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What is the difference between various aftermarket Android head units?

13K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  J Booth  
#1 ·
I want to upgrade from a 2015 NAV head unit to something that supports CarPlay. I see about fifteen different head units ranging in price from $90 to $550. Dasaita website alone has 4 different models. On paper they all seem to be the same - at least as far as features and screen size.

Should I go for the most expensive one ( Android 12, Dasaita Android12 Car Stereo for Toyota Camry 2015 2016 2017 Wireless Carplay & Android Auto Car Radio | Qualcomm 665 | 10.2" QLED Screen | Wifi+4G LTE | 4G+64G | DSP|GPS Navigation Head Unit | Optical Output )?

Previous generation Dasaita?

Something in the $200 range?

I am totally lost trying to pick what to buy. On paper they all look good. Amazon is full of fake reviews. And it is impossible to try them before purchase.

Please help.

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#4 ·
As long as you're not going down the cheap path you should be good with whatever you choose. Sub $100/150 range is when things start having quality control issues and overall bad build quality. I looked at your link and it seems fairly good. While I wouldn't believe everything they state about it (I highly doubt that is a QLED screen, the pictures of it in a car make it seem to have pretty bad screen-dooring). Just make sure it doesn't have less than 2g of RAM and you should be good. Below that there is severe latency in your touchscreen.
 
#7 ·
To Prevent Android Radio Hell, Avoid The 8227L
When I selected a unit for purchase, I found it is best to stay away from any unit that uses the 8227L CPU and any unit that uses Android 8.1 Go. They are low-cost, poor quality units that won't be powerful enough to do what you want.

Best Unit To Buy, Based On My Experience
I recently installed the following unit for $250 (extra RAM and storage, plug and play) , and am extremely happy with it:

A More Powerful Unit For A Few Dollars More
The head unit is powerful enough to run GMaps, Kodi, voice command, and just about anything a power user like myself can throw at it. It's like a tablet in your dashboard. It boots up quickly and everything just works.

You Need To Do An Easy Step To Enable Factory Steering Wheel Controls
NOTE: you will need to go to the car setup screen and enter the code (8888) and select your car make/model. It will set up the CANBus module and enable your factory steering wheel controls and other features seen in the factory head unit, such as MPG, energy monitor, etc.

Extras Are Affordable
I found the backup camera and TPMS kit add-ons for around $70, and since the unit supports 4G LTE, I purchased a SIM card and 3 months of service. You can find the backup camera and TPMS at AliExpress for around $10 each, but they take 14 days and may or may not be subject to fees upon import.

Hope this helps! Looking forward to installing the addons when they arrive.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I agree with not getting 8227L based units. These usually are underpowered and have fake versions of Android on them. They might claim to have a newer Android version but really have a much older version. You will likely have issues installing apps on these units.

Also be careful ordering a head unit. Make sure to order correct unit. Head units made for 2012-2014 Camry will not fit 2015-2017 Camry.

The SYGAV unit previously suggested is specifically for 2015-2017 Camry. You do not need to buy TPMS sensors or camera kit for this unit. It is plug and play with the factory camera and the TPMS works with existing sensors.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for your input on these android auto units. Doing a little research for our 2017 LE with JBL NAV and amp. Can they be configured to use the JBL amp? Currently using the OEM JBL HU and amp, but swapped out speakers with better ones.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Ok, bit the bullet and went with the most expensive option:


I was in "luck" as just prior to doing the install the stock head unit crapped out and is now stuck in the infinite reboot loop. So I will be not just upgrading the head unit but also fixing it! Here it is installed in my 2015 Camry XSE V6:

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Here my impressions:

1. Install is 100% plug-n-play but yet creates an ugly entanglement of wires inside the dash (not a big deal as you cannot see it).
2. The screen is glossy and impossible to read in daylight with open sunroof.
3. The screen does not have dynamic brightness adjustment with ambient light (like every modern cellphone) - although the color scheme does change when the headlights turn on. It is ok but I still find the screen to bright in the darkness and too dim in the daylight. There is brightness adjustment slider but it is a joke. It requires many clicks to access and only changes brightness about ~20% min-to-max.
4. Overall system is very fast and responsive - no complaints.
5. Call quality with the built-in microphone seems to be good.
6. Navigation prompts and playing media info in the instrument cluster do not work anymore.
7. Volume is TOO loud! At about 50% setting it is already overloading the speakers. The lowest volume setting of 1 is already too loud in some situations (like parked in a quiet garage with the engine off).
8. All the steering wheel buttons work. Pressing a voice command button starts Siri or Google assistant.
9. Both wired and wireless Android Auto works. The wired interface charges a phone very slowly (~5 hours to full charge) - therefore I prefer to use wireless interface while getting power from a fast 12V car charger.
10. Aux In does not work anymore.
11. There is no Android Auto YouTube app! The last couple of years I mostly listen to Youtube when driving (audio only). It worked fine with the stock headunit but I am still to find a way to make it work with this one.
12. Built-in AM/FM radio is not very good. Reception seems to be on a weaker side, there is no support for HD-Radio and the interface is buggy. Fortunately I do not plan on using it often and there are much better apps for listening for all possible radio stations over internet anyway.
13. I am still missing the volume knob as my hand constantly searches for it to adjust volume. Gradually learning to use the steering wheel controls for this purpose.
 
#13 ·
Thank you for #6 because I wondered about this. Even considered changing out my gauge cluster with one from an XLE. Glad that I didn't do this. Also had concerns about odometer being wrong if I did swap.

Second @Interstellarspike recommendation for Car Launcher Pro. Great app and enhances the head unit user interface.

Regarding #10, I recall there were RCA male plugs on the harness that needed to be plugged into RCA sockets to make AUX work. If these are connected, you have to bring up an app on the head unit to get AUX audio.

#11 you can run YT natively on the head unit but that requires mobile data, alternatively I would think you could stream BT audio from your phone. Guess it depends on how much you want the YT audio.

#12 There is an app available on Play Store called NavRadio (both a free version and paid) they both work well as a replacement for the provided radio app. It is not a streaming radio app, it uses the built in AM/FM tuner.
Free version: navradio free - Android Apps on Google Play
Paid version: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.navimods.radio
 
#12 ·
I think the Dasaita units are virtually identical to the Sygav that I have.
I’m sure you will learn more as you tweak it to your liking.
The below link may be useful for the volume issue


If you want to change the look, one of the best launchers is Car Launcher Pro.