mrjordann

Hey, trying to find a decent Android Auto upgrade for my CCC system. I really want Google maps and Spotify but don't wanna sacrifice sound or screen quality with a cheap Chinese unit.

I've compiled all these different models. Does anyone here know which ones are good?

Euro Style Tuning

BImmerplug.com

Andream

ECS Tuning


EBay

Navifly

seanjordan20

You have to understand what these offer you. The most important thing to decide on is if you'd want to add apps like YouTube or Netflix. If so you should be looking for an Android unit which takes out (Andream, Eurostyle, bimmerplug). You'd want a 8GB RAM and 128 ROM unit if Android.

If you are good with a Linux unit then Andream or Eurostyle. All the others on the list cross them out and look for others.

donpb

@seanjordan20 which one do you have?

mrjordann

Ok so you're saying some of them run android software and some run Linux? I'm new to this.

I want what a brand new car has, where it syncs to your phone. Does having an android OS on the head unit mean it's a separate unit from my phone and runs on its own?

seanjordan20

They all do the same thing as long as you get it with wireless CarPlay/android auto. They are all just screens running 2 different operating systems. The only difference is the ability to add apps from google play store VS not being able to add apps on the Linux one. Personally I would go with an Android unit with the specs I stated. You must ensure you have aux coded if not already done.

seanjordan20

@donpb uh I have original. When the wife starts complaining about a head unit then it’ll be time to purchase a new one

spectre6000

I'm also curious which ones are good and which aren't. It's something I would like to do sooner than later. Project list is a mile deep, but that's a quickie with a significant gain in utility.

donpb

@seanjordan20 I thought sure you told me you had an Android. I must of was dreaming then.

seanjordan20

I did purchase one but returned it as the max ram then wasn't what is available now.

kd7iwp

I have used 3 units in my car and here's my opinions.

Avin 8.8" screen replacement. This is a pretty decent unit. It runs Android and gives you touch screen functionality (I personally find the screen was a bit too far away since E60 wasn't designed with touch screen in mind), high resolution, and also integrates with the iDrive knob. Basically you replace your iDrive screen with and Android tablet. There is a dongle that plugs in to give you wired Android Auto or Wireless CarPlay (I used the latter). It provides its sound to the car via the aux-in jack which means you can listen to the radio and have CarPlay running at the same time. The only thing you lose is that if you go into iDrive settings and want to adjust the display brightness there, it won't work. Display brightness must be controlled from within Android. I put in a reverse camera and it displayed it no problem, as well as my PDC sensors. You can run other Android apps if you want, but you won't be getting newer versions of Android on this unit.

Generic MMI box. The one I bought off Ebay (Sorry, it's embedding the video rather than showing the link) I had learned about from this video.This one didn't have a brand name associated with it but I think it's a Chinese knockoff of the Bimmertech MMI Prime box. It worked quite well. One of the reasons I got rid of my Avin unit and went to this was that I found a great deal locally on a CIC retrofit and so I wanted to keep the original CIC screen which is double the resolution of the original CCC that I believe you have. Sound is sent in via the aux-in jack still. The brains are in a box that I put behind the glovebox and it essentially just has a built-in video switcher. It also had built-in Wireless CarPlay. This unit worked great with my backup camera. I was very happy with this unit. Absolutely no support or updates, but if you just want CarPlay, you don't want/need any updates. This unit plugged into the quadlock connector at the back of the CIC unit which meant if I wanted to do any coding on my car for the CIC I had to rip it out and plug back the original connector, quite annoying, but also something most people never do.

Mr12Volt. When these came out I really wanted to give them a try as the audio is improved. Rather than using the aux-in plug (which tends to numb the sound a bit I think) this sends a digital signal over the fiber optic bus by replacing the CD changer in the glove box. The sound quality is great. It also works with my backup camera but on my manual transmission it cannot detect when I'm in reverse (the other two boxes could) so it instead switches to camera mode when the PDC system is on. While this does mean that it automatically switches to reverse camera since PDC turns on in reverse, it also leaves it in reverse camera mode until I go forward fast enough, or manually turn off PDC. It also lowers the volume of your music significantly when you're in reverse and there's no option to disable that. These units seem to get someone regular firmware updates. Since they use the digital audio signal you must be in CD changer mode to see or hear anything so this means you cannot be using CarPlay and listen to the radio at the same time, something that annoys me periodically. This unit gets its can bus signal from the iDrive knob so I can still do coding of the CIC unit without having to unplug anything.

Overall, I'm sticking with my Mr12Volt system as it feels the most OEM and also has great sound quality. Neither the MMI or Mr12Volt have touch screens as they use the original screen, but I'm great with that. They both work well with the iDrive knob. The Avin unit is great for most people and I would probably recommend that to many as everything is fairly simple and functional. It is also the only one of the 3 running Android and lets you run Android apps, but all 3 do Android Auto or CarPlay. Because I like OEM, the Mr12Volt works well for me. It has worked flawlessly with CarPlay and has been very reliable. It hasn't really been much better than the MMI other than having better sound. I miss that I can't see CarPlay unless I'm in CD changer mode. The MMI was nice that way.