NAVIG[8]R Wireless CarPlay – Android Auto or Apple Car Play for older cars (review)

19/12/2023
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

NAVIG[8]R Wireless CarPlay adds Android Auto or Apple Car Play to older vehicles without a modern infotainment system. You need to understand what it does rather than just the terms Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.

CyberShack is an Android site – we don’t have the bandwidth for both Android (70% global market share) and Apple iOS (30%), so we assume that CarPlay does similar things to Android Auto.

What is Android Auto?

Neither Android Auto nor Apple CarPlay interface with the car’s computer engine management system. It is purely to bring some smartphone capabilities – Google Assistant, Maps, Phone/Messages, and entertainment content (Spotify, etc) to a screen. To do that you must have active mobile data/internet.

It is designed to co-exist with the car’s existing infotainment capabilities, especially where the car’s navigation maps are outdated or too costly to update. To be clear – this brings Google Maps, etc., to a separate screen.

If you already connect to the car’s infotainment system via Bluetooth, at best, you will get phone/messages and entertainment on the car’s built-in screen.

Australian Review: NAVIG[8]R Wireless CarPlay – Android Auto or Apple Car Play for older cars Model NAVC-BHUDH156

Website	Product Page Manual
Price	$169
Warranty	12-months ACL Warranty
From	Harvey Norman
Made in	China
Company	You may not know the name Laser Co, but chances are that if you have shopped for electronic or smart accessories at Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Big W, Kmart and more, you have bought Laser or its retailers’ house-branded products. It is not just LASER (website) but also its CONNECT Smart Home range, Disney, Tech4Pets, Navig8r, Gtek range and now NRGVault.
More	Laser Co – 35 years young and ready for the next challenge

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

What is NAVIG[8]R Wireless CarPlay?

A 7” 1024 x 600 IPS/LCD screen attaches to the car’s windscreen via a suction cup arm. It requires:

A 12V/1A/12W utility socket to USB-C adapter.
A 3.5mm to 3.5mm Aux-out cable to the Aux-in on your infotainment system (to play music through the car’s speakers) OR you can transmit over FM to the infotainment system.
A 3.5mm Aux-in port for an optional reversing camera.
It has a microSD card slot for audio playback (max 128GB FAT32).
A USB-A slot (max 512GB FAT32) for audio playback or to connect the phone to the smartphone to the NAVIG[8]R Wireless CarPlay. Later smartphones support Bluetooth wireless connections instead.
An internet-connected Android (8.0 or later) or iOS (7.1 or later) smartphone. For long journeys, you may want to power this off the car utility socket as well, so you may need a double socket adapter.

To be clear – without a smartphone internet connection, Google Assistant/Siri enabled, and a phone that can hear you, this will not work – it is purely a display.

Setup – Pass

A 7” screen is quite large and is preferably placed in the lower windscreen area within the driver’s reach (some actions require a confirmation screen press). The mounting arm attaches via suction and is extendable.

We had no issues in setup, but we are experienced with this type of product.

What it does in detail

Navigation: Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, or another mapping product that runs on your smartphone. Supports voice assistance and announced turn-by-turn instructions via the car speakers.
Music: Stream (from the internet or stored on a smartphone) songs, playlists, and podcasts. Any smartphone app, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc. Supports voice commands.
Messaging: Supports any smartphone messaging platform. Messages can be read or dictated.
Handsfree calling: Dial numbers or contacts simply by voice
Use voice commands to check the calendar, play podcasts, etc.
AirPlay and MiraCast: Cast content from your phone (or tablet) onto the screen. Children can watch video streaming services from their phones when used in the back seat.

Optional reverse camera $29.95

It is a simple 720p camera. It is IP67 water-resistant and can also be externally mounted. A nice feature is Parking Assist lines.

Tests – Pass

Daylight readability: It is bright enough to be used in the car and has a hood to prevent direct sunlight on the screen.
Nighttime readability: Perfect
Setup: Plug in power, connect a smartphone via Bluetooth or cable, and the process auto-completes. FM radio transmission to car speakers is simple, or use a 3.5mm cable if an AUX-in is available.
Power-on/off: Automatic on/off as you start/stop the car. Some 12V sockets have continuous power, so take care.
Response: The touch screen is a little slow to respond to touch; otherwise, there is little lag.
Voice commands: it does not have a microphone and uses a smartphone. Make sure the smartphone is within voice range.
Speaker volume: You need to balance the smartphone BT volume and the car speaker volume. I found it tended toward too much bass, but an EQ can adjust this before it gets to the car speakers. It has a basic built-in mono speaker.

Mobile data use – Pass

Google Maps in navigation mode uses .67MB per minute (40MB per hour)
Spotify uses about 45MB per hour (can adjust for a lower or higher bit rate).
Voice assistance is negligible, at 5-10MB per hour.

It is no different to data use on the smartphone.

Caveats

While it needs continuous mobile data connection, it can cope with temporary loss (a few minutes), keeping maps displayed and estimating movement.

A cabled connection is more reliable than using BT. If you have dropouts, swap to a cable. But make sure it can transmit audio/video/data and not just charge.

CyberShack’s view – NAVIG[8]R Wireless CarPlay adds Android Auto or Apple CarPlay to older vehicles.

Laser Co is a well-known and reputable Australian company. It is in their interests to provide both lower-cost and reliable gear, so let’s assume this is both. Over the two weeks of use, it was fine.

Yes, we had some dropouts (not the unit’s fault), and there were times when we needed to swap from BT to cable, but on the whole, it provided the Android experience we expected.

Is it as good as in-vehicle Android Auto? We have a Lexus SUV with Android Auto (the same interface as a Toyota RAV4), which is a bit more responsive. It uses a separate steering wheel microphone and has better hands-free sound; otherwise, its functionality is the same.

Would I buy it?

If you want to add low-cost Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, yes. It’s a decent product from a good company.

Rating

We won’t formally rate it as we have no benchmarks for multiple devices.

Features: It has all the expected Android Auto/Apple ArPlay features and is kept up to date via the smartphone.
Value: It seems good value
Performance: It is fit for purpose; sometimes, the touch screen is a little laggy, but it always does what it should.
Ease of Use: This is fine if you know how to use Android or iOS. Remember that it is just a screen for your phone.
Design: A 7” screen – I like the added hood to reduce daylight glare.

Pro