This is exactly what we were looking for at a price lower than we expected
This is a fantastic upgrade from the stock CD/radio in my daughter's 2009 base-model Toyota Corolla. Once you are used to having a backup camera, navigating by GPS audio/video map directions, streaming music from your phone, and hearing/sending text messages by voice, those conveniences can be sorely missed. I worried she would try to mess with her phone while she was driving (especially for navigation), so this was a birthday present for both my daughter and us parents. The wireless CarPlay connection is fast and (so far) solidly reliable, so she can plug in her phone to charge and tuck it away before she starts to drive. To prep for the install, I also purchased a 2009-2013 Toyota Corolla stereo double DIN dash kit and a Toyota wire harness (2 pieces), making the connections to the wire leads from this new unit to the OEM plugs used by the original stereo literally plug-and-play. No steering wheel controls in her base model, so I didn't have that complication to deal with, but even that didn't seem too hard based on the directions, just one more adapter to possibly purchase. Fishing the wires to support the backup camera was the hardest part of the install and between the printed instructions and the videos, there weren't really any outstanding questions about how everything should go. My total install time was probably 2.5 hours, but I'm the methodical detail-oriented type, so probably spent an hour tucking away the wires and lining up the trim in the dash "just right". Once it was all connected, the setup and bluetooth connection were straight-forward and easy, and we were ready to go in no time. As others have stated, the customer service is very responsive, and they quickly sent over instructions for updating the unit to the latest firmware versions and adding a nice OEM-looking boot screen, which was a very professional touch. Some of the nicer settings available for this unit are the home/call button backlight colors, a digital equalizer to tune the speaker sound, adjusting the audio attenuation to turn down music volume when audio like driving directions play over it, and setting a default volume when the stereo first comes on. There is also a screen brightness control which may be important if you drive at night. While the screen is very easy to read in the daytime, it can be distractingly bright in your field of vision at night. I think we found a good balance that works for both day and night, but I was happy to see that setting was available. Overall, very happy with this purchase, and would buy it again if I had it to do over. The only feature that would be nice to add would be an auto-dimmer of the screen (and maybe button backlight) based on the ambient light inside the vehicle. Apps like maps flip to dark mode based on sunset times, and that helps, but having the screen itself dim automatically would be a great feature to at least make available as a setting in some future version. Read more















