Ideas for Headunit

DamagedDingo on 03/09/2018 - 08:16
Last edited 03/09/2018 - 08:37 by 1 other user

Hi All. I recently sent back my last head unit (TS702L) as it was way to slow and apps kept crashing. Now I'm looking for a new one but have no idea what to look for.

The last one was a quadcore android 6.0 unit but it was the most painful experience I've ever had in a car. I couldn't change the launcher from default so it always opened with the xtrons one, then I would try to switch to automate or something but that still was not the best experience.

For example, I turn ON the car, wait 15 seconds for unit to boot, then launch automate, then when I try to launch apple music it leaves automate to go to apple music, Then I have to go through all the menus to get to my music, then switch back to automate, plus every click on the screen has about a 5 second delay (whole boot process takes about 4-6 minutes until maps and music are working).. It was so very very frustrating. To top it off it would crash and restart about ever 30min.

I was expecting it to just be like my old Samsung Tab S, as I used that before purchasing a head unit to see if android could do what I wanted (not in the car, just to test apps).

Last time, I went for an android head unit so that I could install maps and apple music (I already have a subscription) as carplay still wasn't widely available as wireless and the idea of plugging in my phone just to nip down the shops put me off. Now I'm thinking that this time I should get apple carplay so that I can use Siri to play music and it would also mean that I can just play the offline music that's already stored on my phone. I think the next release of carplay allows the use of a lot more apps like google maps and Waze.

Does anyone have a cheap head unit that they have found to be OK or have any other ideas for me? I honestly have no idea what to look for and these Chinese head units are obviously not in any local stores so can't just try a bunch.

Last time I went off youtube reviews but I don't think that they live with these devices before reviewing them.

Automotive

Comments

  • Shadowsfury on 03/09/2018 - 08:49
    +5

    Don't bother with those android tablets masquerading as a head unit.

    Just get a head unit that's made as a head unit.

    I have the Sony XAV AX100 which is a pretty barebones one except it has Android Auto and Apple Carplay. Happy with it although I think Sony's announced a newer one that is coming very soon so perhaps prices will drop.

    • Hybroid on 03/09/2018 - 12:38

      Very tempted with the Sony, I think it's a little small for Toyota FJ and will need spacers either side that won't look good but significantly better than the awful stock unit.

      • spackbace on 03/09/2018 - 12:40

        Whatever you put in definitely needs to angle up. The stock angle just isn't right

        • Hybroid on 03/09/2018 - 12:42

          Completely agree, it's very very annoying. Haven't been able to find an angled bracket or anything. Or did you mean a head unit that itself is designed to angle upwards slightly?

        • spackbace on 03/09/2018 - 13:08

          @Hybroid:

          Yeah a head unit with a tilt function, should be able to get it easily enough

        • Euphemistic on 03/09/2018 - 14:12

          @Spackbace: look for one that will play discs, but that conceals the loading slot behind the screen.

    • DamagedDingo on 04/09/2018 - 07:30

      The reason I got android last time is that this is in my 4x4 and I wanted to run wiki maps etc directly and didn't like the idea of having to plug in my phone all the time (for music). After the last one, I think I agree with everyone here. The benefits just don't outweigh the slow speeds and other problems so I'll look for a dedicated head unit (or whatever they are called).

      Does anyone have any recommendations? Ideally, I would get something with Wireless Carplay but I can't afford the 1k price range so any suggestions around the $400-500 mark?

  • plmko on 03/09/2018 - 09:08

    My experience with Xtrons that I bought last year has been absolutely superb. Boot time is about 2 seconds and it always boots with Nova launcher.

    I have Poweramp widgets on my home screen so all my music is accessible straight away on boot. Reverse camera also ignores booting, so is accessible straight from engine ignition.

    Superior choice compared to branded headunits I reckon.

    • DamagedDingo on 04/09/2018 - 07:50

      I had a few problems with them.
      Honestly, they just should not still be selling the unit I got as its just to slow and a lot of apps from the play store don't even work on that version any more or at the very least a clear warning with expected boot times and how long it takes to respond to a screen touch.

