Android head unit?
 

I have a 2006 X5 with Nav, no DSP.

I'm considering buying a new Android head unit. There seem to be 3 form factors - 7" screen with buttons, 9" screen that sits vertically and goes up to just underneath the center vents, and 10" widescreen, no buttons.

We it's he has all 3, Avin has the first and third, etc.

Any input on which form factor to choose? Why?

I am leaning to Avin, but will consider Seicane, etc.

Another question - Avin sells the I bus for $90. I can buy it for $65 shipped from Dealer. Any reason not to buy direct?

I went with a 10" Xtrons unit and am fairly happy. Has it's issues but all in all it was worth it.

The big screen is nice for my aging eyes, but it can be a bit of a stretch to reach the right side of the screen. Not recommended while driving.

Get a unit with the most RAM. Apps are bit slow to load under 2GB. Even at 2GB it takes mine a a minute or two to load and I don't use a bunch of apps. Basically only IBus which does not like to load on it's own.

I ordered IBus from the manufacturer. It's great but a bit buggy.

I have the Avin Avant 4. Went with the 7" screen because it looks like the stock head unit. I had Nav like you and wanted to maintain a stock look. timmyc is correct about the ram. Get as much as possible. I got the IBUS app and dongle from Avin. Comes preloaded. Seemed simpler to deal with that way. I got the carplay, but I don't use it as it takes over and has to continually be shut off. Drove me nuts.

Thanks to you both for the replies.

Fifty150, what do you mean by "car play takes over and has to be continually shut off"? Did you get wired or wireless car play?

I got wired carplay. It plugs into one of the three usb ports/cables. One of those cables is very short and lives behind the dash as it is for the IBUS dongle. The other 2 can be run into the glove box where you can use one for carplay and the other to plug in a flash drive.

I have 2 X5's both with newer Android units (Xtrons). One is the 10 inch screen with no button, and the other is the the 7 inch with buttons, which I bought after I installed the 10 inch no button unit.

Both are working fine with the reception of poor radio reception and poor phone quality. but I prefer the unit with the buttons. I only use it for blue-tooth music and occasional phone calls.

you might think how you intend to use it. If you were going to use the screen more for navigation or movies, or whatever, you might opt for the big screen

I have the Avant4 with wireless carplay and Ibus directly from AVIN. It was a little more to get everything from AVIN but worth it to me for the simplicity. The ONLY thing I don't like is the internal mic, I have to speak louder than normal volume for people on the phone to hear me. Otherwise its awesome!

I have the android 8 version of this model:
https://xtrons.com/bmw-x5-e38-androi...b-rom-ib9053bl

I really like the form factor and the fit in the dash. If you look closely at the models and how they fit, the 10.25 is a very wide screen, whereas the 9 is much taller. Clearly, 10.25 is bigger than 9, but the usability for the 9 is higher, IMO. The 9 does NOT have any DVD or CD functionality, which my 7 still retained, so keep that in mind. I'm not sure about the 10.25.

I haven't been able to find a car stereo place that can sell/install these android head units. Why is that? All they sell is Pioneer, Jensen, etc.

I'm in SoCal. Any suggestions?