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Hamilton Motor Company makes an Apple Carplay Kit. The unit looks similar to the Beatsonic kit. It is less expensive with somewhat easier installation. Has anyone tried it?
My opinion is Hamilton is a far superior product over Grom.
Hamilton chose to use my car to make the installation video. Part of it was I got the Hamilton unit installed without cost to me. I really lucked out. I had Grom installed prior and like the Hamilton unit much better. Grom always had glitches with the backup camera and switching from back and forth from Grom to factory radio e.g. switching from CarPlay to FM or CarPlay to factory climate or audio settings. With Grom I remember having to hold the aux button and sometimes it went to the Grom screen and sometimes the screen just showed CD Changer. To get back to the factory system I had to press the Grom button on the display to open their app then had to press the button for factory display. What a pita. Hamilton has been flawless. On Hamilton to switch back and forth I simply hold the mic button on the steering wheel. With Hamilton, the display has never shown vertical lines when shifting out of reverse like it randomly would with Grom.
Another feature I like with Hamilton is the audio equalizer which Grom did not have. Within the Hamilton audio settings there is a (I think) 13-band equalizer. The eq only affects the audio played over CarPlay/Android but it is a nice touch.
Also, the Hamilton is plug and play whereas with Grom I had to splice into the factory mic wiring to use the factory mic. Not sure if that is still a requirement with Grom. One advantage Grom does have is the ability to add the external gps antenna which I had installed in mine. But I gotta say I really don't use gps navigation much so I can't say there is a difference with the external antenna. I do believe the Hamilton is a much better device. It has been absolutely flawless since I've owned it while I did have to power cycle the Grom unit several times (there's a reason Grom says in the installation instructions to mount the device in an accessible location and don't leave it behind the dash. You're going to need to access the Grom unit at some point.)
It's true I didn't pay for the Hamilton unit but no one from Hamilton ever discussed with me nor am I under any obligation to give any positive reviews about their product. They simply used my car to make the installation video, returned the car to me, showed me how everything works and left. Great group of guys. I'm leaving this review on my own of Hamilton based on my personal experience with their product. The Hamilton unit is great! I highly recommend Hamilton over Grom.
On a side note about two comments made in the installation video if you decide to watch it: a) Yes, that is installation damage around the radio bezel but that was done before I bought the car. I'm better than that. I didn't do that when I installed the Grom unit. b) I did install a usb outlet in place of the cigarette lighter. The wiring for the usb outlet is of Apple spec and I'm assuming the wiring for the Hamilton unit is as well since there is a 3' usb pigtail. Hamilton will understand that dig. Ha. The usb outlet can be seen at 3:06 of the 12 minute installation video.
I did in the meantime and unfortunatly for the LS 600h there is at this time no compatibility. The Android auto unit being available is for the LS 460 only, the only LS of the 2010-2012 years they have experience with. They said that eventhough they both could share the same head unit, the LS 600h could have different software and mine being a European spec doesn't help either. So, maybe in the future. Will keep it stock for now.
Anyone install the Hamilton unit in their 2013 LS460f. Just watched the YT install video and seemed pretty straight forward. Curious on functionality with factory system and Apple apps.
I just installed mine a couple weeks ago on 2017. IMO, prior year to 2016 is not worth it because you can’t go full screen. The CarPlay will only be on the left side half of the screen.
I’m actually having a huge problem with Hamilton and the way they advertise their product for the LS460. All their videos mention the premium upgrade kit which in fact is a unicorn at this point. All they have is the regular kit. In their videos, they advertised a premium upgrade that allows you mix the Hamilton CarPlay module sound with the factory sound. And the regular kit that uses Bluetooth/AUX line for the sound of the CarPlay module. The problem with using the Bluetooth/AUX line is that you can’t play the factory radio like FM/AM/XM/CD/USB. I have tidal but I don’t use it all the time. I like to listen to local radio and my usb stick. The premium upgraded kit advertised as such that it has a built in speaker that allows the CarPlay module sound to come out of it while you play your factory medias. But at this moment, it is a unicorn and they said it “MIGHT” be out in August. Why advertise such thing way before hand when you don’t have it on hand. The videos they posted were at least a year ago and this unicorn still needs to be seen.
They did offer a full return within 30days. I’m not sure if I’m in the mood to rip my dash apart again to get the module out.
Otherwise, if you’re okay with the Bluetooth/AuX and losing your factory radio if you want the sound to come out of the CarPlay, the module works pretty good. But I also wonder if the $200 module you see elsewhere is just as good and easy to install.
Follow their instructions and it should take about less than an hour if you’re careful.
I’m just a little pissed that after doing all the work, the module I bought was not the one I thought I bought and the one they advertised.