      I bought it from Amazon.com.au/XtronsAU because I didn't have high hopes in the first place. Firstly, XtronsAU is really XtronsHK because they are in Hong Kong and shipping takes a while due to that. Then trying to get support out of them is really hard because of time differences and their work hours. So its send an email and then the reply takes about 2-3 days, rinse and repeat. I then have to find time to make the modification and reply back.. took about 3 months before I couldn't handle it anymore and returned it.

      That being said, if they unit performed as advertised then it would have been great. Xtrons were a pleasure to deal with outside of the delays and allowed me to return it out of the standard return period. The massive downside was that it cost me $70 to return it to HK. They did refund the shipping but that left me completely broke for a week or two until the refund came through.

      I think an octa-core one would probably make all my issues go away, but I am not prepared to make that leap unless I know I can use any launcher and apple music natively as they are the main things that I need.

  • EightImmortals on 03/09/2018 - 10:08

    Last headunit I got was back in 2011, paid a bit more for it but it's still going strong. Alpine CDP-137? One nice surprise I discovered was that this unit has timing settings for the speakers, something I thought was a bit wanky and I would never use but it turned out to be a great feature that made a HUGE difference in sound quality and listening pleasure to the point where it will be a must have on the next one I buy.

  • Kangal on 03/09/2018 - 11:40
    +1

    What the others said… get a headunit made by a classic headunit company.
    And about CarPlay, its miles better than AndroidAuto and I've used both. Also the Apple Watch seems to be keeping pace, whereas the AndroidWear 2.0 (aka WearOS) is almost done/dusted and forgotten by Mrs Google. These two reasons have me itching to switch to the iOS Platform, Android has gotten worse over the years since the NOTE 4. One thing you need to try in-person is the difference between Capacitive screens and Resistive screens in the car… capacitive is usually better but might leave smudges and strong sun-glare, and resistive might be annoying from the usability/feel perspective.

    Rant:
    Major bugs in Lollipop didn't help the Android ecosystem, neither did the slow/non-upgraded handsets left in pre-Lollipop, Project Treble is half-baked and should've been mandatory ages ago, that awfully slow and hot QSD 810 chipset cost the market a year, and a flood of low-end QSD 625 phones do not help. Things FINALLY look "fixed" from the perspective of 2018 AndroidOne and QSD 636 phones… but now they're killing the headphone jack, making the speakers worse, reducing battery size, making worse DualCam gimmicky cameras, pointless AI marketing which doesn't do anything, fragile and slippery and fingerprint magnet glass backs, curved displays for even worse durability, weird 19:9 aspect ratios that make the phone larger (ie bigger bezels/smaller Screen to Body ratio), and a stupid notch.

    So I'd say the SGSII to Note 4 were definitely the period in which the Android phones/ecosystem were better. Apple is now in the lead with the iPhone 7 Plus to the iPhone XS Plus. Pre SGSII the winners were the iPhone 3GS/4 then it was Windows Mobile and Symbian. And post NOTE 4, it was a tossup between the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S Plus, LG V20, Axon7, Galaxy S7 Edge-Exynos. Sadly the Samsung S6 Active, S7 Active, S8 Active have been way overpriced, nerfed specs, shipped 6 months late, and not available (exclusive to USA and only to AT&T contracts)….otherwise they would be the default winners!

    There's compromises in both ecosystems, but lately Apple is looking like the one with the better compromises!

  • spackbace on 03/09/2018 - 12:36
    +2

    Brand name unit if you want it to 'just work', Chinese thing if you want constant headaches and the need to change it every so often

    1 of those cases of "you get what you pay for"

    • apptrack on 03/09/2018 - 15:43
      +2

      Xiaomi market entrance incoming

    • DamagedDingo on 04/09/2018 - 07:34

      I don't mind some headaches but it has to be usable. The xtrons unit I had would still be unusable even if I rooted it because the hardware was too slow and I couldn't put a newer version on to use newer apps etc…
      They did provide me with a firmware update but it didn't make a difference.

