I am most concerned about Navigation. If you have used it does it work for you?
I can always get a more expensive unit with Garmin Nav but I don’t see a point in that when my phone has Google Maps and Waze. Overall I think the 2300 NEX will make my life so much easier and I love Google maps. Waze looks great too especially for traffic reroutes and speed traps.
I don’t know anything about the head unit, however, I highly recommend using Waze for navigation. Yes it does have a social aspect to it, but that aspect helps detect traffic patterns and such. Knowing about speed traps, disabled vehicles or even getting stuck in traffic and being told that traffic will be 17mins is pretty amazing.
Looks like you need to get a separate cable for Andriod compatibility, so it won’t use Bluetooth for the apps (other than music streaming). I just recently put new Pioneer unit in my kid’s car and it’s a pain in the ass. More so than it should be. You think the wiring harness would be all you need. You’ll need an adapter if you plan to use your steering wheel controls. And just wiring all that up is fun.
I’m not sure what stock unit and speakers you have. My Tahoe had Bose speakers and when I replaced my head unit I had a problem. Apparently there’s an amp to power the speakers that’s separate from the unit. I had to get a device to lower the power from the unit to the amp otherwise I’d have this annoying buzz.
And I need to check out Waze, I just use Google maps. I stopped using my car’s nav system because that’s better. I’ll have to give Waze a try.
Yea I know about the cable. I am also aware of any issues I will run into and what adapters etc I will need. I will also have to get the XM adapter. I don’t plan to do the install myself. I will let a pro do it. I have been researching the install since I got the truck 2 years ago.
I am more worried about will I like running nav through my phone, what issues I may run into, etc. We are talking about a $400-$500 difference on buying a unit with or without built in Nav. Then $80-$100 every few years to update the maps for the built in.
I don’t really see any issues and reviews have been good I was just hopping someone here has used Android Auto as some new cars head units are compatible.
I don’t blame you for looking at getting it professionally installed. Technically it’s not hard. Just working in that tight area with all those wires and interfaces can be a pain in the ass.
I haven’t used Android Auto as our radios didn’t have that. So I can’t really comment on it.
Yea GPS thru phones are fine, just make sure you have the phone powered as it does drain the battery. The little things like quick turn after turns can mess you up, but for the most part the GPS locks onto the location pretty quick. Still being in a new city even after 2-1/2 years, I use the GPS everywhere. Because of the incident aspect, I’ll use it even if I know where I’m going. Good to have an extra set of eyes for the trip.
It’s kinda crazy how car manufactures do their sound systems. My truck has a single dual voice coil speaker in the center dash. It’s not something I can just replace as no one makes a dual voice coil speaker in that size. Changing it to single voice coil changes the impedance. Also all the speakers run at a different impedance than your typical aftermarket speakers.
They really make it hard to put in new stuff. It’s basically a all or nothing upgrade in my truck.
I used to install for Bestbuy. Its getting increasingly difficult especially with molded dashes, replacing head units is a major pain in the ass. Some vehicles also need a cable run for speed sense and gear selector for nav. Also in a lot of cases you need to bypass the factory amp.
I have not used or seen android auto yet so cant really comment on that part. But i beleieve apps need to support it in order to make the connection via bluetooth.
I love Google Maps.
I have heard great things about Waze and did use it for a little while but found Google Maps just a bit easier - helps that’s its a stock app on Android phones too.
I don’t use my phone as a satnav anymore for two reasons:
It drains the battery
UK laws have tightened up about phone usage when driving, even as a satnav
Pandora, Spotify, Waze, Google maps, and a handful of chat apps are all Android Auto compatible. I think the wire connection is to get the maps on the headunit from your phone.