Car Head Units - What NOT to buy!! Chinese Android Radio or Known Big Brand? 

Check out my Top 7 most recommended Android head unit brands ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZbMPUTVCBKw.htmlsi=jf2IfeJay6G7DsJx

These are by far the best vids I've ever seen on this particular corner of auto tech. You clearly put a great deal of thought and effort into producing them. People like you are what make RU-vid truly useful. Great job, thank you, and please do keep up the good work.

Dude, you are a Legend. Great guide for first time buyers as I didn't have a clue what to buy until I saw this Informative Video. : )

This was an awesome introduction to exactly what I was looking for 👍👏

Very comprehensive. This guy knows his stuff

Very useful and thanks. Bought a Joying previously and had zero issues with it. Still going strong many years after installation. Paid more but got what i paid for.

Love how u broke it down, hit the hot topics, good points, and a calm clear voice hit home. POV was good. Really hope to see you do more. I have a MB, bus system. 09 AMG and considering one of these head units. Would like to see your input, experience, and other manufacturers and models as relatively good or better than joying (if any)

One year later ! Nope I wasn't looking BUT as I watched you got me thinking.. So now I am looking! Great video, you covered a WIDE range of important topics. Thank You

I believe the Xtrons equalizer depends on which unit it is. Their head unit for BMW e9x that didn’t come with iDrive has an equalizer and has more options for music, but costs around $650USD

I am very happy with the build quality and performance of my Atoto F7 XE 8 inch head unit. Great picture, features (including wireless android auto and wireless car play), sound, and responsiveness. Since it is linux based, not native android,, like other units, its interface is not as configurable, but this is a small gripe, since the UI is pretty decent.

I have a Chinese car radio for two years and it is great. It was only 90 Pounds it is an Android system, DAB+, SAT NAV , steering wheel control etc etc. and it is great

I thought this was just going to be a product review of the 3 stereos but figured I would watch anyway. Lucky I did- this video is a game changer, especially since I’ve been looking to upgrade my radio with the android style stereos. This video just saved my ass

I added a Lexion unit with a larger touchscreen over the summer, in my 16 Lexus IS 200t. Now I have CarPlay (and Android Auto, which I don't use, of course, with my iPhone). It always connects seamlessly and quickly. Pricey, but worth it. No overheating. Other people like the Grom v2. Customer support was an issue at some point, though personally I haven't had any issues. Currently the actual manufacturer in China is communicating, which is great. Lexion is a Koren company that sells Lexion. The units are made by Binary. The Binary guy is on the Lexus forum I'm on, plus Lexion is coming to the US, he says. Grom has excellent customer support, people on the forum say.

In terms of music quality, I imagine the more expensive units will also have a superior DAC (Digital to Analog Converter). This is often something that gets overlooked in reviews.

Confirmed joying customer service is professional and helpful one.

This video helped me a lot. I had just purchased one of those android head units without knowing the difference between that and a proper stereo head unit. Thanks for saving me the hassle of installing/uninstalling. I cancelled the purchase right away and will be buying a proper head unit in the future.

Glad i found this. Was struggling to find a better android player but my brain keep thinking the “branded” which might gives better spec. But price review all low spec from branded ones very expensive while no brand or unknown ones with highly specs with very cheap price. Now i have better view in no branded china android player already. Thanks mate for your review and clarifications. Thumbs up and followed u 👍 keep it up

AWESOME 💪 GREAT TOPIC AND INFO 👏😁 I REALLY DO APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO 👍 PEACE ✌️

I think the real benefit of these ever evolving Android head units is keeping the big brands honest. I have been using a Kenwood DDX9906XR for a few years now and it was an incredibly expensive head unit. It has been fine and I don't regret my purchase. However, there are simple improvements that they could address via firmware but they don't because they don't have to. One can hope that these up and coming Android based companies force them to be more competitive.

I've been out of the car radio installs for a very long time. Never herd of some of the brands you're showing so I appreciate your evaluation. I'm only familiar with the Kenwood/Sony/JVC/etc. essentially those that also used to make hoe stereos. Now I want to upgrade my 2007 4Runner so I'm learning.

Love that you put the time stamps in the description. Saved a lot of time!!!! Thanks!

