Android Head Units

Joying 11.6" Android Head Unit in a Two-Seater: Honest Review (Audio, Screen, Software)

John's honest take on Joying's 11.6-inch 1080p Android 10 head unit fitted in a small two-seater: fast, great audio with an S/PDIF optical output and a gorgeous screen, but no physical volume control and simply too big for a small car.

Yes — you can install Joying on the Universal unit: sold in a double DIN and a single DIN version (Amazon links in the description) with a 10 min DIY job. John's honest take on Joying's 11.6-inch 1080p Android 10 head unit fitted in a small two-seater: fast, great audio with an S/PDIF optical output and a gorgeous screen, but.

Overview

A quick, honest review of Joying's 11.6-inch Android head unit in John's small two-seater. Audio is the highlight: John says Joying has always been known for audio quality, and this unit has an S/PDIF optical output if you want a clean signal for a high-end system (he is running a factory Bose amplifier). The settings use Joying's own cleaner skin over Android 10, and device info shows an octa-core 1.8 GHz CPU, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. Performance is very fast and smooth. The screen is the star: very high resolution and pixel density, bright enough to read on a sunny day, and glossy without being a problem for him. The design is debadged and clips in with the same style of clips Toyota and Subaru use, so it holds well. The big con is hardware: there is no physical volume control, so without steering-wheel controls you have to swipe down for the Android taskbar to change volume or skip music, which he finds a real pain while driving. Software is clean and flexible, with wireless and wired Apple CarPlay, wired Android Auto, built-in Wi-Fi, GPS and radio, plus support for steering-wheel controls, a backup camera and Joying's TPMS. He recommends the unit as powerful and quick, but he won't keep it in this car: it needs volume control and it's just too big for a two-seater.

Vehicle & fitment

Product
Joying 11.6-inch Android 10 head unit: octa-core 1.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage, high-resolution glossy IPS screen, S/PDIF optical output, Wi-Fi, GPS, radio, wireless CarPlay and wired Android Auto
Shown on
Universal single DIN / double DIN Joying unit (shown in John's small two-seater sports car)

Always confirm fitment for your exact year and trim with the seller before buying.

Tools & parts

Tools

  • Review video: no install steps shown

Parts

  • Joying 11.6" Android 10 head unit (single or double DIN version)
  • Optional: steering-wheel control and backup camera hookups
  • Optional: Joying TPMS, sold in their store

Video chapters

Step by step

  1. 1

    Audio quality▶ 0:31

    John says Joying has always been known for audio quality. The unit has an S/PDIF optical output, so it suits a high-end setup that needs a clean signal. He's running a factory Bose amplifier.

  2. 2

    A massive screen for a small car▶ 1:08

    The display is so big it doesn't really fit his two-seater. It would make more sense in something like a Chevy Tahoe or a Kia Sorento.

  3. 3

    Settings UI▶ 2:04

    Android with Joying's own skin over it for a cleaner, more user-friendly look. Car settings include units such as Fahrenheit.

  4. 4

    Device info▶ 2:47

    Android 10, an octa-core 1.8 GHz CPU, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage.

  5. 5

    Performance and display▶ 3:05

    Very fast and smooth with good audio. The screen has very high resolution and pixel density, beats most OEM screens, and stays readable on a sunny day. It's glossy, but glare never bothered him.

  6. 6

    Design▶ 4:03

    Debadged, so you can't tell what brand it is, and it clips in with the same style of clips Toyota and Subaru use, so it holds well.

  7. 7

    Con: no volume knob▶ 5:22

    There are no physical volume controls. Without steering-wheel controls you have to pull down the Android taskbar to change volume or skip tracks, which is his main gripe.

    Warning: If your car has no steering-wheel controls, plan for this before buying a unit without a knob.

  8. 8

    Software and connectivity▶ 6:15

    Clean, OEM-style Android that is very flexible. iPhone users get wireless and wired Apple CarPlay; Android Auto is wired. Built-in Wi-Fi, GPS and radio mean it still navigates if your phone dies.

