Oliver Haslam on May 17, 2019, 10:09 pm

Kenwood Announces 5 Wireless And 2 Wired CarPlay Receivers

Having CarPlay available is pretty great, but if you don’t have it, the option of buying a new car to get it isn’t always viable. Thankfully, there are companies who make third-party receivers that you can retrofit to cars, and Kenwood has announced seven new ones.

Of those seven new CarPlay receivers, five support wireless CarPlay, which isn’t something a lot of high-end cars can boast yet. All seven models feature a 6.95-inch adjustable display, Android Auto, SiriusXM satellite radio, Bluetooth, and of course, CarPlay.

“We are extremely pleased to ship these multimedia receivers ahead of schedule,” said Scott Caswell, senior marketing manager for KENWOOD USA. “These seven models represent the entire gamut of consumer choice, from low-profile mech-less to full-featured onboard navigation. We are eager to get them on the shelves of our retailers so they can meet the heavy summer autosound demand.”

The two receivers that don’t support wireless CarPlay are apparently designed specifically with off-road vehicles in mind. They don’t feature CD players either, meaning they can have an altogether smaller design.

Two models—the KENWOOD DMX7706S (MSRP$ 599.95) and eXcelon DMX706S ($649.95) are non-CD designs that feature the new, shorter chassis to fit a larger number of traditional and off-road vehicle applications. Both models connect to other devices with wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, two camera inputs, 4.0-volt preamp outputs for connections to amplifiers, and a fast-charging USB port.

Those with wireless CarPlay support will start at $799.95, though you can spend an extra $100 to get CD/DVD player capabilities. Go all the way up to $1399.95, and you’ll get HD Radio and Garmin navigation thrown in as well. The company says it will discuss potential release dates later this year.