Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
It’s the second fastest to boot into its launcher menu, and the second fastest to boot into CarPlay. It only supports a Bluetooth remote and it has an average speed in launching the four key apps. It was 1 of 2 finalists to offer dual Bluetooth support, and although it was the slowest to boot into its main menu launcher, it was the fastest to boot to wireless Android Auto. However, due to some poor Wi-Fi specs, it’s wireless experience can be a bit laggy and less as responsive than the other 4 finalists. So if your use case can avoid these negatives, with this adapter’s ability to simply play local video and watch video from the two video streaming giants, this adapter has great value due to the video features it offers. 2. Exploter ApplePie Lite 2-in-1 Adapter The MMB Android AI Box is a great new dongle for CarPlay that replaces CarPlay with the Android OS system, to allow you to use Google Android apps and games on your CarPlay display, such as YouTube, NetFlix, Prime Video to even games like Candy Crush and many more.
The cost of this dongle is a lot higher than most other dongles, but you are getting a lot of extra functionality with that Android OS layer option. I would have liked to see a spec bump to help improve Android app performance, as I had a few occasions where apps would simply crash from doing too much at once. It has great Wi-Fi specs, so expect great wireless performance in its rather basic MultiPlay app. It was the third fastest to boot into its main launcher menu, but it was the second slowest out of the 11 finalists to boot into wireless CarPlay and Android Auto.Swiping left from the home screen will take you to a few screens of pre-installed Android apps. Whilst wiping to the right from the home screen brings up an overview screen that shows the CPU temperature, current RAM and ROM use, and GPS satellite connections. Apps Just like the MMB Max, this AI Box has one the best user interfaces out there, but underneath all this shiny exterior, its hardware limits its full potential with some below-average performance in particular app launching and low CPU and GPU benchmarking. So when compared to other AI Boxes in its price range, this adapter takes 5th place out of my Top 5 AI Boxes. So if you’re looking to do more than just watch videos, I believe you can do better by looking elsewhere. So after many extensive tests, I narrowed down my 11 finalists to just my top 5. All of these AI Boxes are worth looking at, yet some may offer better connections and features, so depending on what you want out of your adapter, you might find an AI Box in second or fourth place that is a better fit for you. 5. Exploter ApplePie Ultra
And finally, I looked at their price, including any available sales or coupons. Averaging out their cost I compared each dongle’s cost to how they performed in each previous test to give an idea of how much value they offer. My Top 5 2-in-1 Apple CarPlay AdaptersFrom this preference pane, you can view the time and date and be able to toggle things like mobile data connection, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, to altering the layout of the home screen between 1 of 3 layouts and return to Android Auto or Carplay as well as the original system menu. The Box 2.0 is the latest new wireless adapter from MMB. It supports both wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, each can be toggled by its physical smart button that’s located on the side of its casing. Simply switch the switch to either AA for Android Auto or CP for CarPlay and reboot the adapter to connect your chosen device to it. This menu system is one of the better-looking interfaces on an AI Box right now with a choice of three main layouts, with the ability to customise and move the main top row of panels to your liking, and along the bottom, there are two buttons on the left to go to the home screen and invoke the Google assistant, followed by four favourite apps of your choosing, and on the right-hand side there is the time, date, and small status bar icons, that when tapped act as a shortcut to go into the adapter’s preference pane. It’s let down by its shared low Wi-Fi performance along with the fifth-place Ultra, and it was the second slowest to launch into its main menu. But its software seems to be more optimised than the other AI Boxes. And as a result, it is the fastest to boot into wireless CarPlay and the second fastest into Android Auto. Transform your standard Carplay into the ultimate entertainment centre with the New Android 13 Pro by Tech Wizard!
