Car stereo Android

If you don't mind spending hours fiddling to get the android ones working then they are "ok".

Xtrons are no better or worse than any of the units coming from China, just a brand name stuck on the front, you still won't get any useful aftersales support and will never get any Security or OS updates.

I've spent many many years fiddling with Android headunits, I still have one fitted in my wife's Merc CLK as the double din surrounds don't really fit well in that car so had to go for a custom shaped OEM looking one. its a no-name brand that we got from Aliexpress and it's "OK", does the job but its not amazing. The specs might sounds good with Octacore/8gb ram etc but the reality is the hardware is all very slow as the SoC they use is low powered and the Ram is a slow speed.

In my W211 Merc e-class I did have a pumpkin branded OEM look unit for a while but the AMP blew after a few months. I now have a double din fascia adaptor and a Pioneer SPH-DA230DAB and its a million times better than any Android head unit I've ever used (I'd guess I've had a dozen or so over the years).
Android Auto and Apple Carplay work flawlessly and the FM and DAB signal is way better than the Chinese android units.

It actually cost less than the OEM looking Android unit as well.

so personally I'd stick with Pioneer/Sony/Kenwood/alpine etc if you want a touchscreen stereo with Carplay/AAuto. If you really must go with a generic chinese Android unit stick to amazon so at least you can return it when it fails (it probably will) or you get fed up with how buggy it is..... (edited)

Just to agree with the above. I enjoyed exploring the Android headunits but now I have a Kenwood which must be 6 or 7 years old and it just works and has enough power for me without all the additional bother of amps etc.

Ivandelsur14/04/2022 23:08

[Image] Thinking of this one...

If you do go ahead with your purchase will you post back with how you get on?!

Uridium14/04/2022 12:16

If you don't mind spending hours fiddling to get the android ones working …If you don't mind spending hours fiddling to get the android ones working then they are "ok". Xtrons are no better or worse than any of the units coming from China, just a brand name stuck on the front, you still won't get any useful aftersales support and will never get any Security or OS updates.I've spent many many years fiddling with Android headunits, I still have one fitted in my wife's Merc CLK as the double din surrounds don't really fit well in that car so had to go for a custom shaped OEM looking one. its a no-name brand that we got from Aliexpress and it's "OK", does the job but its not amazing. The specs might sounds good with Octacore/8gb ram etc but the reality is the hardware is all very slow as the SoC they use is low powered and the Ram is a slow speed.In my W211 Merc e-class I did have a pumpkin branded OEM look unit for a while but the AMP blew after a few months. I now have a double din fascia adaptor and a Pioneer SPH-DA230DAB and its a million times better than any Android head unit I've ever used (I'd guess I've had a dozen or so over the years).Android Auto and Apple Carplay work flawlessly and the FM and DAB signal is way better than the Chinese android units.It actually cost less than the OEM looking Android unit as well.so personally I'd stick with Pioneer/Sony/Kenwood/alpine etc if you want a touchscreen stereo with Carplay/AAuto. If you really must go with a generic chinese Android unit stick to amazon so at least you can return it when it fails (it probably will) or you get fed up with how buggy it is.....Read lessRead more

OH wow! that is a great explanation. I should stick with known brands then. I was looking to get more out of the unit but if they are going to be a pain...

Do you have Bose in the Audi? If so it gets more tricky as you then have a powered sub.

Charger196914/04/2022 17:00

Do you have Bose in the Audi? If so it gets more tricky as you then have a …Do you have Bose in the Audi? If so it gets more tricky as you then have a powered sub.Read lessRead more

NO. I don't have bose. I'm currently looking at Binize 10 inch... It would be nice to have a massive screen

Charger196914/04/2022 17:00

Do you have Bose in the Audi? If so it gets more tricky as you then have a …Do you have Bose in the Audi? If so it gets more tricky as you then have a powered sub.Read lessRead more

Which one do you recommend,

Ivandelsur14/04/2022 17:16

Which one do you recommend,

Difficult to recommend without seeing what you have now

Don't u think that Xtroms is enough good quality??

Charger196914/04/2022 17:23

Difficult to recommend without seeing what you have now

Mine is super old it was there when I bought the car. The volume button has stopped working that's why I want to change it for wireless apple car play. What do you suggest?

There's one key feature about car stereos. Speed dependent volume. Ford and VW group adopted it early, say over 20 years ago. So your car audio tracks your car speed/revs and the expected cabin noise and adjusts accordingly. I wouldn't buy any car without it. And wouldn't even fit an aftermarket stereo that didn't integrate with the car to offer the same thing.

harrythefish14/04/2022 22:08

There's one key feature about car stereos. Speed dependent volume. Ford …There's one key feature about car stereos. Speed dependent volume. Ford and VW group adopted it early, say over 20 years ago. So your car audio tracks your car speed/revs and the expected cabin noise and adjusts accordingly. I wouldn't buy any car without it. And wouldn't even fit an aftermarket stereo that didn't integrate with the car to offer the same thing.Read lessRead more

I didn't know that was a thing but I'm not bother with that

Thinking of this one...

stec7718/04/2022 19:17

If you do go ahead with your purchase will you post back with how you get …If you do go ahead with your purchase will you post back with how you get on?!Read lessRead more

Buying Atoto in the end as it's easy returns