Cheap BT/CP/AA headunits

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xpd

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#323700 4-Jan-2026 11:18

Just picked up a '05 Toyota Vitz to run around in and for the kids to learn with, and it has a Jap radio in it - I've worked out mostly how it works but the HDD in it is full of Japanese music which I'd rather remove.... could go through manually but not with over 300 tracks, no thanks :D And it has no BT or Carplay etc...

So looking to replace it with a budget unit, preferably with CarPlay/AndroidAuto (Why do siblings have to have different phones damn it).

Are these budget Chinese (?) ones all over TM and AliEx any good ? As in they do as they say ?

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-stereos/dvd-video/listing/5708412274

Not after anything flash, its just so the kids dont get distracted by their phones if someone calls, and having GPS on screen will be handy as they drive around more...

XPD / Gavin

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richms

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#3449573 4-Jan-2026 12:23

The ones I have interacted with "worked" like the menus on an LG TV "work" - laggy as hell, never know if input was accepted but you get there in the end even tho it looks like an unfinished prototype.

Wired was vastly better with AA than wireless. That was giving me 500ms+ latency between touch and action, the wired was lower at probably around 100 or so, I didn't get all scientific on it but it was worse than navigating a PC on a TV that was not in game mode.

Richard rich.ms

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#3449592 4-Jan-2026 13:08

I would be tempted to see if you can get a basic head unit with FM and an Aux input and Bluetooth, and a dash mount for your phone. Easy, and gets you away from cheap Chinese ancient-android crap which tends to be the inexpensive option these days. My head unit has an intermittent USB-only Android Auto connection which means basically I use it via Bluetooth only and stick to the phone for navigation.

No signature to see here, move along...

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#3449683 4-Jan-2026 18:21

I got an AliExpress head unit for ~$150. Runs Android 14 I believe and dors wireless apple car play and Wireless Android Auto without needing any special apps on the phone. Has some quirks but is pretty good for the price.