Hey guys and welcome back to the channel! My little system has been driving this car for a while and now it’s finally time I modernize it for her by installing this 9.7 inch Android head unit with built in Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This Ford Escape came with a tiny little display, so adding CarPlay support was not an option without replacing the entire headunit. Anyway, I’m very excited to see how well this works, so let’s take this car apart and get it installed!
It has been a week since I installed this unit in the car so now it’s time for a quick review. Let’s start with the rearview camera. I’ll be honest, I didn’t read the instructions, so I didn’t know how to configure the rearview camera. Since these cars can have different camera options, you have to select the one you have in your vehicle. I’m happy to report that I contacted support and they were super helpful and quick to respond with instructions. Here is how you do it.
You will also have to connect to the internet in order to activate the 360 app which is what’s used for the backup camera. I used my phone’s personal hotstop for this and that worked fine. Internet is not needed for anything else after.
Now that we are here in the configuration menu, you can see everything else you can adjust. Personally, I didn’t touch anything else as everything else worked as expected.
Review of unit:
Connecting to CarPlay is very simple. You connect your phone to Bluetooth on the Android unit and then open the ZLINK app. In the settings you can enabled it to automatically start the app when you are connected. Then the next time you start the car, your phone will automatically connect wirelessly and CarPlay will turn on.
One thing I haven’t figured out was how to remove the control panel at the bottom here as it does not control the HVAC on this car since it is manual. Higher trim models have electric controls and would work with this control panel at the bottom.
Overall, I’m very satisfied with the quality of the unit and especially the display panel. It easy to see in the sun and there isn’t too much glare. Touchscreen feels very modern and operates smoothly between menus and apps. The headunit also integrates into the car’s system, so you can control things like volume using the buttons on the steering wheels. You can also get into car’s original settings from the settings menu in case there is something to adjust there. Finally, I wanted to touch on the sound quality. The built-in amplifier is doing a great job and sounds more powerful than the original headunit. Music sounds clear and there is no hiss or noise even at higher volume. There are many other things you can do on this headunit besides the CarPlay and Android Auto, especially, if you insert a SIM card, but that’s a whole video in itself. If you would like to purchase this or a similar unit for your vehicle, check out the links in the description. Seicane make units that fit your specific make and model which makes the integration that much better! Let me know what you think in the comments down below. Like the video if you liked it and I’ll see you in the next one!
Review:
Installed this in a 2017 Ford Escape with the basic radio (only the tiny screen) and wow what a difference. The car now feels a lot more modern and Wireless CarPlay works great as well. Installation took about 90 minutes doing it for the first time and going slow not to break any clips etc. The value for money here is great as well, you get a 9.7 inch QLED screen (WOW), modern features, support for original vehicle camera, steering wheel integration and much more. It even has a built in amplifier that’s more powerful than the original and pushes the speakers just right! It sounds nice and loud in the car. I would recommend this unit to anyone that wants to elevate their car and make it feel modern again giving it a few more years of enjoyable life.