I would assume that the Pioneer NEX units will be receiving Android Auto, but those are really bloated, expensive systems that do way more than I want, and almost all of them have resistive screens.
There is currently an Alpine CarPlay head unit that seems very nice, and has exactly what I would want (except it's CarPlay). I hope they make this sucker into an Android Auto head unit when it's available.
What would be even more awesome is if it enabled whatever system (CarPlay, Android Auto) based on what was plugged in, so you and your SO could have different phones.
Anyone know any other head units that may be on the way?
You might want to check out a chinese Android head unit. They aren't exactly android auto and have their drawbacks on both the hard- and software side but they are available to buy now and are often sold dirt cheap, compared to the prices established brands will probably charge for upcoming android auto devices
Parrot RNB
Check out the first description of the Parrot RNB posted over at the Connected Car forum here. Just announced at '15 CES. It is a double-DIN, Lollipop head unit that is compatible with both Apple and Android systems, gps, OBDII (!).
Here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2449005
I have a Kenwood ddx9902S and could not be happier.
dcdttu said:
I would assume that the Pioneer NEX units will be receiving Android Auto, but those are really bloated, expensive systems that do way more than I want, and almost all of them have resistive screens.
There is currently an Alpine CarPlay head unit that seems very nice, and has exactly what I would want (except it's CarPlay). I hope they make this sucker into an Android Auto head unit when it's available.
What would be even more awesome is if it enabled whatever system (CarPlay, Android Auto) based on what was plugged in, so you and your SO could have different phones.
Anyone know any other head units that may be on the way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BPryde said:
I have a Kenwood ddx9902S and could not be happier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the 9702s and it had several issues. Ever since my phone updated to 6.0.1 (a Nexus 6P), the audio coming out of it (spotify or GPM) was very quiet. Nothing I did fixed it. Also, when using Android Auto, once an overlay sound (notification, Google Voice Search) happened, the audio would have this audible static in it during bassy notes, only fixed by rebooting the head unit.
I even got a replacement head unit and it had the same issues.
I ended up getting a Joying Android 4.4.4 head unit instead of Android Auto. So far I am really impressed. The screen is really good, the sound is great, and it's got full Android as the head unit's OS.
Related
feedback non-existent in H/U forum so thought i'd try my luck here.
seeking recommendation to be installed into RSX
back in January I looked into Android Auto/CarPlay from the brand names but they require USB connection to phone = dealbreaker
not looking to DIY a tablet into the dash
LF a 2DIN head unit that works very similiarly to AA without the wires.
I'm looking to have run this app pretty much on default
http://www.androidcentral.com/hands-automate-android-auto-your-phone
will be installing myself
to be used with Galaxy Nexus GSM on 4.3...quite long in the tooth my next phone is likely Note 5 or the new LG Nexus
convenience is key. I just want to enter the car and have BT auto connected to the phone and ready to stream music without having to pull out my phone.
voice-enabled messaging, google apps, backup cam, capacitative touch screen are all requirements. volume knob, 2gb ram, quad-core processor and large community dev support would be nice.I didn't look at Hufei and AN-21 because their specs are dated as they've been around for a while now. I've been waiting for android 5.0 head units to hit the market but it's taking forever.
i'm not an audiophile so as long as the sound quality isn't worse than a stock Honda radio I'm good which is only mediocre at best.
I think you're confused about a few things.
1. Android Auto requires USB, period. It doesn't work any other way.
2. AutoMate is not the same as Android Auto. It's a launcher that looks sort of like Android Auto. It has nothing to do with your other phone, bluetooth, etc. It's standalone. If you want to stream music from your phone you're gonna have a bad time.
The NU3001 is the best (i.e., most modern) head unit available today. Because the source code is available the community has developed a ROM that is car friendly and does work with bluetooth streaming, Google Now, etc. You can run AutoMate on it if you want but I finally uninstalled it as it's just a (pretty) layer that gets in the way between your maps/music/phone apps and you. There are variants available with a physical volume knob but to my knowledge they don't have one for a Honda.
alaninsitges said:
1. Android Auto requires USB, period. It doesn't work any other way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android Auto has Wifi support built in, but AFAIK my Headunit app is the only way to make it work at present, unless you have access to some unreleased devices/apps.