I bought a Hikity Android 9.1 9' head unit, it was 155$ 2Gb of ram and 32Gb of rom and it can multitask with two screens running at the same time. Hikity is a known brand and so far it has gotten good reviews. Thanks for the info about the 2Gb of ram looks like I got lucky on that.

minimum is 4GB of Ram, 2GB boots very long and lags a lot. Have 6GB now and it‘s perfect

Great comparison to pick the one that suits you.. I have a joying headunit myself and I like it.

Very good explanation. Wish I saw this before I bought my first android head unit, I had to find out myself that there are low quality units like I bought. The biggest flaw I discovered was the lack of screen brightness on the cheap units. I bought a more expensive unit, which works well.

One thing you are missing is that the new Joying units that came out this year have a lot more audio settings. They have a built in DSP chip with time alignment, 16 band EQ with Q factor adjustment, and independent front and read speaker EQ adjust. They also have digital audio outputs which are basically the gold standard when it comes to sound quality.

I almost turned off when I got to the Apple good-Android bad bit, but I'm glad I didn't because there is hell of a lot of good advice and information after. I've got a Passat B7 and I think I'll go for one of the Xtrons heads which seem to have all the bits I need. Thanks!

I have recent experience with adding both a branded unit (Pioneer) and an Android head unit to two different cars. I was able to install a Pioneer unit into my wife's Fiat 500x after cutting a bit of plastic and it's a seamless integration. It's also reliable. It boots up and Android Auto is connected with music started by the time we have our seatbelts on. The other unit is a random Android screen that replaced the dash storage tray in my BWM E84 X1. It connects to the OEM radio via an Aux cable. It looks great and adds a backup camera as well as working with steering wheel controls. What it is NOT, however, is fast, user-friendly, or reliable. Phone calls only work right if I connect media to the head unit and calls to the car's OEM head unit. It will work with Android Auto and Carplay (wireless even), but it takes forever for everything to boot up and one needs to learn rituals and incantations to make it work. It uses Zlink5 and requires both Bluetooth and WiFi or a cable. It launches Zlink5 and fails to connect. I need to go to the bluetooth section in the software and "connect" the phone. It says "connection failed" and then Zlink5 opens and launches Android Auto. I've learned a way to get it going within about a minute, but it's not ideal. What's also not great is that updates from Google and screw this thing up, which has happened. An Android Auto update caused an audio bug wherein the music quality becomes muffled the assistant speaks. I've just manually installed an older Android Auto 10.x version onto my phone and I hope that fixes it. The Android units are cool in the way that they're customizable, but they're not practical if you just want to drive with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. If a branded and supported option were feasible for my car, then I'd choose it. Kenwood, JVC, Pioneer, whatever.

A really useful video, thank you very much indeed, i am currently watching some other of your videos as i am looking to upgrade the unit in my car, well done indeed!

Nice review, but I do have to say that in contrast of what you are saying you can actually add CarPlay and Android Auto to the Xtrons with a separate module. There are also units with hardware buttons, usually the OEM models that are fitting a specific car model. And their modern units also have more extensive equalizer options.

When I looked at replacing my headunit the one key thing I looked at was the outputs. I found the android HU were pretty low compared to the named branded ones unless you spend a fair amount like that of the Joying. This isnt to say that theyre bad, but for me the amplifier in a car is a key feature. Yes you can have a HU which plays videos, games, reads emails etc.. but ultimately what CORE features are you needing a new HU for? For me it was maps, music, BT and radio. Yes I bought a reverse cam and wired that in too as it supported it and was a cool feature to have, but the night and day comparisons come when I turn my HU up. The Joying here is probably the only one I would go for if I was to choose again. It has some awesome options. Having said that Ive had ICE installs in the past with multiple subs and speakers so know what to trust, albeit expensive. The main issue I had with the android options was the many chinese options which makes it a total minefield. Very good video, appreciated!

I got an Atoto S6 Premium 10.1" radio in January and I love it. I use Android Auto every day. With Iheartradio or Tunein radio I have access to hundreds of radio stations and with Google maps, Waze. And Tom Tom Amigo, I have several GPS options. And a huge screen foe my reverse camera.

At last an informative video. Thank you.

