables.

Lol I did the same thing with my unit, but I caved recently and just bought the cables.

Haha yeah, I'm holding out. I can't go back to the unreliable mess that was Appradio mode. I just can't....

I used AR3 for awhile then recently switched to the 4000. One big advantage, Nav-wise, is AR3 is fully compatible with Motion-X Drive and the 4000 is not. MXD is as good or better than standalone Garmin units such as the 3597 that I currently use. MXD has remarkable sound quality through your car speakers. It fully takes advantage of the AR3 GPS antenna. I was expecting MXD to make the transition to the 4000 but it did not. The MXD folks said they have no plans to port it either. Shame. I have a backup camera installed and it works fine with both the AR3 and the 4000. I have the HDMI/USB cable out to attach my iPhone 5s. I installed the brake over-ride which works well. I can watch/listen to programming streaming from my Slingbox at home through the 5s to the 4000's screen. Mostly I just put the Slingbox in audio mode as video is too distracting. Whereas the AR3 has FM/AM/Pandora sound the 4000 has HD Radio and /Sirius/Pandora/aha/ too. My wish for the 4000 is MXD compatibility. Carplay is getting to be a bad joke. My understanding is that SIRI isn't fully CarPlay ready, though it works quite well in its integration with both the 4000 and AR3 through I forget what they call it. Mostly SIRI warns you that you cannot do certain things while driving. AR3 or 4000? The future belongs to NEX though AR3 ain't bad either.

I have 4000 with U-260 nav addon, i have all the cables for app radio mode, but find nav addon is alot easier. Just hit mode switch and voila, its there. What is a drag, nav mode in negated, that is, not available, when app radio is connected.

I have 4000 with U-260 nav addon, i have all the cables for app radio mode, but find nav addon is alot easier. Just hit mode switch and voila, its there. What is a drag, nav mode in negated, that is, not available, when app radio is connected.

Just how they wired it in. It's using the same connection as if you had a 30 pin iPhone using appradio mode. Radio can't even handle bluetooth and appradio mode at the same time much less two simultaneous video feeds. 

So if I go with a 4000, or maybe an AR3, can I mirror my Google Maps or whatever is on my phone and view it on the screen when the car is in motion?

Yes. With both units you can do that.

I called Crutchfield yesterday to ask about these units and the guy I was talking with was trying to point me toward top JVC model out there as it provides a more seamless, straight mirrored integration of my android phone and the HU as compared to the Pioneer models. That all sounds good, but looking at the phones supported by that mode... the future isn't all that rosy. However, as I understand it, there is no similar mirroring capabilities on either the 4000 or the AR3 unless ARU is involved. Correct?

I called Crutchfield yesterday to ask about these units and the guy I was talking with was trying to point me toward top JVC model out there as it provides a more seamless, straight mirrored integration of my android phone and the HU as compared to the Pioneer models. That all sounds good, but looking at the phones supported by that mode... the future isn't all that rosy. However, as I understand it, there is no similar mirroring capabilities on either the 4000 or the AR3 unless ARU is involved. Correct?

Do you want to simply mirror your phone or do you want to control standard phone apps from the head unit touch screen?

If I liked the app in question, I'd use it.  I hate the idea of using some half baked app simply because its authors were able to get a sweetheart deal with Pioneer.   Also using some of my experiences with Smart TV's, these apps that are cooked into a unit like this never keep pace with what the android app morphs into over its lifecycle. It's been my experience that the less I have to rely upon an app baked in, and rather on version of the app most users are working with, the better the app should be.  I'm certainly not opposed to making changes, though I don't like the idea of paying a monthly fee for a Nav app.

If I liked the app in question, I'd use it.  I hate the idea of using some half baked app simply because its authors were able to get a sweetheart deal with Pioneer.   Also using some of my experiences with Smart TV's, these apps that are cooked into a unit like this never keep pace with what the android app morphs into over its lifecycle. It's been my experience that the less I have to rely upon an app baked in, and rather on version of the app most users are working with, the better the app should be.  I'm certainly not opposed to making changes, though I don't like the idea of paying a monthly fee for a Nav app.

Ok, what you're saying is the case with the pioneer app on both units and the aha app on the 4000. However all other apps are powered by the phone and are kept up to date because they are just the phone apps with a little tweaking projected onto the car display.

Appradio works by sending a video and audio feed usually through hdmi from your phone and then transmit back to the phone touch responses to allow you to control apps from your phone on your radio. Not car apps on your radio getting Internet from your Phone. So the waze app is the waze app. Make sense?

Ok, what you're saying is the case with the pioneer app on both units and the aha app on the 4000. However all other apps are powered by the phone and are kept up to date because they are just the phone apps with a little tweaking projected onto the car display.

 

Appradio works by sending a video and audio feed usually through hdmi from your phone and then transmit back to the phone touch responses to allow you to control apps from your phone on your radio. Not car apps on your radio getting Internet from your Phone. So the waze app is the waze app. Make sense?

I follow you on the second part, but what do you mean by the Pioneer app and the aha app on the 4000?

Sorry I meant the pandora app. Dictionary slip on my part. The NEX 4000 also has an aha music app just like the built in pandora app. These two apps work just like how they do in other cars. You get basic controls and the head unit is the one actually doing the heavy lifting. On the Appradio they only did this with pandora.

I don't have any experience with AppRadio HU, but i own a 4000NEX and don't regret it. I'm adding the Nav unit (u260) next week to it. So, as expected, it should be a complete HU.  In regards to Android phones, Android AUTO is coming up soon in parallel to Apple carplay.  And I'm hoping this will be the same compatibility as using the iPhone.