uncleiggy

Hello,

A quick update, it's been a couple of days since I've been using my CarNaviPlayer unit with a wireless Apple CarPlay dongle and despite some bumps in the road (firmware and App updates) it's been working pretty well. As I mentioned in previous posts, the Android unit itself is sub par, slow to booth and not the best user experience, but when using CarPlay it is just fine, it does its work, way more responsive than the native Android system. I mostly use Waze (now showing speed on screen!), Spotify and TuneIn radio, all of them work ok, Siri voice response is decent but not great, phone integration, backup camera and dash camera work impressively well, can't complain about those.

The wireless dongle costed me $110, I was quite skeptical at first but as I never liked the wired version (it worked fine, but I hated that cable hanging from my glove box, snail charging didn't help either). Now I can keep the phone in my pocket or connected to a proper Anker charger.

Cheers!

kbrkr

I'm very interested in this, thanks for reporting. Are you using this dongle with the OEM MMI system with Navigation? The CarNaviPlayer site states you need to have Android Auto as the Operating system. Is this not true? I'm new to Audi, so I may not have enough information on how this works.

Thanks
Al

uncleiggy

Yes, CarNaviPlayer is an Android based solution, CarPlay runs on top of it. Mine is a non MMI radio, a Symphony one. The CarNaviPlayer “tablet” replaces the original screen and adds a few features, like backup cameras, USB ports, GPS, dash cameras and Apple CarPlay (or Android Auto). The CarPlay dongle I’m using now is the wireless (Bluetooth) one that connects via USB to CarNaviPlayer. When you turn on the car the Android OS boots and once it’s up and running you just click on the CarPlay App which then connects to your iPhone, very straightforward.

if you are in the market for a solution like this please consider spending a few more bucks on the RSNav solution, it’s much better hardware, better specs, faster than CarNaviPlayer.

Cheers’

apoelistas

The device I need is still not available. There is no perfect chinese android offering with good software support and hardware design
1. Microphone on dome light. 3.5mm aux in??
2. Android 9
3. 4G
4. A2dp stereo support
5. Miracast
6. 64gb memory
7. 4gb ram (I could live with 3g too)
8. Playstore - google maps - android auto - youtube - video player facebook - etc
9 existing audi car settings radio concert support
10. Steering wheel controls on center console to mimic mmi3g including the missing Nav button from prefacelift (from steering wheel controls). Have seen this being offered by a company.
11. Back up camera Can support
12 bluetooth support.
13. 7" 1080p support.
14. Sd card support
15. 2 usb type C support e.g. one for charging and one for data
16. Hands free Telephone Bluetooth (see also No. 1)
17. A hybrid solution to add our own screen from mmi3g 800x480 to this android interface and radio concert. Can there be such a solution ???? A question mark here.
18. Touch screen
19. Video and aux in for addition inputs.????

Guys if you find one with these specs I am in. I dont trust guys who dont do market research before going to the drawing board and produce a product which does not satisfy my needs on this aspect.

Are your needs any less??

spijun

This what you're looking , you'll never get

apoelistas

Well if it was made in Germany then I am sure those features would exist.

spijun

Of course, but then the price will be 1500-1800 $ not 500-700$

Why this ???
15. 2 usb type C support e.g. one for charging and one for data

How much I know C type is used on phones and tablets

uncleiggy

I know this is no perfect system but it ticks a lot of boxes, specially navigation and music streaming. I might consider upgrading to a faster Android head unit (bigger maybe?) in the next year or so, but so far it does its job. BTW, for charging I prefer my trusty Anker chargers, I've got 2, one for the front seats and one for the rear seats, both are very fast and reliable, the latter has got USB-C which my son uses to charge his Nintendo Switch on long trips.

apoelistas

All manufacturers are moving from mini/micro/standard USB to type C because it does not break i.e Can be used from both sides (0 or 180degrees)

Will be waiting for something better. Hoping someone produces a better android unit.

uncleiggy

I don't think they will get much better because even though the market for these solutions is huge, there's no interest from reputable manufacturers to develop solutions for old cars, each car manufacturer have their own internals and connecting to a wide range of systems just does not make any sense, imagine how much money they need to invest just in testing the solutions. I guess that top tier manufacturers are focused in solutions for brand new cars.
So, you might get better hardware specs in the future, better UI and faster processors, but that's pretty much what you'll get, our cars are 10 years old, but the inner technology is even older that's why I'm happy with what I've got now, it's not perfect, it could be better but it's much nicer than what it came from factory, I guess it's just a matter of setting proper expectations.