Quote:
Originally Posted by tbppjpr Overall I am feeling like I downgraded from my old Kenwood stereo in terms of audio quality and audio related functionality. |
Finally got the Sony XAV AX5500 headunit after trying out four different models of the Android headunits with and without DSP from different brands. All of them were producing low quality music along with the background noise. User interface was also cluttered and performance was also not consistent. The moment when you need the quick response, they just don't respond. Though they offer lots of features and customizations but only useful if they come with some quality hardware.
Only viable option I can think in the Android Automotive HU world is the Pioneer SDA-835TAB/SPH-T20BT which comes with detachable tablet. The tablet can also be used for some office presentations etc if anyone wishes to. But I think that does not support CAN BUS integration like how the Chinese Android Headunits do, so thats a big downer. I seriously considered that HU but the battery thing put me off. I try to avoid anything which has battery because once the battery is dead, the gadget is also dead. And any battery product is also not suitable to keep for longer in an environment like a car which sees wide range of temperatures during the whole year.
Coming onto the Sony XAV ax5500, the initial impression is that I got my audio back which I used to get with the old Kenwood stereo. The rest of the features which I wanted like the reverse camera and navigation are also working absolutely fine. Rather using the navigation thing is far more practical in the Android Auto since it picks the data from my phone where I have my usage history and saved locations. Its more practical since I can set my destination in my phone before leaving and when I connect the phone with the car HU, it's quickly shows to me. No need to stop the car to set the location or have any distraction while driving.
I also considered the Alpine ilx 650 and that was my first choice but that got only one USB port. I wanted to keep my USB thumb drive attached for music all the time and Sony XAV 5500 had options of two USBs. Initially I was skeptical if both the USB ports can be used at the same time or not, and got pleased to find that I can continue playing music from the USB thumb drive while having my phone connected in the primary USB port for Android Auto features.
I also heard lot of people complaining about having connectivity issue between their phone and the headunit but I did not have any issue so far. I also tried Android Auto on my cousin's Tata Nexon, that was super laggy and unresponsive with two phones we tried along with mine which I am currently using with the Sony HU. So that also put me off. But the experience with the Sony 5500 is completely opposite, its consistent and responsive all the time.
I may have connected my phone for 15-20 times so far and the HU consistently recognizes my phone and goes onto Android Auto screen after the usual 5-10 seconds which it takes to load the Android Auto.
Once the AA screen is loaded, I am greeted with the Google maps which is smooth to operate unlike the Android headunits I tried previously where the performance was laggy and inconstant. Voice commands are also working fine which is the preferred safe way to use in the car. Although it does not recognize the 'Hey Google' or 'Ok Google' all the times. Maybe some settings need to be made or maybe it does not recognize it due to the cabin noise. Or maybe its the way how its supposed to works, I am not sure. But once the mic button is touched, it accepts commands without any miss.
Operating phone or receiving calls is also very good experience. But when I send voice command to call someone, it recognizes the command and I can see the calling person's name on the screen with 'disconnect call' icon but I don't hear any ringtone or anything, call also does not connect. But when i connect the call using the phone, I hear the ringtone and can see other call related buttons on the HU screen. Need to look into this thing but talking on phone is not the feature I prefer to use while driving the car so not important for me.
I got the JK TREEL TPMS installed in the tires of my car after having one tire blast incident recently. But the TREEL app is not supported in Android Auto. Hope the notifications and alerts will be shown on the HU, I haven't tested. The app was not supported on the Android Headunit either so no gain or loss here. I would be pleased to know about the workaround to get the TPMS working inside the Android Auto.
I have also not tried connecting the Bluetooth OBD but I think that is also not gonna work becasue the HU connects to the phone's BT when plugged for Android Auto and disconnects all the other BT connection. I haven't tried but I think its not gonna work. Even if I disable the HU BT in phone, few features like BT audio and voice commands will be affected. So this is another feature which need to be looked into.
Overall, OBD and TPMS features are missed in the Android Auto, but the user experience with the rest of the features is just so much smoother and pleasing.