When you own a car that is a few years old and you don’t use it much, you think twice before making an investment beyond what is strictly necessary. So, it may happen that you have a radio that works perfectly and you do not consider changing it to a double DIN. But there is a reality: seeing the route with a screen with Android Auto (or Apple CarPlay) is more comfortable than carrying a cell phone and holder. While there are some pretty premium options for installing displays without installation, we purchased a very cheap screen on AliExpress and this has been our experience.
Walker but consistent design
The presentations. It is a seven-inch screen with HD resolution that easily attaches using a suction cup and adhesive system to the car dashboard, allowing you to put it on and off remove as needed. So, it comes with an arm to adjust it as we wish and a suction cup.
The touch and general quality are very very plastic: It’s cheap and it shows. Once mounted, the back plate is visible through the grilles located at the back, so the design is not the most discreet and neat.
But at least fulfills the most important: The suction cup is very powerful, so the system has not moved during the trips in which we have used it and in addition, putting on and taking off is very easy and quick.
The screen comes without physical buttons And the truth is that from time to time they don’t hurt for a moment when you’re stuck, but normally we didn’t miss them either.
On the sides we find the ports – essential for operation and other utilities such as audio or video playback from external media – such as the SD card slot or a USB socket which can be used for external memories (or also for charging) , the power supply that we will connect to the cigarette lighter (which has a very useful detail: a 10W female USB-A that allows us to charge other devices while we use it), a socket to connect audio to the car audio system, among others.
This is how a low-cost Android Auto works
So, once the suction cup and the arm are mounted to our liking, we will place the screen fixing it on the hooks and we will connect the power supply and the sound jack to start it. Initial setup was quick and gave us no issues: the first time we will connect via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and the mobile phone already recognizes the screen as an Android Auto and Apple Carplay device.
From now on, We can use it both wired or wireless. Going wireless has been the option we’ve generally opted for, because while it adds a bit of latency, we consider it worth it in terms of convenience (after all, there are already a few cables in the dashboard area). So, once you turn on the screen and enter the car with the previously connected cell phone, the connection is established immediately, having nothing to envy of our Seat León with double DIN radio as standard with Android Auto and Apple Carplay.
From there, the the experience with Android Auto was more than adequate in terms of fluidity, opening the typical applications that we use for our regular trips: Google Maps, Waze, Spotify… fulfilling the mission for which it was purchased: when we have to walk a lot and for music and calls during long trips. We noticed occasional occasional disconnections and some sluggishness from time to time, but only in Android Auto and not in Apple Carplay. However, in my experience with the Seat León, Apple’s infotainment system is more stable.
The screen more than met what was expected in terms of vision For a device of its price: the brightness is good enough to look good even on sunny days (we tested it in Huelva in December) and also at night, as can be seen in the image just above. However, in these nighttime scenarios, it would be nice to be able to lower its brightness a bit.
Sure, seven inches may seem a bit fair to show so much information like the Android Auto Coolwalk user interface (especially with multiple windows at the same time, which we preferred not to take advantage of for this reason), although we still find it better than on mobile.
Furthermore screen touch sensitivity can be improvedwhich can sometimes make you despair if you have to press a succession of buttons to complete a task, but it responds well to touches for simple actions like opening apps.
Let’s talk about the microphone. It works well during calls, although depending on the volume the other person can hear an echo and when there is music things change and there are times when the “Ok Google” has difficulty getting through. detect it. The good news is that when it detects that we are speaking, the microphone does pick up the command and the device acts accordingly according to the request.
During our usage experience We have detected that the device is heatingwhich can become a problem during the summer months.
Conclusions: it’s definitely worth it (without a miracle)
The starting point was wanting to spend the less money the better and have a screen for music, calls and maps on specific occasions. Both things are more than fulfilled by this screen with Android Auto and imported Apple CarPlay which cost us 28 dollars on sale. We didn’t expect miracles, but it gives way more than it costs.
The design is simple but sturdy enough to be firm and can be taken on and off often, the screen looks decent, and all ports are operational. Yes, its size and device hardware take a toll on display, agility, and even temperature, but For basic and occasional use it is sufficient and we prefer it to mobile.
Cover | Clean (Antonio Sabán)
In Xataka Android | The best apps for Android Auto
