Should I buy a Cheap Android Head Unit? - Part 2 - Octacore vs Quadcore 

Absolutely!

I can give you a long term usage opinion (Please, its just my opinion) and I am sorry, its not that fantastic. What all reviewers fail to address is; that this is not a smartphone, its a car media system. Reliability is much more a factor than on your phone. E.g. If an app gets stuck on the phone, no big deal, in your car however, driving at speed, its dangerous! Hardware; Underpowered, not enough RAM to run the OS without occasional crashes and no response situations. Also, some of the RADIOS (Which is not the FM radio) BT, wifi, GSM modules, etc. are also often shaved down versions. (Cheaper chip modules than normal) This means, problems connecting to phones, wifi adapters, obdII adapters, TPS systems, etc. These shaved down chips simply dont have all the comm protocols to work properly with every gadgets you might try connect. Software: Generally, the Android used is standard, some do not have all basic Android functions or, the stack for modules are customized to only work for a few specific functions or modules. E.g. it is not uncommon to see Android 5.01 HU with a limited BT2 version, that only connect to DAB, OBDII or TPS modules sold by same vendor. Some of the apps the unit comes with are rather unstable, even if they are super basic, like the phone app. it gets even worse if you install all kind of crap like you do on a smartphone. Some apps works well, but this is the app that's good (E.g. spotify and many other commercial apps) Have the following in mind: All of these cheap chinese HU comes from the same assemply line (not most of them, in fact all them!) Software are loaded to all these from the same company with a dozen or so chinese "developers", they have almost identical Android images to work with, to make them "brand" specific in some cases. E.g. its the same clown who makes the firmware and updates to Erisin, Ownice, Joying or "what you have you found" brand. In choice, the main differences between this multitude of chinese sellers, is the support they provide, there can be a very big difference. E.g. Ownice=almost nothing, Joying=Some, also a reasonable good user forum is available, Joying owners share problems and solutions. I am not trying to put anybody down here, just providing a realistic opinion from long time use. There is a reason original media units typically costs upward 2000 bucks, much better realiability than compared with aftermarket chinese HU. Name brands like JVC, Kenwood, etc. fall somewhere inbetween, both pricewise and feature availabilty. Androids; KITKAT works best and most reliably of the versions out there. Lollipop is a disaster, Marshmellow is more stable but need minimum 4GB ram to work reliably. The "problem" is, the Hu with KITKAT comes with 1GB ram, but it really should have 2GB. HU with Lollipop comes with 1 or 2GB, but should really have 4gb to work reliably. Marshmellow HU should have 8GB to run reliably... Even the developers in China fail to understand the difference between a smartphone and usage versus a Car media unit. E.g. what is really missing, is some split screen and/or PiP or PoP functions, so when you drive, you can have what you want "at a glance" on the screen, and should max. have to use ONE touch to change something (not driving deep in menus with multiple touches, you are driving a vehicle!) The Android Car and the Car launcher are basic apps for such basic requirement in function. Currently I am also using Car launcher, but even this one has some limitations, some split screen options would be nice, 10 year old chrysler HU have this as standard. e.g. NAV map on the side, media info on the right, so its not a new idea! Unfortunately, on teh SDA developer site, everybody is doing the same mistake as the chinese, focus is not on Car integration, but how to add useless crap to the firmware, very nerdy and cool, but not so much for a Car media system. Another thing to consider: Knobs or no knobs, I tried several without knobs, it can be a problem to find the touch area when driving, very annoying if your finger looks after the mute or change station touch field while rumbling around at speed (your eyes are on the road I hope) So, what Boosted Autos considers a "good thing" I consider a safety issue. I prefer knobs or tactile buttons you can get to without taking your eyes off the road. Another annoying thing with "all sleek design", when you get in the car at night, its turned off, so the power on button is not visible! Try find it at the dark side of the moon! just a small thing, but still, annoying... All that being said, you get what you pay for. I have one, I am okay with it, but have spend considerable time and effor to trim it for "simple" use in my car. It can do most of what was promised in the advertisement. What it can do, its not the best at or smartest I have seen, but it generally works. If you go for such a unit, be prepared to spend more time getting it work like you want to, than driving your car :) Cheers

