Furthermore, it is compatible with both Android and iOS mobile operating systems, catering to a wide range of users. This compatibility enables seamless integration with smartphones, facilitating hands-free calling, audio streaming, and access to various applications. Finally, we like how you can disconnect the SPH-10BT from the car and store it away when not in use. The last thing you want is someone to break in and steal this new connected car device. Launching the Smart Sync application from the receiver just brings up a couple of more options, including showing the button shortcuts on the phone screen or not, and card/list display options for albums, artists, and titles. Switching music sources

They're easy to find without even looking down while driving. There's also aUSB port (with a somewhat annoying port cover) above the left-hand buttons, and a small display screen in the middle of the stereo's face. You can see a little bit of text on the display, but most of the action will be on the phone's screen. Setting up the stereo and your phone When I had my iPhone plugged into the SPH-10BT's front USB port, the artwork was always present for whatever was playing off my phone, whether streaming or stored files. And switching between those sources was quite seamless. Vik's team took a few hours to install and test the Pioneer system with a subwoofer, which is a typical amount of time. (The subwoofer was Pioneer's TS-WX400DA Class D Active Subwoofer.) If you install the system yourself, make sure you don't put the stereo where it may interfere with normal operation of the vehicle, or someplace that could injure a passenger in case of a sudden stop or anywhere near the car's heater. Pioneer also recommends installing the unit at an angle of less than 45 degrees for optimum performance.Better still, it plays nicely with reversing cameras and easily hooks up with voice command functionality, so you can make and receive hands-free calls and make the most of your favoured voice assistant to control much of the functionality. Simulated Sound Fields" add the ambience of different types of listening rooms to my tunes, like concert hall and stadium. And there's "Easy Sound Fit" for making no-hassle time correction tweaks depending on what kind of car I'm in. More advanced settings include manual adjustments to time correction and fader/balance controls. Without the smartphone in the cradle, the receiver offers fairly limited utility.It's fair to assume that most folks will be using the stereo in conjunction with their phone, and that the phone will be mounted in the receiver's cradle. If youalready have another spot onyour dash where you prefer to mount your phone, that's fine. Mounting your phone We also liked the added voice control the device brought, and it was easy to set up voice commands thanks to the Smart Sync app. We were able to easily use verbal commands to find our favorite song or station.

The Pioneer Smart Sync v4.0 app now enables the display of widgets for vehicle information including engine performance, live data and vehicle diagnostic codes to show repair needs. With a compatible Pioneer in-dash receiver, by connecting your smartphone via Bluetooth to a compatible OBD-II code reader*** (optional and sold separately) plugged into the vehicle’s OBD-II port, you can read and clear diagnostic codes and view drive information, average speed, economy and more straight from the Pioneer Smart Sync v4.0 app.There are more settings to play with that go beyond cosmetics. I was able to choose the default navigation app (Google Maps please, although Waze is available for both kinds of phones and Apple Maps for iPhones), as well as my messaging app of choice (between iMessage, WhatsApp Messenger, or Telegram). It took me roughly 15 minutes each time just to get Smart Sync on my phone to pair with the stereo after the first couple of times doing the test under similar conditions. For round five I tried connecting with an iPhone XS Max and had no issues, but I didn't do much testing beyond the connection because I really wanted to see how the cradle would work with a larger phone. The SPH-10BT also includes RDS features, specifically PTY (Program Type) identification. This allows the user to filter radio stations based on the type of program being broadcasted.

Pioneer has done a nice job of bringing a connected car experience to older vehicles with the SPH-10BT. The receiver has innovative smartphone connectivity features, which we found easy to use once installed. The one-touch access was also very responsive. However, you have to remember that even with SPH-10BT, the in-car user experience is still going to be different from today's infotainment systems. It's not too often, but Every once in a while the unit just doesn't want to communicate with the phone and I've had to "forget" the device and set up as if it was an initial setup.The Smart Sync app plays well with a number of streaming sources, integrating with appsfor the following services: Pandora The voice button lets me compose a text and it also lets me choose to have an incoming message read aloud to me. This is definitely one of the most handy features of Smart Sync, and I found the incoming text being read aloud quite easy to understand. One thing that took a while to figure out was the "App Control" setting at setup — if I hadn't launched the Smart Sync app on my iPhone, the stereo would use the iPhone as the audio source whether I had chosen "Wired" or "Bluetooth" as my App Control default. In general, it works pretty well for basic music, mapping, messaging, and calling functions, and the voice command aspect of it is very attractive from a safety perspective. Sonic enthusiasts will definitely dig all the tweaks available through the app.

The first thing Inoticed about the SPH-10BT is its fairlyminimal design.The head unit itself sports six large hard keys across its face, with very little roomfor a display. Most of the screen load is carried by the driver's smartphone, which fits into a cradle that folds out of the receiver. The Smart Sync app offers users four different choices for how they want their display to look as they drive: Music mode, Dash mode, Driver Pilot mode, and Personal photo mode. a>