To Original poster: I don't think a solution with all the features you want exists yet. We've been waiting for decades for useful, robust implementations of the sort of environment that Android Auto and CarPlay provide.
I hope that within the next 2 years we will have solutions that are useful and "just work". The ones we have now clearly need work and seem as immature as Android 1.x and 2.x compared with the Android 5.x/6.x level solutions we want.
Hello all, I had a Son XAV-601BT, which was supposed to be a very promising and awesome android headunit, but ended up being a dud because mirrorlink doesn't work well, etc, I can only connect my phone with bluetooth and play music through it. I just got a Nissan Titan and want to up my in car experience. I had a good bit of audio equipment I took out of my old 240sx and was going to reuse it, which included the 601BT, 2 kicker amps (one for the sub, another 4 channel for speakers), and polk audio speakers, but the headunit is basically.. meh.
I was wondering what would be the ideal route to go to get the best experience. I know they have head units that have all the android auto stuff built in, but since I already have a nice amp I can use to drive the speakers, would I be better off just using a tablet and getting things connected up that way? I would like to be able to utilize good quality voice for commands and phone calls, but I am not sure if using a tablet for that would work (using the phones capabilities through the tablet to make calls and texts via bluetooth or some other way.)
If anyone has any recommendations on how I can have a nice sized mounted capacitive screen to control my audio (spotify), navigation, and be able to use voice commands (though I could technically just make them through my watch as I have been), I would love to hear some suggestions. If the best route to go would be an actual android auto headunit, then so be it, but I would like to know if alternatives can do this.
See my sig for Headunit app for Android Auto. Nexus tablets are working well with it.
Tablet solution likely takes some time to get it the way you want it, but it makes it very customizable and can be done cheaply-ish.
There are 2 popular lines of $300 Chinese HUs discussed on XDA. They are best described as... the Chinese stuff you find on EBay/Alibaba etc. Source is available but the latest Newsmy is still stuck on Android 4.4.
Or for $500-2k get a Pioneer or Kenwood Android Auto 4100/6100/7100NEX. There's a custom ROM just come out for some Pioneers, but it will take time to mature.
Awesome, thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. I was looking in to some of the interesting setups people have, such as using an Arduino with an IR transmitter that you connect to the tablet, so you can use a standard smaller headunit, hide it in the dash to connect to the speakers and control the volume, and the tablet can be mounted nice, and when you hit the volume etc on the tablet it makes the Arduino blast the IR to the head unit, and it makes the volume go up as if you pressed the button (or in this case, the remote)
That might work well with a head unit app or something similar. I will download the APK's you linked and check them out!
Hi, I am looking to buy a new double-din head unit for my car. I was wondering what the best way to mirror my s6 edge to my car and basically controlling the phone through the head unit using touchscreen? i want to be able to use google maps on my head unit. Should I be looking for a head unit that is mirrorlink ready or am i looking for a head unit that is compatible with chromecast (Pioneer's appradio from what i've read)?
Welcome @hackaveli, you may want to take a look at this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2451980
There aren't going to be many options to control too much of the phone via the head unit, unless you're talking just using BT to control synced things like the phone, and streaming radio. AppRadio aside - if you do find android-based head units, or at least head units with app capability, that are wifi capable, and if you have a hotspot feature on your phone, you could do that, tether the head unit to your phone to access the data for your Google Maps and whatnot.
All that aside, I had a 3-series that I put exactly that kind of aftermarket head unit into. And after the initial play factor wore off in a month, I used exactly one of the fancy options on the head unit - Pandora. I would tether my phone, and start the app. And that would've been just as easy to bluetooth the phone to the HU for sound instead of running it from the unit itself. I just found that it was much easier to just do maps on my phone (my mount was vent-mounted so perfect viewing angle and reach), as well as any other things that I THOUGHT I wanted all those goodies on the head unit for. So obviously your mileage may vary on that.