I did mine at night. Probably faster if it’s during daylight when you can see better.
Again, for 2015 and prior, the screen cannot be in full screen mode. I’m not sure if I would want it if it’s not full screen. I have a 2017 LS460 and the screen can go on full screen mode and it does look nice. I don’t notice any aspect ratio or distortion issues. It looks pretty much like factory. However, the joystick is a pain in the **** to use because it doesn’t know where the icons are and does not lock onto it. So you have to gingerly point to it and use the click button on the sides. If you try to push into the joystick to select, it usually slides off the icon and goes somewhere you weren’t intended to go.
I just installed mine a couple weeks ago on 2017. IMO, prior year to 2016 is not worth it because you can’t go full screen. The CarPlay will only be on the left side half of the screen.
I’m actually having a huge problem with Hamilton and the way they advertise their product for the LS460. All their videos mention the premium upgrade kit which in fact is a unicorn at this point. All they have is the regular kit. In their videos, they advertised a premium upgrade that allows you mix the Hamilton CarPlay module sound with the factory sound. And the regular kit that uses Bluetooth/AUX line for the sound of the CarPlay module. The problem with using the Bluetooth/AUX line is that you can’t play the factory radio like FM/AM/XM/CD/USB. I have tidal but I don’t use it all the time. I like to listen to local radio and my usb stick. The premium upgraded kit advertised as such that it has a built in speaker that allows the CarPlay module sound to come out of it while you play your factory medias. But at this moment, it is a unicorn and they said it “MIGHT” be out in August. Why advertise such thing way before hand when you don’t have it on hand. The videos they posted were at least a year ago and this unicorn still needs to be seen.
They did offer a full return within 30days. I’m not sure if I’m in the mood to rip my dash apart again to get the module out.
Otherwise, if you’re okay with the Bluetooth/AuX and losing your factory radio if you want the sound to come out of the CarPlay, the module works pretty good. But I also wonder if the $200 module you see elsewhere is just as good and easy to install.
Follow their instructions and it should take about less than an hour if you’re careful.
I’m just a little pissed that after doing all the work, the module I bought was not the one I thought I bought and the one they advertised.
I did mine at night. Probably faster if it’s during daylight when you can see better.
Again, for 2015 and prior, the screen cannot be in full screen mode. I’m not sure if I would want it if it’s not full screen. I have a 2017 LS460 and the screen can go on full screen mode and it does look nice. I don’t notice any aspect ratio or distortion issues. It looks pretty much like factory. However, the joystick is a pain in the **** to use because it doesn’t know where the icons are and does not lock onto it. So you have to gingerly point to it and use the click button on the sides. If you try to push into the joystick to select, it usually slides off the icon and goes somewhere you weren’t intended to go.
My kit had this for years now (see below). It goes in the AUX input, so you COULD play turn on radio, then switch over the Android auto system (I use Android, it has both) but, you would lose audio for Android auto/Apple CarPlay but, you would see everything. I guess that would be only so useful to people. You could listen to FM radio, and use Waze for your navigation but, you would not be able to hear Waze for terns etc.
It would be nice to have the option to hear everything but, after using XMradio with no commercials, it's really hard to go back to FM radio.
I agree it sucks to only use part of the screen but, the thing I asked myself, would I rather have a 2014 infotainment system that is completely outdated, or an updated system that uses 2/3 of the screen and is updated all the time. I wish there was a way to mod or hack the radio to use the full screen like you can in the 2016/2017 models.
It was and still is a complete game changer. Having Android Auto (like I said in my case), allows the screen to have Waze, I use XM radio, I can skip songs, I can access all their streaming channels, right on the screen.
No question for the 2/3 screen users (2013-2015) it's still worth having.
For the record, unless you're a pro installer, plan for 3-5 hours and make sure you have the right tools for the job. Plenty of videos on YouTube how to pull the radio and screen out.
Originally Posted by heine12oz
Anyone install the Hamilton unit in their 2013 LS460f. Just watched the YT install video and seemed pretty straight forward. Curious on functionality with factory system and Apple apps.
Note, there is a lot of other 3rd party kits that will do this. For like years now been running a Road Top version, eBay $225 installs the same thing. This will work with wired or wireless Apple Carplay/Android auto. My model even comes with HDMI in so I can use my display as a screen.
They all work the same, look up Apple Carplay (or Android Auto) and how it works, then you will see the functionality of the system. In a nutshell Apple Carplay/Android Auto run on your phone and the kit is how you display it. It's your phone who does this. Apple Carplay was available on the iPhone 6s.... it's how long it's been out.
Apple Carplay - Hamilton Motor Co
