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Android Auto user experiences and feedback

Yaseen Ebrahim

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Howsit Carbies.

I am looking at changing my car next year and cannot make my mind up.

One of the imperative criteria when I am choosing this next car is it must include Android Auto amongst other things.

What I would like to find out is if anybody here has Android Auto and in what form? Is it integrated with your car's infotainment system or did you get an aftermarket head unit installed? What car/head unit do you have and what is the experience like; laggy, touch response is slow, faulty connection issues, etc?

I know that you can use Android Auto on your phone itself but I don't like to have something stuck on my windshield or the dashboard, hence wanting to have it either integrated in the car's infotainment system or getting an aftermarket head unit with a custom bracket installed in the car.
 
Use it with a Polo which has the infotainment package. Works flawlessly from a functionality standpoint. Interface can be laggy at times though
 
Have the upgrade on my Mazda. It's brilliant. Plug in phone. Opens up on infotainment screen. Quick and easy access to most items.

It's snappy and makes life much better.

Would never get a new car without it

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
 
I use it in my Audi sometimes. But plugging in the cable everytime is a hassle, so I typically just connect via bluetooth and use the built in MMI system, which is good enough for what I want.. podcasts, music with album art, navigation.. my car does it already. Although It looks better on android auto I guess.
 
While I much prefer Apple's Carplay way beyond Android Auto even for the time I did use AA it's an invaluable functionality to my car that changes everything about the day to day way I operate when driving.

Wouldn't give it up easily and would compromise on a great many other things instead.

It's built-in on my Kia.
 
@GadgetGremlin sells aftermarket units, maybe he can weigh in here

Android Auto/Apple Airplay are both awesome features to have and use in vehicles. It is good that most newer cars are coming with these features. The aftermarket units we sell are Android based and thus have a full fledged OS on the head unit. I prefer this setup as Offline Nav, music, videos, youtube, etc is all on the device itself. You have access to the play store so can do anything. The newer devices are really smooth with no lag. They do have mirror link to mirror your whole phone onto the screen but no real need.

Android Auto works well most of the time but when driving, the only thing that I ever want to see if phone calls. Everything else like Whatsapp and other notifications, I don't even want to know about till I am off the road. Just my preference though.
 
Thanks everyone. I am currently deciding between picking an older car and fitting an AA head unit or buying a newer car that comes with it installed already.

I have until the end of the year to make a decision so I came up with a list and every now and then on a Friday, I am taking a different car for a test drive. Some of these cars will have AA and some are just old enough to not have it but new enough that they at least have an infotainment system.

My next question is if I choose to go with changing the head unit in an older car, how different are the specs between a head unit that supports AA and a head unit that has Android as the OS already? @GadgetGremlin

Whenever I try to make sense from reviews, I can never end up with conclusive results. One review will say the unit takes time to respond to touch, another review will say the unit is perfect. I would prefer to get a unit that just supports AA instead of a unit that has Android as the OS but then that would mean sacrificing the functionality of basically having a tablet in your dashboard (I know my wife would love to have this, she gets bored on long drives).

While we are also on this (features in a car and such), I am going to deviate from the OP but it will also help me make a decision regarding my latest question.

Can I have opinions on the following cars from owners or people who have just been in these cars (comment on mechanical workings of the car in terms of efficiency and performance, reliability and overall value for money):
- 2017 or later Renault Clio 0.9 Turbo
- 2017 or later Kia Picanto 1.2 Smart
- 2016 or later Renault Duster 1.5 DCi Dynamique 4x4
- 2012 or later Hyundai iX35 2.0 CRDi
- 2012 or later Kia Sportage 2.0 CRDi
- 2014 or later Kia Cerato SX (doesn't matter which engine)
- 2012 or later Renault Megane III Dynamique (doesn't matter which engine)
- 2016 or later Chevrolet Cruze LS (doesn't matter which engine)

From the above you can probably guess my budget and what set of features I want in my next car. You can also figure out which cars will need a head unit change and which will have AA integrated in the infotainment system already. I have already test driven a couple but i paid attention to how the car was actually driving and not the features that I want in the car.
 
Thanks everyone. I am currently deciding between picking an older car and fitting an AA head unit or buying a newer car that comes with it installed already.

I have until the end of the year to make a decision so I came up with a list and every now and then on a Friday, I am taking a different car for a test drive. Some of these cars will have AA and some are just old enough to not have it but new enough that they at least have an infotainment system.

My next question is if I choose to go with changing the head unit in an older car, how different are the specs between a head unit that supports AA and a head unit that has Android as the OS already? @GadgetGremlin

Whenever I try to make sense from reviews, I can never end up with conclusive results. One review will say the unit takes time to respond to touch, another review will say the unit is perfect. I would prefer to get a unit that just supports AA instead of a unit that has Android as the OS but then that would mean sacrificing the functionality of basically having a tablet in your dashboard (I know my wife would love to have this, she gets bored on long drives).

While we are also on this (features in a car and such), I am going to deviate from the OP but it will also help me make a decision regarding my latest question.

Can I have opinions on the following cars from owners or people who have just been in these cars (comment on mechanical workings of the car in terms of efficiency and performance, reliability and overall value for money):
- 2017 or later Renault Clio 0.9 Turbo
- 2017 or later Kia Picanto 1.2 Smart
- 2016 or later Renault Duster 1.5 DCi Dynamique 4x4
- 2012 or later Hyundai iX35 2.0 CRDi
- 2012 or later Kia Sportage 2.0 CRDi
- 2014 or later Kia Cerato SX (doesn't matter which engine)
- 2012 or later Renault Megane III Dynamique (doesn't matter which engine)
- 2016 or later Chevrolet Cruze LS (doesn't matter which engine)

From the above you can probably guess my budget and what set of features I want in my next car. You can also figure out which cars will need a head unit change and which will have AA integrated in the infotainment system already. I have already test driven a couple but i paid attention to how the car was actually driving and not the features that I want in the car.

The Duster is a real gem, we did over 200km of off road sand and gravel road and the car handled it so well.
 
The Duster is a real gem, we did over 200km of off road sand and gravel road and the car handled it so well.
Did you have the 4WD version? Did you get into any situations where the car got bogged and it got itself out?
I know this is a cheap capable offroader with nothing fancy but this is the reason why I am asking for opinions on these cars.
 
I tried my friends Android based player. I found it underwhelming.

The basic feature set was good as it had a proper multistage EQ and 4v preoutput but the touch panel was meh and the interface looked like a website from the mid 2000’s.

My cheap and cheerful JVC X351BT has more features and is easier to use.
 

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