My 5 year old unit (Android 4.4.4) has a volume knob for the exact reasons you stated!! But a few months ago, while waitin in fast food drive theu, I made the HUGEST MISTAKE I never knew existed, and adjusted my volume from the drop down screen (so thin that 9 times out of ten, my fat fingers open the nearest app instead of pull down menu, MY ONLY WAY TO ADJUST VOLUME and making it more dangerous while driving). That one volume adjustment on the touch screen DISABLED MY VOLUME KNOB(but still mutes when I press the knob) I've been desperately trying to find a solution, mind I've made no modifications to the unit/downloaded 3rd party apps/rooted or anything like that. I solely use the dvd player for my music videos burnt to disc, bluetooth calls, and the radio sometimes. A couple days ago I was finally successful at factory resetting (thanks to some youtube reaseatcchand it just made my unit take 4x slower to start up, and my button colors didn't go back to the factory blue they were before I learned of the "hidden" settings menu.. you're channel is what I've been looking for!!!!! I've learned more watching 2 of your videos than I have learned from >20 videos that just confused me more (mainly because they didn't have the volume knob in 99% of them, which is still shocking to me cuz I refrain from touching my phone while vehicle is in motion!) Being that it's been 3 years since this post and it's almost impossible to read/respond to every comment, im still praying on all my lucky stars that maybe just maybe, there is someone else out there that knows a solution to this issue! If anything, maybe this desperation novel of a comment, will help another youtuber 🙂

That was covered in the part 1 video. Works as it does with any other aftermarket head unit. Some cars may need an adaptor interface.

Hey! Just wondering, do you still love it? Trying to find people that have been running with theirs for a year or more... still working?

Good suggestion. Will do this as soon as I have time. Need to get this new PC build done first.

What did you end up getting?

Im thinking about doing my impreza aswell how did you go?

Thanks so much mate.

2009

I haven’t tried one personally so I can’t say.

I don’t think wish even existed when I made this video.

No they don’t support CarPlay.

You need to hook the orange illumination wire up to your interior lighting circuit for them to come in with the interior dash lighting.

@@boostedmedia Thank you man. You're great help.

Hi Chris. I’m not able to offer vehicle specific fitment information but I do have a video on my channel showing how to instal in any car by reverse engineering the wiring. It should help.... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Shm18bsQ0dM.html

Wiring harness is vehicle specific only. Doesn't matter the radio brand.

Yeah I was too. Didn’t expect it to be that much!

@@boostedmedia This is pointless - it boots only once after install, and folowing battery disconnection, why bother. Every time you start the car it turns the screen on.

@@bitbizsydney7463 is this true? if so it negates the added cost of the octa model...kinda crucial!

Sound quality is discussed at the end of the video.

Just install from the App Store and yes it works the same as if it were installed on a phone or tablet.

Yep. You can just connect a USB one straight to one of the USB ports. Keyboards work too. Some Bluetooth ones also work. Just connect them as you would any other Bluetooth device.

Boosted Autos thank you for your reply I try with Xbox 1 controller through usb and bluetooth both didnt work Bluetooth dont show me deviced on head unit so couldn’t pair it i wonder if need to root the unit to get access ? Also have you tried put viper4arise on it for better sound equalizer? Read many good reviews on it

It will fit any car with the appropriate facia kit.

Shouldn’t do any more than any other head unit would. Security/remote central locking systems draw a lot more power in standby.

Thanks for the reply, I've seen reviews of similar units stating they draw more power during standby, this would be detrimental to me. It's the main thing stopping me from going for one

You could always wire a switch in line with the standby power so you can turn it completely off when the car is parked up. All you’d lose is the clock as it stores all your other stuff in non-volatile memory.

I actually considered this but I know what i'm like, I would always forget to flip that switch, always.

Lol. You’d remember pretty quickly when it won’t turn on.

Not yet.

Either remove radio fuse etc to see if it will reset or shine a torch at night close to the screen

The quad core is a raw panel so it’s a satin finish. The Octacore is a gloss screen. Both are pretty much on par with the top of the line head units in terms of visibility during the day.

Well it’s an 18 month old unit now and there haven’t been any firmware updates so I’m not hopeful. I’m not too worried as it works as it works regardless.

@@boostedmedia my concern is app compatibility, 6.1 is getting pretty old now.

Yeah. Remember this video is quite old now. I’m sure there are newer and better things available.

Boosted Media there are litterally so many Android OS radios out there it's hard to decide, then there's fitment and compatibility with things I need like my existing backup camera and steering controls.

Nothing. The unit needs to be on for the reversing camera to work.

Glare is no more an issue with here than it is on any other screen. Not good but not particularly bad. They both have limited audio adjustment from factory. With root (which I have another video showing how to do) you can install a full graphic equaliser.

ahh... if they didn't come with an advanced EQ, I'd probably wager that they use some crummy DAC. I hope you find a nice USB DAC that would work great with these. I have a full amplifier setup so I don't need any high levels from the headunit.

They 100% do use a cheap DAC mate. That’s where the costs are cut. Sound quality isn’t terrible but it’s about on par with a OEM factory headunit.

No

Hard to say. I haven’t seen any updates available for these via OTA. Haven’t looked elsewhere.

1blisslife a lot of software is built into a systems hardware or built around the hardware so updating is not possible.

Stfu boomer go use your old analog radio with 0 boot time

The earlier model had an SD cars expansion slot. The new ones doesn’t. Not possible to upgrade the inbuilt storage is integrated on the motherboard.