  • Euphemistic on 03/09/2018 - 12:44

    Another vote for brand name unit. I'm tempted to replace the unit in my wife's car with a brand name CarPlay compatible unit, especially before an upcoming long driving holiday. Sick of the dodgy radio that drops in and pout of reception and cheap/clunky interface to access SD cards etc. Originally bought for 'all in one' features, especially the reverse cam and GPS. When I bought it a few years ago the brand name all in one units were way more expensive and didn't come with GPS except for silly money.

  • phuocn on 04/09/2018 - 19:08

    What car do you have?
    What is your budget?

    • DamagedDingo on 05/09/2018 - 10:27

      Do I have to admit this in public?? :D
      Its a Kia Sorento 2006 BL It has a standard Double din (heaps of space for head unit) with no steering wheel controls.
      Id really like to keep it under $500. My last one was about $250ish so I know I need to spend more now.

      • spackbace on 05/09/2018 - 13:24

        Wait till the next 30% off car audio @ jbs sale

        • DamagedDingo on 05/09/2018 - 13:30

          I hadn't even thought of there. I've looked at Frankies, SuperCheap, Ebay, Strathfield and now JB. Any other places I should check?
          Also, how often does the 30% off come up?

        • DamagedDingo on 05/09/2018 - 13:31

          Actually now I think of it I should be able to get a better price at JB through work.

        • spackbace on 05/09/2018 - 13:44

          @Gazz:

          https://www.jbhifi.com.au/gps-car-audio/car-multimedia/pione…

          Looks the part :) above budget, but you'll struggle with a $500 budget

        • DamagedDingo on 12/09/2018 - 11:02

          @Spackbace: Thanks I'll check it out. Does anyone know if all carplay stereos offer the same features? I know that there is a new version coming shortly to support more applications (Waze etc) will all devices support it?

        • DamagedDingo on 12/09/2018 - 11:11

          @Spackbace: It says that it supports CD, but unless I am blind there is no CD slot. In fact, the only way that I can see to play music is through iPhone or Spotify (and radio which I never use). Also, it doesn't natively support any navigation app.

        • PinzVidz on 12/09/2018 - 14:27
          +1

          @Gazz: slot is behind screen. I'd recommend looking at other quality brand name units, Pioneer has been pretty average over the last few years.

  • DamagedDingo on 19/09/2018 - 08:09

    I dropped into Ryda on the weekend and plugged in my phone to a bunch of units and found that a lot are very average.
    The biggest surprise was seeing that some still had resistive screens in them, I thought only the cheap Chinese ones had those.

    I also plugged my iPhone into a bunch and found that Carplay was very hit and miss. They didn't have model numbers but the one that looked like this JVC Unit would freeze every time I connected my phone and tried to use something like music or waze, and instantly come good again once my phone was unplugged.
    There was also a Pioneer Unit that was quite buggy but would work more often than not.

    This is obviously not the experience that I am looking for so is there any kind of min spec to support carplay that I should be looking for? With the cheap Android units I would be looking at Octocore etc but with these, they don't seem to provide any specs like that, just the audio information (channels etc)

    I can get the Sony XAVAX5000 for $470 but couldn't find anywhere to try that one.
    I can also get the Pioneer Z5050BT for $450 but if that is the same one I played with at Ryda then it is a little buggy.

    • Thbloke on 19/09/2018 - 13:22

      The resistive screen has advantages on a car unit because you can operate it with a sticker or wearing a glove. Even the Pioneer unit that you recommended has a resistive screen.

      • DamagedDingo on 20/09/2018 - 07:25

        Yeah looks like of them have a resistive screen. I thought for pinch and zoom in map apps you would want capacitive.
        The xtrons unit was very hard to hit in just the right spot to click on what you want, but I guess with a better designed OS for use while driving that shouldn't be an issue.
        Just trying to find somewhere that has some on display as everywhere I've been they are older models on display or they only have 1 or 2.

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