Firstly, only one week in with this.

 

Kenwood DMX7017, Android Auto (does carply but I have no Apple devices), Bluetooth etc.

 

Read lots of threads, went with this, so far it does what I want it to nicely, won't be for everyone.

 

£363 plus about £30 for a USB cable to my phone and a DAB aerial (on windscreen cheap one)

 

Was'nt interested in it integrating with car systems, Maxidot etc, I'm happy with info I get through Maxidot where it shows. No climate showing etc. Havn't fitted a rear camera (this unit can though), rear sensors are good for me, didn't feel the need for a dash cam (again, this unit can if you want).

 

What I did want : Voice activated - music, navigation (google maps) and phone calls with my very basic Samsung J3. I wanted DAB radio also. I have a google music account (£9.99 a month). 

 

Saying "Ok Google" into the mic so I dont have to touch a physical button (there is a physical google assistant button on this unit and it works 100% of the time) works about 80% of the time. Possibly a learning curve but because the physical key is easy enough to hit this isnt worrying me.

 

Ask for any song/artist etc to play and it is played (tried bullinamingvase by Roy Harper because it catches alot of these services/voice recognition out), few seconds and it does it. Ask Google Maps to find any destination and navigate to it, it does. Ask to call someone, it does. 

 

Music goes low or off (your choice) when Sat Nav or call comes in, all integrates well.

 

Quality of music, DAB, navigation and phone call sound is all very good so far, no dropouts or problems at all that I've seen reported elsewhere on internet.

 

There are quite alot of settings to mess about with if you want, attenuating different sources to integrate with others, graphic equaliser, speaker configurations etc.

 

Hope this carries on being a good experience and helps anyone else with similar wants. Any problems in future will let you know.

 

This is why you buy decent brands over ebay specials

I bought the DMX-7017DABS, superb head unit. I cannot get android auto to work but it is a phone issue and not the head unit as I have tried other samsung phones and they are fine.

 

I wouldn't pay £30 for a USB cable though, there are recommended ones for about £6 on amazon.

Glad you're enjoying the head unit, hope you get your phone issue sorted.

 

Quite right, the "plus about £30" bit was a little general of me, but it bought the cable, the aerial and a couple of clips and bits to fit cables etc how and where I wanted them 

Update/help for anyone using or thinking of getting Android Auto having had more time to play about with it. (For info, my head unit doesnt have the "mirror capability" so possibly a different experience for those who do)

 

There are alot of people unhappy with AA for various reasons, I've had to do a fair bit of research myself to find this out and get where I'm happy.

 

Three things annoyed me mainly :

 

1 : Can't browse the music on my phone with google play music via the touchscreen, Google reckon it's unsafe. You can use voice control to ask it to play a song/artist etc but not browse your library as you can on a phone. Getting "Rocket Player" and using that does work, I use voice control and say "open rocket player" and all is well. I use google play music with my subscription for songs I dont have and that works very well. They work alongside each other happily.

 

2 : Using "ok google" became progressively worse and then didnt work at all (though as said originally my head unit has a physical button to press which is fine for me). What I did find out is that AA uses the mic on your phone to hear "ok google" commands not the newly installed mic with the head unit ! Which seems bonkers to me but that, I believe, is the case. I'd put my phone in the glovebox which is where it attaches to the usb because I personally like not to see it, so unsurprising I encountered problems, taking it out and holding it close to me to verify this and it worked perfectly. For anyone considering an install this may be worth bearing in mind.

 

3 : Google Maps works very well but doesnt see my contacts, so I can't say "navigate to Trevor" whereas with the phone I can. Using postcodes or place names etc is all good. Even typing the name in via touchscreen doesnt work. Perhaps not a "biggy" but think AA missed a trick here.

 

What I've mainly found is that AA is an ongoing imperfect beast, as with much new tech, but please be aware of this as I've seen many people saying they would not have bought if they'd known. Personally I'm really enjoying it having found solutions to my two main gripes.

 

 

I just get the wife to change the track on the CD player, and tell me where I'm going!!

I'll let you know how I get on with AA when I get my phone back, it's gone for repair and I think that it is the phone causing the AA issue I have been getting!

Do mate and good luck

Looks like this : 

I fitted the same head unit in my Abarth 500  & it's great, & because I've found the Android Auto works really well & the google maps graphics are great, I now miss it when I'm in my 2012 Yeti (Bolero). However, I'm a bit worried about loss of integration if I fitted this in the Yeti. Does anyone have experience of this, in particular how well do the steering wheel controls now work & (as happened in the Abarth) do you loose the speed sensitive auto volume adjust? Also, will the rear parking sensor & aircon graphics still be displayed? I don't use the maxidot for stereo info so not bothered about that.

I also have the "big speaker" package, but I assume that will be unaffected as presumably the 4 speaker channel connections from the Bolero (front L&R, rear L&R) go straight to the amp? This is the way the Interscope system on the Abarth was wired so even though that also has a sub under the driver's seat, there's no actual dedicated sub cables to the head unit.

I can browse music stored on my phone no problem, but no artwork is displayed, but maybe I just need to sit down & spend more time sorting it out with the phone.