The firmware update is finally available!!

Whoooo Hoooo!!!!!! Finally! AND SUPPORT FOR iPHONE 6!!! 

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/02/pioneer-carplay-now-available/?utm_source=osx&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=front

Alright people, let's start getting some info on how this works. Start posting videos of it working on your unit.

Firmware link: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Support/Downloads

Does anybody know if it is possible to flash this firmware on a European unit? (I have a AVH-X8600BT which is just a renamed AVIC-4000NEX).

--- Update ----

Sorry, forget my question, I've just seen, that the document says US/Canadian units only

It works! It works! It works! USB1 only! Upgrade took 7min. First it reads the card or USB. Need to do "Smartphone Setup" USB. Also enables "night mode" on NEX maps.

Notes: Bluetooth terminates call in progress if plugged in during conversation. Bluetooth audio streaming is not available when plugged is as before. NEX route guidance is terminated when CarPlay guidance is enabled. I held off on upgrading my iPhone5 from 7.1 to iOS 8. I would love for someone else to be the ginnie pig on that.

Does anybody know if it is possible to flash this firmware on a European unit? (I have a AVH-X8600BT which is just a renamed AVIC-4000NEX).

 

--- Update ----

 

Sorry, forget my question, I've just seen, that the document says US/Canadian units only

I would imagine so. The manual I downloaded was in many languages including French.

A new Spotify update with CarPlay support is available.

Does anybody know if it is possible to flash this firmware on a European unit? (I have a AVH-X8600BT which is just a renamed AVIC-4000NEX).

 

--- Update ----

 

Sorry, forget my question, I've just seen, that the document says US/Canadian units only

Yes, don't update your unit. Radio frequencies are not the same between US and EU units. I hope they release the EU firmware soon ...

Does spotify work ? Does it work with IOS8 ? Is it stable ?

EU-update is available now as well!!!

Great news. Now I hope they'll release new apps : waze, tune in, etc...

Carplay did not disappoint. It's exactly like the videos I saw, it reads directions from my texts, it is just plain awesome! I can't wait for the supported apps to have all their updates so I can control my Beats app in my car!

And I hope apple in the future opens the app space up to more developers and allows stuff like waze to run on carplay. This is everything Appradio wishes it could have been. 

Aargh! I have to wait until I'm home from work to install it! I'm so looking forward to this. Can't wait to see what it can really do.

Aargh! I have to wait until I'm home from work to install it! I'm so looking forward to this. Can't wait to see what it can really do.

Don't rush, the Pioneer site appears to be down or at least very, very, very slow.  They seem not to have planned for the onslaught of traffic . . . surprise surprise.

Got it setup on my 8000NEX in the Audi TT as well as the 7000NEX in my wife's Tucson.  Let me put this lightly.....my wife is VERY VERY HAPPY!

 

I found that if you have your phone plugged in before you start your vehicle, Bluetooth audio works fine. I haven't tried this with the update yet because I am away camping right now.

 

Phil

For people who are using it, when you play music, does it show the album art in the background?

You can still use your phone's interface while CarPlay is active!!! The CarPlay logo only pops up for a few seconds when it is initially loaded, but it quickly disappears, revealing full access to your phone. I was under the impression that the phone itself wouldn't be usable when CarPlay is active, but I'm happy to be wrong!

For people who are using it, when you play music, does it show the album art in the background?

Album art is there, but it is very dim, and it fills the whole screen... In fact it crops the tops and bottom of the album art. Not real happy with this solution... I prefer the native NEX USB music player presentation.

EDIT: When I say dim, I mean REALLY dim! I don't think a person could see it on a bright day. On the recent videos, artwork was probably there, but was just too dim to pick up on camera.

The website is slammed and I cannot download. Looks like I'll wait until tonight to see if it bricks units etc. 

The good news is that music playing in the CarPlay Music app is ALSO playing in the NEX USB music app simultaneously, and switching between the two is extremely fast and easy. Just tap the physical "Home" button, and tap the "Now Playing" icon on the NEX home screen. Once you do this, you can tap the physical "Mode" button to quickly switch between the two!

More notes...

-No matter where you are in the NEX's interface, activating Siri takes you to CarPlay's interface. CarPlay then handles calls, texts, etc.

-My steering wheel buttons for answer and end calls no longer work. I have a Maestro SW. I'll call iDataLink and see if there is a software update. (UPDATE: the buttons are working now)

-AppRadio is no where to be found, either on the home screen or the menu. It appears CarPlay totally replaced AppRadio for iPhone users. This will be good news for some and bad news for others. (UPDATE: AppRadio WORKS!! Don't forget to set the connection type to Digital AV Adapter )

UPDATE: I also tried AppRadio mode with the HDMI/Lightning connector. Neither CarPlay nor AppRadio work with the HDMI/Lightning Connector.

UPDATE 2: CarPlay only replaces the built in Bluetooth phone interface when the phone is plugged in to the Lightning cable. This should be obvious, since CarPlay requires the Lightning cable to work, but I wanted to make sure. Steering wheel answer and end buttons work fine for regular Bluetooth calling. This makes me think that since CarPlay is processed by the phone instead of the NEX, the steering wheel answer and end buttons can not interface with CarPlay... That would be a bummer.

UPDATE 3: Under Smartphone settings, you can enable and disable CarPlay. AppRadio is listed as an available feature. I tried disabling CarPlay to see if it would allow me to use AppRadio. It didn't. I'd love to hear if anyone else is able to use AppRadio with their iPhone post-update.

UPDATE 4: The steering wheel answer and end buttons are now working! Don't know what I did to fix them!

UPDATE 5: AppRadio WORKS!! Don't forget to set the connection type to Digital AV Adapter

Same... can't download the firmware, can't even display the Pioneer site.. they must be getting hammered... Anyone who DL'd the 8000 NEX firmware able to publish it somewhere?

Guys, how does this work if using Pandora as your music source? Can you select Pandora from the head unit then go into Car Play and use maps with no interruption or interference?

I was able to download the firmware. Slow but I got it.