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Using its connecting app for wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, I tested boot-up times of 18.45 for Apple CarPlay and 12.83 for the newly released Android Auto update, which is 2-3 faster into CarPlay than the MMB Max running the same hardware and a second slower into Android Auto. 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. It supports wired Android Auto also via its USB-A port and its fast Wi-Fi speeds are shared with the Ottocast U2-X Pro. Unlike the Ottocast though, its boot menu is very basic, and it requires a reboot to switch between platforms. 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
This is Carlinkit’s third revision of their Tbox branded lineup. In this latest revision, they have thrown in the same fast chipset as all the other finalists, upgraded its operating system to Android 11, and improved its launcher software. I couldn’t get The Nifty Box working on any portable CarPlay display, however, it worked fine on my Alpine and the Pioneer CarPlay receivers. Once powered, The Nifty Box displayed the same initial boot animation sequence as the MMB Max before ending on the same main home screen menu. The total boot-up time took 28 seconds, which makes it the second fastest AI Box to the Picassou 2 Pro from Ottocast and 3 seconds faster than the MMB Max. Main Menu Interface The AI Box itself has the exact same dimensions and connection ports. The colour is clearly different, and the status light on the top is also there too. Inside the AI Box has had some minor upgrades. The processor, GPU, RAM and ROM are all the same as the Android 7 box, so sadly there’s no additional performance improvements to expect here, other than what the new Android 9 software brings. There is a new 5GHz Wi-Fi module now inside this box, so with that you get increased bandwidth for wireless CarPlay and also to your smartphone connection when tethering your mobile data to the AI Box. 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 Just like the other AI Box though, and also the MMB Dongle Plus, switching between CarPlay and Android OS requires a reboot. I also don’t expect being able to switch between CarPlay and Android OS will ever become a seamless or fast experience. They are two different worlds that will always likely require a reboot each time you want to access either platform.
In the box you get the Android AI Box itself, all in its new blue-striped colour scheme. You also get a GPS module, antenna and fuse power cable should your car not come equipped with GPS to support the AI Box. There’s a bundled USB type-A to type-C braided cable to connect to your car’s CarPlay USB port, and if your CarPlay port uses USB-C you can choose to have a USB type-C to type-C cable shipped to you as well.
So if you’re after a 2-in-1 adapter with video casting, this adapter stands out above the rest. 4. Ottocast U2-X Pro 2-in-1 Adapter The third place goes to the (her-ill-ary) Herilary C3 2-in-1 adapter. Like the MMB in 5th place, this adapter is also built off a closed Android operating system. Although it’s a newly released adapter, its makers have chosen to use Android 8 for its foundation. This decision gives this adapter an advantage over the other finalists by providing a fairly seamless YouTube and Netflix app experience alongside its 2-in-1 functionality. 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. You’ll need a USB Flash Drive to load the update files onto the MMB Android AI Box, so below you will find some recommended drives, if you don’t have one. All finalised supported wireless CarPlay and Android Auto. So I tested the time it took to pair and display each platform, testing their input and audio lag. Only a few finalists had USB-A ports, but neither offered wired CarPlay or Android Auto support. Each finalist used a variety of CarPlay and Android auto connectivity apps, from the more feature-rich Zlink5 app with support for split-screen mode in Android Auto and HD streaming options to more basic apps from MultiPlay, SpeedLink, and AutoKit, some of these offered the ability to choose your own custom home app icon in CarPlay.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. There’s no multi-user support, and it has a very basic amount of configuration options in its IP config menu. If you’re only connecting to just one of the supported platforms, and you’re after a no-frills 2-in-1 adapter that just works, thanks to being one of the lowest priced, this adapter is for the budget conscious that’s also looking for speed. 1. CarlinKit 4.0 CP2A 2-in-1 Adapter
From 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. 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 ImpressionsIt 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. I would have liked to see native wireless Android Auto support. You can install Android Auto on the Android OS side of the platform, but alongside the floating controls, it can be cumbersome and confusing to work around it and it’s not as good as a native solution. 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. 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 Adapters
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