Review: Hauxiy Q9S wireless Apple Carplay/Android Auto screen
My mother-in-law gifted us a car after my previous car was written off, and this gifted car is very technology-deficient. I did use my phone for a little while for navigation, but I wanted to have a mounted screen for navigation mainly. However, an Android Auto screen would allow me to do so much more, and this is where the Hauxiy Q9S comes in; which I purchased for $128.53 from Amazon about 2 months ago.
I’ll start with the most significant part of the product, the display, which I find somewhat lacking, especially in the brightness department. It’s a 9-inch glossy screen, which reflects the windows and tan colored interior of the car. That, coupled with the screen being somewhat dim, makes the display hard to see in daylight. You’d think that, given its intended purpose, sitting in a mobile greenhouse, it would have a matte display and be brighter to be clearly visible in the sunbathed windscreen of a car.
The audio connectivity is good; it has Bluetooth, auxiliary, FM, and built-in speaker options. Unfortunately, the Bluetooth and auxiliary options are a no-go. The auxiliary input in the factory-installed stereo is defective, and the car is too old to have Bluetooth, so my only option is FM. However, finding a frequency with good reception took me a while, as radio stations are densely packed in my location. The FM transmitter is somewhat noisy at higher volumes, but it’s nice to have the added audio option.
Connecting my Pixel 7 Pro to the Hauxiy Q9S was no issue. I just followed the onscreen instructions, and it connected. Android Auto displayed the map, recent destinations, and Spotify on screen. Voice control works well, whether I ask for driving directions or to play an album or artist on Spotify. Making phone calls through the screen seems okay; I can hear the caller, and with one exception, the caller can hear me. Texting also works fine; it understands 99% of what I say, even with road and wind noise present.
A bonus feature is the built-in dashcam, which claims to be 4K, but the final output is 1440p and not the sharpest. I suspect that the 1440p output is upscaled from 720p; it’s definitely not 4K, as the specifications claim. It also includes a backup camera, which I elected not to install. I didn’t want to run the cabling front to back, definitely didn’t want to drill a hole through my tailgate, and I can turn my head to see behind me, I’m old school like that, we Generation X’ers learned to drive before technological driving aids.
The mounting solution is plastic, but reasonably solid. The arm can be mounted to the dashboard or windscreen; it has a suction cup to mount to any shiny surface. It comes with pre-installed adhesive on the cup to secure extra firmly, at least for the initial install, although even fully tightened down, there is about 10—15° of swivel, while, not the end of the world, it’s also not ideal in a moving vehicle.
In conclusion, I want the Q9S to have a brighter matte screen. I struggle to see the display on bright sunny days, especially with my car’s tan interior reflecting on the screen. This is somewhat of a deal breaker for me. What use is a screen that you cannot see in its typical use case? For this reason, I would not recommend the Hauxiy; instead, go for something with a matte screen and a brighter display.