Firstly thank you for an awesome video! I'm looking to get an android unit for my wife's car and struggling to choose a reliable and trustworthy brand with out breaking the bank! So far I've been looking at the erisin, but the reviews suggest the components aren't great and aftercare is poor. After watching your video, I'm considering the joying, but wanted to know your thoughts on the other Chinese brands (eonon, erisin, xtrons, pumpkin etc) as they're slightly cheaper. Looking at only the 4gb ram octacore version. Would be grateful for any advice. Thanks

Cool and useful comparison. Could you give a summary in the description giving the model numbers of the units?

i've been using my xtrons head unit for 2 years on my toyota GT86. I'm so happy with it: it's perfect. So much functionalities, and i even have torque pro on it, for engine ECU interactions. And i can have a movie or youtube video on it on long drive for the passenger in the rear seat to watch.

I bought an Xtrons for my old Mercedes and it works wonderfully. It has Apple CarPlay and everything.

Great video. Would you list Android head unit brands based on quality? Such as Joying, Xtroms, Eonon, Teyes, Atoto, Hokity, etc.

I newly have an Atoto S8 Standard (2nd generation), which I really like a lot. It has 3 gigs of RAM and 32 gigs of memory (plus a micro SD card slot for more memory), and is plenty zippy. Sounds great too. But looking at your video, it looks like they might have copied the settings interface of the Joying? At 10:20 on the Joying, that's pretty much the same as the Atoto. Not exactly though. Does anyone know the history between these two companies? Did Atoto copy Joying?

Great video. Looking forward to more!

hi bud thanks for resting my mind i have just got a junsun 4 gb ram android 10 cost me £ 250 .. a lot of money but it is a very good unit mine is made for the 2003 Peugeot 307 only as it uses the cars stick control as well thank you michael

I have the Joying 10.1 and it's a great deck. My biggest gripe is that you can only use bluetooth with a phone and odb2 reader. I have a DSP that I would love to be able to manage directly from the deck. Other than that its a no brainer compared to big box brands like Pioneer and Alpine. Big box brands do sound better on stock wiring but if your using a aftermarket amp with a DSP it sounds great as well.

Wish I knew this before I bought my unit.

great video, it did answer some questions I had. Have you had the android units in a vehicle with safety features and lighting controls integrated into the OEM infotainment? I'm wondering if I would lose important functionality by swapping my 2018 Mazda 3's infotainment system for one of the android units, because the stock software is just unbearably bad.

Many questions answered, thank you.

Not sure if they have improved recently. But Joying have had problems with their soldering and dead boards. I bought one of their top of the range units some years ago and it died after 2 years of very occasional use. The issues were well known and starts with the screen occasionally going black and or restarting. Sadly no help with replacement unit or even a discount on one. While it worked it was a good unit however.

Honestly I used to think name brands were better but the stuff you can do with the android radios is crazy the customization you can do are endless

I ordered a joying 10.5 head unit for my bmw E90 and I can't wait for it to get here . Glad I ordered it

Awesome video, very helpful. Thanks

I was looking at one of your videos recommending stereo head units and you mentioned the Xtrons. At around 150 quid this is more my pricepoint than the Joying. I was all set to order one but I noticed the reviews on Amazon were very mixed. People either thought they were great or they had reliability issues, dying after 18 months etc. and finding the customer support not great at all. I got the impression that your long term experience was with the Joying which is a bit pricey for me. Any comments?

My pioneer head unit was $800 I bought it assuming it had the better components but it's actually really really laggy low res crap haha 😆

Excellent presentation, thank you

Very informative! thx mate!

Thank you for sharing your insight. One general question I have about Android is how it performs after 2 years. In the past even my top of the line galaxy smartphone will slow down dramatically after two years of use. Is that an issue with the well specked android car units as well?

What are your thoughts on the Dasaita? +Saab Unleashed

Thank you for your very informative video. I'm very interested in a Joying unit. I'm hoping you can answer two questions for me. First, does the unit dim automatically when you turn the headlights on, and does it get brighter and dimmer as you adjust the brightness of the dash lights? Second, I drive a noisy old Jeep Cherokee. When making phone calls, I use a one-ear headset. Is there a headset/earbuds jack on the Joying unit, or can one be added? Thanks

Great description, Ive been trying to find a video by somebody who understands enough to seperate the BS marketing voodoo to what the actual product is your buying.