You can also operate Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wirelessly on your CarPlay display, stream local media files and output to a connected HDMI display. So in short, they are smart little devices that open new opportunities for your CarPlay display, and they are perfect if you find yourself in the car for long periods of time, or whilst you’re waiting for your EV to charge. 24 CarPlay AI Boxes Tested Configuration and multi-user support can also be important, so I rated each dongle if they allowed any form of multi-device menu support and how well they could be configured to increase compatibility by tweaking certain settings within its IP config or system menu. Half of the adapters shared the same operating software, so they also shared the same basic configuration options. Only one adapter had a vast selection of configuration options available and one had none at all, which meant you had to rely on software updates to improve an adapter’s compatibility. Connecting to Android Auto was more reliable on the Nifty Box, but once in Android Auto, it had the same lower resolution on the high-definition display of the Pioneer compared to how it can display on other capable AI Box adapters. So in light of this, I would not recommend this adapter for Android Auto use unless your system resolution is also low. CarPlay on the other hand performed fine, and like the MMB Max, you can configure the AI Box to auto-launch into CarPlay after its initial boot sequence. I tested recording an audio message via Siri, which sounded good enough as any AI Box, and it didn’t distort or increase the volume in any way.
Our Customers
Only 1 finalist didn’t support any secondary Bluetooth connections, whilst the rest supported at least a Bluetooth remote control connection, and 6 offered both remote and Bluetooth game controller support. Unlike the MMB Max, I couldn’t get video casting to work with either my iPhone or Android, device, and after a good 30 minutes of trying, I soon gave up. Video casting on these adapters can be hit and miss at the best of times, so I find for the best experience, it’s best to play video directly from an installed Android app instead.
So when you also factor in its relatively high price tag, I find it can’t quite compete against the remaining top three finalists when you compare what this adapter offers you for its price. One feature it does offer over the other finalists was a high-resolution CarPlay display. So if your CarPlay system has a high-resolution display, this adapter will take full advantage of that and offer more app icons per screen. 3. Herilary C3 2-in-1 Adapter I then repeated this test for Android Auto. First scoring which adapter needed to manually switch between platforms and which could switch without rebooting. I then paired them to my Google Pixel 5 and tested their launch times into Android Auto as well as their total automated power up, connect to my Google Pixel, and launch Android Auto. Apart from two adapters, they all used the full-screen method of displaying Android Auto, whilst two supported the split-screen display method, and one of those two was able to choose between both display methods. This switch, in a way, allows for reduced false connections to the wrong device, should you be sharing the car with a driver that has a device on the other platform. If you both have the same issue, you face the same multi-device woes as any other adapter. I then ran each one on a number of CarPlay systems to test their versatility. This included my Pioneer 93DAB receiver, the Alpine X902D receiver, and two standalone displays from Coral Vision and Carpuride. If any didn’t display correctly on more than one of them, they were removed from the list too. The Final 11 CarPlay AI Box AdaptersYouTube and Netflix apps ran fine and smoothly with no significant or obvious drops in frames or audio being out of sync. The picture in picture mode is also present here like most other AI Boxes. I tried a number of Bluetooth devices and peripherals, but I couldn’t connect to an ODBII device, and I was only able to get my alternative Bluetooth remote to work with it successfully, which the MMB Max could not. NiftyCity also sells a similar Bluetooth remote with an integrated keyboard, which makes it easier for browsing and text input. My Impressions In the YouTube app everything ran fine and smooth with no significant or obvious drops in frames or audio being out of sync. The picture in picture mode is also present here like most other AI Boxes. It has great Wi-Fi specs that make it a solid performer for wireless CarPlay and Android Auto and its HDMI output port allows you to connect it to an external HDMI display. As the cheapest of the top 5 AI Boxes, this AI Box is a good all-rounder with solid foundations. It’s fast to boot as well as launch wireless CarPlay. It gets the job done without any fuss or frills. So if you’re on a budget, and you’re looking for speed and reliability, you can’t go wrong with this AI Box. 2. Ottocast Picasou 2 Pro CarPlay AI Box
Great Deal 
New Comment