Instruction: Generate an answer to the question by utilizing the information contained in the document.

Input:
Question: Does anyone know if the CarPlay update has been released for the Pioneer NEX line yet?
Document: I DID, however, spend 30 minutes between being on hold and speaking to a rep from Pioneer and confirmed that Apple CarPlay will be run through the Lightning cable and NOT this crazy setup. So no additional cables will be needed for CarPlay! Yay! He did not have any info on the release date yet though :(3. Bluetooth connectivity is flawless. Finds my phone FAST every time. No issues there.4.
You WILL have to make a separate purchase for that to happen. Unfortunately, that's not an easy or cheap fix.So those are my observations thus far. I had a friend install this unit in my Mazda CX-7... took about 40 minutes start to finish. Super easy. Major upgrade, I love everything (except the steering wheel control issue) about it and I'm sure I will love it even more once CarPlay is released! !
This is a great product and I would recommend to anyone! Looks great in my 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe. Easy to use and navigate.
Just installed this in my wife's vehicle and so far, we both love it! Her old factory GPS system was way out of date, and they wanted $150 for a map update...ridiculous. One of the big bonuses for this receiver is that it comes with Here Maps for Life.... FREE updates as it should be. Bluetooth phone integration works great, Mirror Link and iPod control are awesome as well.
I just had this installed yesterday, so I am still messing with all the options, but here are my initial thoughts:1. As of today, the release date for Apple CarPlay has not been announced. It SHOULD be days away, but I am anxious to see how it works.2. If you are going to use AppRadio, you have to buy an additional cord to do so. It will NOT work with the USB connector (included) and your phone charger.
It also takes forever to load the USB and SD card also on this radio. If you turn on the car and it errors on a song, it takes about 5 minutes to reformat the card. The bluetooth phone mode worked great on it. I can't comment on the GPS since I never had the chance to use it. I never got past my music not playing correctly. Either the processor is too slow or it badly needs a firmware update. One last thing.
Got it installed and it works great once you get past the bugs. I am still not able to get into the GPS/NAV. It will not allow me to click on the Accept button(Greyed out)  Not sure how to fix this. The antenna show were I am but not on a map. It even tells me I am speeding but will not allow me to shut that off becuse the NAV program will not activate properly. Pioneer websites are horrible to navigate and get info from.
This radio looked great but had a lot of software flaws. I had problems playing MP3 & WMA files off of a USB and micro SDHC card. Many files would just skip half way through the song and sometimes say &#34;cannot play file&#34;. Now the thing is, I bought this radio to replace my Pioneer AVIC-X850BT and the same USB stick and SD card played perfectly fine on it.
Why is it on this radio, they took away the ability to switch to 'Next disc' or 'Next folder'. It was great being able to do it at my fingertips. Now I have to take my eyes off the road and hit the small folder icon on the radio. I'm pulling this radio and putting my AVIC-X850BT back in.
The AVIC-5000 unit works and looks great in my '04 Corolla. It takes some time to install, but it's worth it. Highly recommended.
Answer: Just received this today (9/16/14): "If all goes as planned it will be available early next week."