Hi, thank you for the review, what is the standby current? Bought a used car with a fancy Android stereo, standby current was 470ma, drained my battery very quick... Lucky the seller gave me the original radio. Since then I don't buy generic chinese android stereos as they do not specify standby current

1 st off great video! I'd rather custom build my own with Raspberry Pi with 4 or 8 gb ram/ whatever touchscreen size/ whatever internal storage size/Custom pre-amp/ Custom open source software/ Custom housing for your screen and addons/ the list goes on and on. Remember the day's when recording software was exclusive and cost an arm and a leg? Now there is open source to record for free. Same for vehicle radio's Manufacture's are losing again to open source! So I say, see you at the finish line and to all the sucker's who over paid for useless garbage.

Do you have a full review or fitting video for the Xtrons featured here? Or any idea how I'd find out whether it'll fit my car, a GolfV? I mean are all 7" ones pretty much interchangeable?

I'm looking to replace the stock CD unit in my 2010 9-3x and have watched endless hours of your videos trying to make a decision! I would have liked a unit with physical buttons and a volume knob but they seem few and far between and some of them are slow. I'm guessing for the Saab I will need a Connects2 adapter and a frame too. Looks like it's going to be an expensive job! It the cheaper Xtrons in this video up to the job, in your opinion?

The "HeadUnit Reloaded" app should allow any android radio to connect android auto(wired/wireless). It is a paid app tho but for the feature its worth it.

Will second anyone who says avoid Joying. I had a unit that died after 2 weeks. To get a replacement, they required me to take a video of myself using alligator clips to connect the unit directly to the car battery. It was an incredibly sketchy procedure to ask a customer to do.

Great video, thank you. Just cancelled the cheap head unit i bought off Amazon and am going to get an Xtrons.

Hey there ! Thanks for the review. Which one do you think it's more suitable for a w124 ?

I have a Pumpkin headunit and its a pretty good headunit

I was really hoping for you to speak on the most important part of any car stereo unit, which is the power output. While branded units like Pioneer, Sony, Kenwood etc give standard max output of 4 x 55 watts, while some pioneer and sony units even give 4 x 75 watts output, almost all of the branded and non branded chinese units go only to a max of 4 x 47 watts max..this should be discussed any any car stereo review and i am sure, among the above 3, only kenwood provides better total power.

nice job, I learned from your content!

Thanks for the information, well done.

Joying support is terrible.I bought a HU from them that listed android auto several times in the listing.mine didn’t have it, when I contacted them about it and they said specifications changed go pound salt.

Atoto make the best ones. They also have high end Toshiba Class A amplifiers. So have great sound quality too.

Very helpful… very well done!

I would recommend simply getting a regular, non-touch screen head unit with an auxiliary port for 3.5 mm (maybe also bluetooth and a usb port if you think you might use them) plugs, buy an adapter for your phone, and plug your phone into the aux port via the adapter and cable. You can use your phone as the touch screen unit. You will not have to worry about whether the head unit has enough memory or will correctly run your applications. If applications are needed, they can be run on your phone. Your head unit, in this setup, serves the purpose of allowing you to play music from your phone.

The problem is, the big brand head units are trash, hell, most built in infotainment units are trash, they have no idea or car about refresh rates, smoothness, they all seem laggy and have bare minimum specs, the Chinese Android head units can also be super trash, I usually go for the 4+GB of RAM

My Android Headunit (Teyes cc3) has far better sound settings than that Kenwood

my oem stereo stayed in the car for like 1 month, mind you this is back in 2001. around 2007 I got a kenwood double din display with nav and is still working till this day- 15 years!

Great video mate!!

Check out my Top 3 Android head unit brands here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ty6BB59E_HY.html

Very helpful video. Thanks!

Great video - Im looking for a stereo mid range for my T5 transporter 2008 , many ive seen state there only compatible with Transporter 2010 onwards so T5.1 which XTRONS OR JOYING do you suggest?

what do you think of the V-Grome vs a Kenwood, joying head screen unit?

Hi Saab Unleashed, I'm looking to put something similar into my Range Rover classic (1980 2-door) but I want it to retract/be hidden when not working, I plan to positon it so it's totally hidden when the car is off. Do you suggest (or know of) any solutions? I have seen the Pioneers and other such brands which have the simple head unit still seen when the scrren retracts but I am looking for something super minimal/hidden. Thoughts? cheers

Very interesting video, thanks, Stuart! I was wondering if you have compared standby power consumption? I presume that the Saab factory radio has hardly any. But do these touchscreen units consume significant standby power, so they might drain the car battery if the car isn't used for a week or two? And, is there a list of recommended/suitable double DIN units for the Saab 9-5, depending on the model year?

