Carplay / Android Auto recommendations?

[The Texas Ranger]

Hey y'all!

My 2008 currently has a Kenwood unit the previous owner installed.

Can anyone recommend another unit where you can seamlessly change between Carplay and AM/FM? There's just too much tapping and swiping involved while I'm trying to drive.

I also really prefer hard buttons or knobs to the touchscreen style controls

Does anyone have the SONY XAV-AX3200?

 

[Bill]

You will have to download the manuals for the models you are interested in for that information. But, generally, manufacturers aren't good at interface design. The correct way to design the interface would be to allow people to deselect Pandora, Spotify, Sirius, and anything else they aren't going to use so they only have the two or three items that are being used.

 

[bilbo]

I'm looking into this to replace the head unit in my F250 and found some chinese Android-based ones that are similar in concept to the Sony unit you're looking at. I too prefer to have a knob for at least the most used functions, and also want single-DIN so it kind of looks like it belongs there, which narrows my options but there are a few. They get mixed reviews. Most negative comments are related to sound quality but I'm sure it's not any worse than what I've got now. I think I'm going to order one of them; if I do I'll report back how it works.

 

[bilbo]

I ended up ordering a cheap ($43) head unit through Walmart. It’s single DIN and supposedly supports CarPlay. I don’t know whether it’s ok to post a direct link to it in the forum but I’ll send it if anyone wants it. It arrived today and I hooked it up to a power supply to at least see if it turned on. It passed that test so I’ll set about installing it in the truck later if I get a minute.

 

[bilbo]

I installed the head unit in the truck last night. It works fine so far. Carplay works well. It will be nice having that functionality in the truck. It came with a backup camera, remote, and a cheesy strap-on for "steering wheel controls." I might install the backup cam at some point but no real use for the rest. Some comments:

The good: It's cheap. Many reviews mentioned sound quality being poor. I figured it couldn't be that bad, especially compared to a 30 year old factory work truck setup, and I was right. Time will tell how it is for longevity. If lasts a few years I'll be happy and can get another one. It seems easy enough to use and looks like it belongs there.

The bad: It's cheap. The bracket sleeve thing to mount the head unit is barely thicker than a beer can and I bent it all up trying to fit it. I had to file the radio opening slightly so it could fit. Because of the flimsiness, the radio doesn't really click into its sleeve. This is probably for the best as due to the design of the radio I don't think you'd be able to get it back out if it locked in. When I've bought these in the past the bezel could be removed to get the removal tools in there. The bezel looks to be fixed on this one. Also, the display is kind of hard to read in direct sunlight. If I had paid more for it I'd be upset, but I'll live with it.

Here are a couple photos during installation. I hadn't put the bracket thing in yet, just seeing how it would work. It looks at home in the factory location.

 

[superj]

i used android auto for the first time yesterday. i had heard of it but never been in a vehicle with it.

the jeep now has it that my wife drives. i like that the maps are better but you cannot get rid of them. they stay on the screen anytime the phone is plugged in to the jeep. that makes it hard to adjust other things on screen.

i won't plug my phone in when i drive the jeep. i only actually need the screen for the radio. i don't need the maps unless going to another town and trying to find something specific so its not going to be a problem.


and once i get the gps antenna off a junkyard dodge, the jeep will have offroad navigation maps available over the air so that will be even cooler

 

[fastpakr]

i used android auto for the first time yesterday. i had heard of it but never been in a vehicle with it.

the jeep now has it that my wife drives. i like that the maps are better but you cannot get rid of them. they stay on the screen anytime the phone is plugged in to the jeep. that makes it hard to adjust other things on screen.

i won't plug my phone in when i drive the jeep. i only actually need the screen for the radio. i don't need the maps unless going to another town and trying to find something specific so its not going to be a problem.


and once i get the gps antenna off a junkyard dodge, the jeep will have offroad navigation maps available over the air so that will be even cooler

That's odd that you can't get away from the map. I've never used an Android Auto setup that forced it to stay on screen. Maybe some of the OEM units are set up that way though?

 

[superj]

Maybe. But its possible i also dont know how to use it.

Changing to that larger screen changed the whole jeep control for the inside and the camera.

 

[ryan]

That's odd that you can't get away from the map. I've never used an Android Auto setup that forced it to stay on screen. Maybe some of the OEM units are set up that way though?

The aftermarket unit in my merc has the maps up all the time because it's so wide. There's a large view and a minimized view. On all the OEM setups i've seen you can tap out of maps though.

On my Ram and Jeep you can switch it out

 

[superj]

i learned that they did some updates so you can have two types of android auto. the newest version has the map on one side of the screen and music stuff on the other.

and hte one in the jeep actually does do that once i pushed some other buttons

new version googly pic

older version googly pic

 

[fastpakr]

Yeah, that split screen view option has been standard for a while. I'm surprised your phone hadn't already updated to it.