I am thinking about replacing my car stereo with an android head unit.
I have been reading the forum but do have some open questions:
1. How good are these head units?
2. Most head units seem to run older versions of android so I am concerned that the playstore and apps are not going to be supported for much longer. Which headunits are somewhat modern (good specs) with good developer support. I assume there are no treble supported headunits yet?
3. My primary use case for an android headunit are:
- listen to podcasts (PocketCasts?)
- GPS navigations (Google Maps or Waze)
- see my reverse camera when backing up
- listen to music (Pandora, Spotify, youtube, or stored music)
- listen to the radio (probably nice to have)
4. I am planning to get a dashcam and I saw that some headunits integrate with dashcam + reversing camera
5. Would be nice to be able to use a Bluetooth or something remote on the steering wheel. Ideally something discreet/small that can be glued to the back of the steering wheel ...
6. I am not planning to install a separate SIM card in the head unit (thanks ridiculous carrier prices in the US). How successful have people been getting their headunit to rely on Wifi at home and tethering to the phone when driving.
7. I saw some threads about headunits "sleeping" when the car is off - I drive an electric car, so I definitely want the unit to be OFF when the car is off. Don't care if it takes 10-30 seconds to boot.
8. Any recommendations for single DIN headunits that match the above requirements/use case? Don't need or want a gigantic screen and certainly do not want a motorized screen ... there seem to be some nice headunits where a 7" screen is mounted to a single DIN unit and the screen can be moved up and down depending on where you need it in the car.
You are actually considering an Android head unit, not Android Auto.
This is Android Auto:
https://www.android.com/auto/
Android headunits have several dedicated sections here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android-auto/android-head-units
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android-auto/mtcb-android-head-units-qa - for older units running Android 4.4 or 5.1
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android-auto/mtcd-discussion-questions-development - for newer units
Since you do not seem familiar with Android headunits and their specifics I strongly advise against gambling on Chinese units. Getting an Android Auto/Car Play compatible unit from an established manufacturer (the Sony XAV AX-100 seems pretty popular) would be a much safer option at similar price.
Hi,
I have a 2015 Audi A3, which unfortunately didn't come with AA as an option (I think it was introduced in 2017). It's a real pain to install the 2017 MMI into an older car, but there are guys out there developing aftermarket Android-based headunits that basically put a whole android "phone" in the dash; which isn't a very eloquent solution and kind of overkill in my opinion. They've got their own SIM cards and you have to change the bluetooth devices the phone is paired to and whatnot. It's really not exactly what I'm looking for. I just want AA and that's it.
Anyway there's one guy who's kind of got what I'm looking for . Unfortunately because the car also didn't come with a touchscreen, I have to toggle through the menus with the knobs and steering wheel buttons, which is meh. I'd love to put a digitizer overlay on the screen and play around with it, maybe have a daughter board made up and inject the screen coordinates into the packets somehow before it's sent down to the phone. I'm more of an EE, don't really have a lot of Android dev experience but I've got a lot of microcontroller and firmware experience. Anyway that's my high level idea of how this might work, not sure if I'm going in the right direction. I did ask the guy at RSNAV (seems to be a one-man show) last night if I might have the source code after signing an NDA and I'm awaiting his response. In the meantime I want to get a plan of action going.
So I'm wondering how AA is integrated on the client-side. Obviously the manufacturer headunits aren't running Android, but they've gotta communicate somehow with the phone. I can't find this info anywhere, I'm guessing this is info Google only shares with Auto manufacturers and the Kentwoods and Pioneers of the world. But maybe I'm wrong. I'm assuming it's a protobuf-based protocol between the headunit and the phone, but I don't know.
Can anybody help me out here? Thanks.
All my android auto head units are running android operating system two Chevy and one Mitsubishi. Main reason why poplar cars get rooted head units and what not. But after market android auto head unit is probably your best choice.