  9. 9

    Steering controls, camera, TPMS▶ 8:08

    It supports steering-wheel controls and a backup camera (he didn't install either), and Joying sells a tire-pressure monitoring system for it in their store.

  10. 10

    Verdict▶ 8:39

    He recommends it as very powerful and quick, but he won't keep it in this car: he needs volume control and it's too big for a two-seater. It really depends on the size of your car.

Wiring notes

FAQ

What vehicle does this head unit fit?

It is shown for the Universal unit: sold in a double DIN and a single DIN version (Amazon links in the description). Big 11.6-inch display: John says it suits a larger vehicle like an SUV better than his two-seater Always confirm your exact year, trim and factory audio with the seller.

How long does the install take?

John's full video is 10 min. Plan on that much time for a careful DIY install, plus extra if you are new to dash work.

What tools do I need?

Tools called out in the guide: Review video: no install steps shown.

Does it support wireless CarPlay or Android Auto?

Yes — wireless CarPlay / Android Auto is listed for this unit in the product copy John used.

Where do I get the parts?

Use the buy links on this page for the unit and any harnesses John used. Some links are affiliate links.

Is this beginner-friendly?

The guide breaks the job into 10 steps with timestamps into the video. If you can remove trim panels carefully, you can follow along.

Full transcript

Show the full transcript (103 lines) +

0:00It's your boy, it's

0:02Look at that display

0:04It's, it's, it's massive it's

0:31Your speeds your music and stuff like that, but this is made by Joying

0:36Joying has always been known as the best

0:38Let's just talk about performance the performance of the audio quality from Joying is, is something to be had

0:43It's it has SPDIF's little output

0:47So, if you were going to have some high-end audio with clean signal, this will be your jam right here now for my car

0:54I am using a just the

0:57OEM amplifier out of a

1:001995

1:02NSX is a bow system. You can ignore all that fur. That's my dog's fur. They have a corgi

1:08But it gets messy. So this display is so massive it

1:13It really doesn't fit

1:25Your car like an SUV or it's Chevy Tahoe or you know, a Kia

1:30Sorento some like that, but this is just in this

1:33This is the car I have access to because I had this car or the Subaru BRZ and then you have the model as Tesla

1:40Obviously, both cars are sports cars right there and the Tesla you can't really change the infotainment

1:46Without you know going into it like crazy a bit but imagine so here it is right here this is the Joying now

1:53Let me just talk about performance and the specifications and just kind of a give you a little walkthrough of it

2:00So here we go. Here we go. Let's go to the settings

2:04So this is a settings UI. It has a skin over it

2:09This is a Android head unit, but it looks like they have like a UI to make it look a little more cleaner more

2:14user-friendly and

2:18We want to see so here are your car settings right here

2:23Which is nice

2:27None of this stuff you really have to worry about unless you like, you know

2:30Have your in temperature to Fahrenheit which I I prefer because I mean that's what I'm used to here in America

2:36Then you have more account stuff and let's look at device info. Oh?

2:44Maybe you don't want to see that

2:47But it's rocking the Android 10 right here

2:52MCU right there 101

2:56CPU is an octa-core

2:581.8 gigahertz 4 gigs of RAM and 64 storage so yeah this unit is so slick and let me just so

3:05Performance wise it's very fast. Good audio quality. Everything's very smooth stuff is the looks okay?

3:11You can't get how crazy this display is it is such a high resolution display

3:17I'm telling you it's here 1080p. It looks or it could be 720 but I'm telling you I'll have the exact stats here

3:25I don't know remember on top of my head?

3:27But the pixel density it's very high quality and just looks overall so good compared to

3:33What's in other head units, especially OEM manufacturers man?

