2013 GS350 Luxury, Mark Levinson sound.

Little bit of a different request here, looking for the simplest CarPlay adapter. There are so many now I’ve lost track of which ones do what.

Things I don’t want:

- A bunch of different boxes I need to find space for behind the dash (I understand there will be at least one)
- 30 miles of wire harness with a bunch of unused plugs
- An independent ‘box’ with it’s own SIM card and functionality
- Wireless CarPlay, I want to plug in and charge while I use

Things I do want:

- Uses the existing microphone and backup camera
- Uses the existing screen, I don’t care if it’s full screen or split view
- Ideally it would use the existing USB port too, but I know that might be a tall order


Bottom line, looking for simplicity. The car is fancy enough, if it just had CarPlay it’d be perfect. I’m not totally trusting of these android based underlying units and whatever else they might be logging/reporting back, snooping around the canbus, etc.

 

The Hamilton Upgrade Kit (not the conversion kit) is probably what you're looking for since I had the same type of requests when I was searching for a CarPlay unit. It uses the factory mic and rear view camera and uses the stock infotainment screen seamlessly, like it was built into the car when new. It isn't an Android unit, it's a small box that plugs into the back of your head unit and factory screen. There's threads here discussing more about the Hamilton Upgrade Kit, give it a look.