Sony announced a new in-car audio head unit at CES today that integrates with Android Auto, the XAV-AX5000, the centerpiece of which is a bezel-less and flush 6.95" touch display.

How bezel-less and how flush? Sony dares characterize it as "astonishingly flat." Oh my.

The touchscreen is capacitive, as opposed to the previous model's, which was resistive. It can be connected to a vehicle's rear camera, features aluminum hardware keys along the bottom for basic system operation, and Sony says that the unit boots up "soon after ignition is turned on." Well, one would hope.

The receiver offers a 4-channel system with impressive-sounding features like in-ceiling DRA2 (Dynamic Reality Amp 2) and the DSO (Dynamic Stage Organizer), which is supposed to give the illusion of the sound coming directly from the dashboard. It also comes with Sony's all-caps EXTRA BASS in order to "overcome engine noise and reproduce clear punchy sound at any volume level."

Along with its Android Auto compatibility, the XAV-AX5000 has two USB ports for connecting phones and other external media for music playback, which can include lossless FLAC audio files.

The XAV-AX5000, which I am pronouncing in my head as "the Zav-Axe Five Thousand," will be available in North America in the spring for a price that has yet to be announced, though its predecessor, the XAV-AX100 (or "Zav-Axe One Hundred"), launched at $500.

PRESS RELEASE