3:38Nothing can kind of compete with that and also when it comes the brightness

3:42It is pretty sunny today, but you can kind of see everything. It's still showing up pretty clearly

3:47You're not having no not too many issues here

3:51It is a glossy display, but I never run to the issue where it's too glossy for me

3:58next off here, let's go to

4:03Design itself I really like how they debadged it it used to say join right here, but it's very

4:10You can't really tell. Tell what it is because this look. It's there's no

4:38and installing it was super easy, it uses clips, let me show you guys how the clips

4:45so here's the clipping systems right there, it's really easy to install and then you

4:50can really bring the screen out pretty far depending on where you would want it

4:54but in my case, yeah, so you can remove the display to if you live in a shady

5:02neighborhood, that's something you can consider, but yeah just really like

5:06the design, it clips right in, it's really sturdy, it's not going anywhere, it's really

5:11in there and these clips are similar to what the O.U manufacturer

5:16uses for Toyota and Subaru, so and that's for our fact that this is gonna hold

5:19very

5:36or screen and then pull it it's just sometimes when you have Android

5:41Android, so like this taskbar right here

5:49Pull out so that's my main gripe if you have a if you don't have

5:53Controls it's a really pain in the butt to change the audio and skip music so I wish they

5:58They had some kind of audio controls right here because

6:02I just it just doesn't work with my my setup as far as um

6:09Hardware we went to performance hardware wise

6:13You know the design and everything

6:15Speaking design software wise it's it's very clean very OEM

6:18Very just kind of like that OEM Android Google look so it really you're mild

6:25It

6:26It's very flexible so just don't worry about the software too much you can do whatever you

6:31Want when it comes to Android and you have Apple CarPlay and

6:35And um auto so it's wired Android auto which I use but if you have an Apple it's actually

6:41Better for you guys you have wireless and um

6:44Wired so that what it hooks it hooks up through Bluetooth and then it can makes a

6:50Connection to their Wi-Fi so this also has Wi-Fi and GPS built-in too so if

6:58Lettalks say if you're driving your phone's dead you can use the GPS on this system to keep going and there's also stuff like radio to so

7:09So it's not just like a tablet an and Android tablet slash phone it does have car like features and

7:16Yeah, it's just yet

7:18overall I do like this, head unit. I know it's gonna fit a lot of people in a niche

7:24Category when it comes to Android head units it's a really big display. It fits in a to this is a two-seater

7:32So it's a really small car and it fits so if it fits I mean I can drive with this it's just me

7:39I really need that volume controls

7:42It could be a touch base one or something like that. It's just you can't when I'm driving

7:48I'm always constantly adjusting the audio

7:51Especially if I have the wind or the like I'm on I pulled up into a freeway

7:55So I. I'm always

8:03So it's just you need to have volume control so that's the only one thing that pulls me back

8:08But if, but if you have a if you have steering wheel controls, you can you can just press cũng cóc press the button

8:13Which this does support this supports steering wheel controls backup camera and all of that

8:19I didn't install any of those and

8:21But I also have tire pressure monitoring systems on this tootalk to

8:25So that's something that you can install you can actually buy it from their store. So it's super nice Joying

8:32But yeah, that's just a kind of honest quick review. This is a a real review

8:39Do I recommend this unit? Yes, I do. It's very powerful. It's quick and I like it personally

8:46but again, I

8:49I need that I need that volume control

8:50So it's not something I can keep and also the size is just it's just too too big for this car

8:57It won't be big maybe in that car because that car has a 17 inches is only a 13 inch

9:02I just it really depends on your size of your car. This is a universal head for this car. So yeah

9:09If you guys were interested in buying the product, I'll leave a link down below and I really appreciate

9:13You guys for watching. Thank you guys for everything and I hope I've been really busy this year?

9:19Especially because I'm getting married. So I'll try to produce as much video as I can. I know

9:24I've been a little bit slow on that. But thank you guys for your support

9:27And if you guys can just like that button for for wedding coming up that could be your gift that you get to me

9:33You know, I appreciate it. But yeahtalk you all for watching. See ya

Machine-transcribed from the full-length video and lightly cleaned (product names fixed). Watch the video for exact wording.

Next step

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