Good video and info. I looked on Aliexpress for the brands you have suggested but neither sells units for a Dodge Journey (2013). Do you have a recommendation?

Thank you for the great video . Very informative, what do you think about the brand seicane for a 2018 Toyota Corolla?

I bought an Atoto A8, love the thing.

I'm on my second Joying, no real complaints, other than the ribbon cable. Also have an eanon , or whatever it's called. Seems reliable.

Excellent Sir...Thank you!

Very useful thanks for sharing, I do have one question can you splice video cables.

nice! i found this video just as i have bought a jvc unit. are there any 2din android radios with a dvd player? i have loads of dvds and i just want to throw one in from time to time.

Excellent. Thank you. Do you know much about seicane? Are they on a par with Joying?

Great video! What camera would you recommend to the Kenwood device?

Question! W/ an android open source head unit, could you use the USB slot too expand the RAM / Memory?? (/Do they ever possibly have a MicroSD Card Slot? Could you Sodder one onto the board?) & is it only the non-name brand units you can use different launchers W/? Or? Thanks

Hi, what's your view on Erisin? I was considering one for my 2005 Porsche Cayenne.

Ironically I have the exact Kenwood model you’ve got in my 93 convert 😁

I bought a CHEAP 10.1 inch Windows CE unit for $35 bucks. as far as the unit goes it's just fine for 95% of the consumers out there.. these really inexpensive units are more tailored to video playback then they are for audio use. there's something nice to have in your car basically. for audio quality? the joying make sense for the sole reason it has a digital output. it also means you now have an additional cost of setting up your system if you choose to go that route. however if you're only interested in audio quality and you want to have the best you can possibly have for the least amount of money? You don't need a headunit. In fact? Why bother? you already have a phone so use that. most people use their phones anyways just for directions or navigation and they usually have a windshield mount. if you really need navigation simply get yourself a large tablet and get a tablet holder in your done. chances are you probably already have a tablet to use. if that's the case? You now have an ultimate audio system. all you need to do is add an external amplifier and for 98% of you? Walla! finished with your car audio install from at least the electronics source standpoint. many amps on the market today that support Bluetooth support apt-x, so that's it. You are done. some of you have phones that actually work really well with a three-and-a-half millimeter Jack and you're still able to make phone calls with the built in phone microphones . Xiaomi is really good at this. _For the Basic Ultimate S.Q. System_ Phone> USB Dac ( *Topping AD-10* ) > Amp(s). [Free] [ $10 ~ $100 ] [ $63 ] Add some great DIY speakers, and sound treatment, Custom mount the drivers, And you are done! All the problems, noise, etc are gone. Its the best simple system you can do. Nothing can touch it for simplicity, S.Q. & Cost. again, if S.Q. Is your MAIN want? This is it. Bar none.

What are the power output ratings for each radio? Most stock units are around 25 watts per channel, so switching to one that pushes 45 watts may require a speaker upgrade sooner rather than later

Hi buddy just a quick question iam looking to buy one for my Berlingo but I need quite a few adaptors for my steerling wheel and park sensors but will they work on these units

I'm a total newbie in this space....so please excuse the basic questions...I have an older Toyota and want a more modern "screen" type unit but all I need is the FM radio plus (preferably) on-board GPS in the unit. Nothing more. I believe there are other units that "use" and process the GPS signal from your cell phone ( that you have in the car with you, either via wired or wireless connection)...but I would like GPS to be stand-alone. That said, would then prefer the GPS maps to be upgradable over time. Would the best bet be to find a later-model Toyota unit that has these features ( say, from an auto parts recycler?)...to install? And do you know if such "car-brand" unit GPS can be updated over time with latest maps?

Highly interesting to me, thank you. Have an ancient 2012 double din Kenwood (VERY laggy, buggy touch screen sensitivity), pre-Apple CarPlay era. Looking to perhaps upgrade to modern large screen, wondering if any or all will have same or similar connectors for 4 speakers, outboard amp, and whether the larger screen(s)/ above 7" will fit my vehicle. Ideas? Thanks for knowledge, liked and subscribed!