Magnus Frederiksen I'm pretty sure that's a feature specific to BMW. I bet you could emulate it with a relay and an ignition sensing delay timer like the MZL-10. I'm glad you asked this question, now I'm looking around to see if it's something I can implement in my car.

Damn, I was hoping it came with all android headunits nowadays. If I can fit a 2din in my next car, and it doesn't have this feature, I will write to you to help me design the relay/choose parts, deal? :D

Magnus Frederiksen here's a good starting point forum.xda-developers.com/android-auto/mtcb-hardware-development/time-delay-relays-constant-power-to-t3574246 It may be a feature in some Android units, I'm not totally sure. Also not sure how they might implement something like that without a control box for the timing. But that's the nice thing about technology: there's always a way to accomplish something if you have the right bits and bobs.

THanks man!

You could definately build something similar using a relay on a timer, but it's not a native feature to these units. I'd love to review a 7.1 Unit if I can get my hands on one. We'll see.

You need to plug in a USB DVD drive. It doesn’t have an optical drive built in.

On par with a basic factory unit. So definitely nothing special. That’s where they cut costs.

@@boostedmedia only noticed sound quality drop if not using factory installed apps. Those sound great. Far better than factory unit. Brand is Atoto. Hate that Spotify sucks compared to I heart which was factory installed.

It has an Aux video input which you can use for whatever source you like, including a front facing camera.

MY10

Any complaints? Looking to install an eonon unit in my 15 VW Passat

I haven’t found a way to get in to recovery mode on the Octacore unit other then by a reboot app, which you can’t get to if the unit won’t boot. You might need to try a firmware upgrade.

Do you have an idea on how I can do a firmware upgrade with the unit not booting up ?? Any tutorial i can refer to ?

There’s a few tutorials on XDA developers, but I’m not sure if the unit is soft bricked. Sorry.

No unfortunately.

It was a slip up because the spec sheet they sent me had it backwards. I do know the difference. Lol. The error is flagged in the description.

RAM needs to be upgraded. Wouldn't waste my money on either of these units. 8GB RAM would be suitable.

Yep. Needs root access though I believe. I have another video showing how to do that.

Boosted Media sounds good. Great Video dude!

Thanks :)

Not on the newer units. I bought an Atoto and it's instant on when car turns on. Never an issue just passed 1 year of use.

Thanks for the reply Eric. Where did you get this unit? As I have posted on other forums, the simple am/fm radio/music should be on instantaneously as you have stated, and then if you want the computer-related extras, then it boots up. Simply just lazy engineering.

@@gregsneddon8020 Amazon. The only quirk is whatever pre installed music app that's used last starts up and for some reason the radio app is the loudest. Music app, aux app, and radio app. If you forget to turn it down and leave the radio app on it'll startle the crap out of you. Not ideal but it works. Initial boot up takes 30 seconds. After that it's instantly on. The whole system is instant on. Everything can be used right away. The quirks are easy to live with to have full Android in the car though.

Good man. Now have a better appreciation of my unit as it has pre-set equalisers for each module, eg. radio, dvd, tv, aux etc. So don't have that problem. Some units have the option of extending the time off to whatever, so it doesn't have to be re-booted after 10 mins away on short stops.I take it you are in the US.? We have been several times and there is such a huge variety of "stuff" to be bought there compared to Aus.Thanks again.

Yes I believe so.

so i purchased the octacore version after watching your video, where do i insert the sd car can you confirm that the octacore version does indeed have a sd car slot. from what i see there is only one slot in mine and i am not sure if it is for sd card or sim card

The Octacore only has a SIM slot. You’ll need to use a USB adaptor if you want to use a micro SD.

Yep. I did a video showing how a few weeks ago... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-g1dxftKVs-Y.html

I don’t believe so

And full Android with zero limits. Radio quality is great as well as mp3. The only issues I run into is non factory installed apps. I heart plays great (factory installed) Spotify however does not. Not sure the issue.

You have that backwards unless you are running single threaded apps

Yeah that was a stupid mistake. Shot this video after no sleep for about 3 days thanks to sick kids. The error is mentioned in the description.

School.... Your welcome

Yeah that was a stupid mistake while filming that I didn’t pick up during editing. I definitely know the difference between ram and rom. :/

@@boostedmedia sorry Can you tell me, what Is important about it. I AM planning to buy multimedia for car and I want with navigation and to download other aplications. Ram or rom? Internal memory? I think rom

No mention of audio quality? You should watch the whole video before commenting..... there’s a whole section on audio quality.

Yeah, he definitely covers audio quality.

Won’t have anywhere near this level of functionality though. It comes down to whether features or sound quality are more important to you.

Really though, if sound quality is an issue it's probably best to power you're speakers with amp anyway. The quality from these is great. Better than stock. Seems app specific though. MP3 sounds superb.

Not in Australia. A double din Pioneer/Kenwood/Alpine/Clarion is upwards of $800 here.

Yeah that was a strong derp. I shouldn’t do videos at 2AM.

Why would you need that exactly?