Sony XAV-AX100 6.4 inch Media Receiver with Bluetooth, CarPlay and Android Auto, 4 x 55 W

Sony - You've done it again - This Stereo at this price is superb. Apple Car Play and Android Auto. I've been using this unit for several months now and have updated the firmware twice - people complaining about boot times, this has been rectified with the latest firmware update, automatically clearing the notice screen, yes it take a few moments to boot up but no longer than booting a phone from off, so don't let this put you off. Screen is clear and buttons large so it's easy to operate. The new iOS 12 is going to bring third party app providers to the party, like Waze, Tom Tom, Google Maps, etc, factor that into your purchase and you've got a fantastic stereo that will do almost everything. I use it mostly for radio and music, its excellent for catching up with BBC Radio Player and all your favourite shows. The amps also make a huge difference if your upgrading a standard stereo, it really adds some oomph to your standard speakers. I don't think i have any bad points for it, it does what it's meant to and Amazon are selling it at such a good price compared to the pioneer and Alpine units, it's a really good deal.

I’ve been using this in a Ford Fiesta for just over 4 months, install was simple and the product has performed well. However recently the volume control for the Tuner (radio) has stopped working. It does however still work within Apple CarPlay, and therefore doesn’t bother me- an updated to software would ideally fix this. Highly recommended in comparison to alternative from Pioneer.

I don't write a ton of reviews, certainly not positive ones but today we make an exception. What a phenomenal piece of kit. I've been on the fence with these for a while and certain reviews have made light of a few problems they experienced. Mine differs greatly. Firstly, you can use the phone while in android auto mode, it works fine and continues to operate. Secondly, Boot up time is faster than the OEM double din it replaced. Quality is second to none. Android Auto fires up instantly with barely any delay, intuitive and fast to navigate around. What really stood out which I wasn't expecting was the increase in sound quality over OEM. The extra wattage pushing out over the speakers makes one hell of a difference. It sounds like a concert inside a little smart car with standard speakers! The only slight thing I do not like is the rubberised top layer on the headunit. You practically breath on it and it will get marked which is a minor frustration but one worth mentioning. For the price though, this is a no brainer, the unit might be getting on a bit but this thing will perform well past 2020. Buy it, you will not regret it.

The head unit itself is fantastic, so it's a 5 stars for that from me. I picked it because its by far the most attractive head unit on the market (very sleek minimalist design, many head units are still stuck in the 90s with a "max power" aesthetic) and has physical buttons for back/forwards and volume. It was very easy to install, if you have a decent amount of experience with car audio, and have purchased the correct ISO harnesses and fascias that you might need. The only issue I had is I couldn't set the HU up initially because it was looking for the parking brake to be applied but just stripping the wire for the parking brake cable and grounding it under a screw on the back of the head unit fixed that (not a problem unique to Sony it has to be said). I ran a USB extension to the centre console of my car and connect my phone there so it's out of view when driving to minimise distractions. I did have a strange problem where the dimmer function wasn't working, despite the wire being connected properly on my ISO harness, but turning up the dashboard dimmer switch slightly resolved the issue (2000 Audi S6, C5 chassis). However, it's worth mentioning that Android Auto is one of the most infuriating pieces of technology I have ever used. It has two main flaws in my eyes that make it almost unusable: 1. A draconian safety feature which limits the user to a maximum of 6 successive taps on the screen, before it locks the user out for around 10 seconds. I could almost get behind this as a safety feature, were it not for the fact that it makes it impossible for your passenger to select any music. This almost resulted in my fiancee ripping the devices out of the car and throwing it out the window when she couldn't search for a track she wanted after trying for 3 minutes and getting this stupid "focus on the road" message. 2. It would be possible to overlook the previous problem if it was possible to connect a passenger's phone with bluetooth, however this is not possible because Android Auto forcibly hijacks the bluetooth audio connection for no good reason. Both of these issues do not exist on Apple's CarPlay, and it's really pushing me towards getting an iPhone, despite preferring Android as a mobile platform and finding iPhones incredibly overpriced

Very Disappointed - the unit’s interface to the steering wheel adapter is faulty so I can’t use my steering wheel controls!! I know it’s not the adapter’s fault because the adapter works fine with another Sony unit. (The adapter is the correct CP2-VAG52). Another problem is that it doesn’t connect properly with my iPhone after starting the car. I have to unplug and plugin again the iPhone for the unit to recognise the phone and show CarPlay, or for the audio to come through. After 2 years of use, with the above problems, the unit now refuses to switch on at all. It’s dead. And I won’t be buying Sony ever again. I’ll replace it with a Pioneer unit; the installer says he’s never had problems with Pioneer. Really annoyed with this Sony.

The fact that it doesn't seem to have a hand brake connection wire means it causes some issues with android auto as it always believes you are driving. Therefore won't let you use the app. Works well with apple car play. Other than that it's a decent stereo for the age of the unit. No dab is something you should think about if you are spending this much money.

Perfect and works really well. Only down side is that the maps interface only works with apple maps and not google maps. Otherwise great.

A good budget Android Auto radio, have been using it for about a month now and has been perfect for what I need it for. I chose this radio in particular because after looking at reviews, I really liked the UI the most compared to other brands like Pioneer and JVC. The screen is nice and clear, It's also very responsive considering this is a 'resistive' touchscreen and not a 'capacitive'. People mention that when getting an aftermarket radio that the sound quality generally improves whoever I've not really noticed a difference. I like the physical buttons a LOT. Many other radios have ditched them in favour of capacitive buttons which make it very hard to press when on the move. I like to adjust the volume without having to look at the radio! There are a few negatives of this radio which is why It hasn't got a full 5 stars, the screen is bright for normal usage, however on the recent hot and sunny days, I've been struggling to make out what is on the screen when driving under direct sun light. It's not a constant problem however there should be an option to adjust it if you need to. Another negative is the boot time, It takes a good 25/30 seconds to load, which means if you want to set up a Spotify playlist on Android Auto before you set off you need to wait quite a long time before you can set off. All in all, a very good radio especially for the price range. If the above negatives don't bother you then go for it!