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Received this email from Beat-sonic today. Anyone signing up for it? I'm too far away plus I'm waiting for Android Auto. Would sure get it for my 2015 LS.
"Hi Everyone,
I want to first thank all of you for contacting us to be on the waiting list for the Apple CarPlay Android Auto kit for Lexus, for that you will be the first to receive information and updates on this project. This has been one of the largest projects for us as we spent tons of R&D hours in the last few years to get this as perfect as possible to ensure the best user experience we can provide for our customers. We are now ready to launch this product. And to ensure best possible user experience with least amount of troubleshooting with installation, we will be offering limited free local installation for customers who purchase the Apple CarPlay kit for Lexus. In return, we would like to video product installation and demonstration which will take about 3-4 hours. For your privacy, license plate will be covered during the video shoot.
For customers who are not able to take advantage of the complimentary installation, product will be available to purchase after the installation video is made to ensure trouble-free install experience.
Vehicle selection criteria is as follows: We will only be selecting one vehicle model per category on a first come first serve basis. Must be able to drive their vehicles to our location in La Mirada, CA. Vehicle without any other screen interfaces including phone mirroring and front camera system will be of priority. Customer with the ability to schedule earlier will be of priority.
For customers with phone mirroring and front camera interfaces: This kit is compatible with both systems, however RCA Audio selector will be required to switch between the audio of Apple Carplay device and phone mirroring.
For Android customers: Unfortunately the Android program is a bit glitchy at the moment and a new interface for Android customers will be produced near the end of the year. As such, this product will only be offered to Apple Carplay customers for now.
-On the video explains bluetooth needs to be turned off when using Apple Carplay. This bug has been fixed and factory bluetooth can remain paired with phone without any sound discrepancies.
If you are interested in being one of the first to purchase ($499) and install (free) our Apple Carplay system by us, please email me a reply with: 1. Your Name 2. You vehicle year, model, and if equipped with factory navigation 3. If installed additional interface such as our front camera and/or phone mirroring 4. Preferred Time/Date of install appointment
We are very excited to bring forth this solution as the product is pretty amazing. Please let me know if you have any questions.
I bought a well regarded Apple CarPlay kit from China (there's a huge thread on it in the 4RX forum) but I haven't installed it yet...admittedly, I'd be a little more comfortable with a product from BeatSonic.
I installed Beatsonic's iPhone mirroring (IF-04EP) and front camera kits in 2017, and they work very well. And the Beatsonic guys Eric Kwon and Sam Cho are incredibly helpful with installation and other questions. The weak link has been the wired connection from the iPhone to Beatsonic's kit because the extension cable is a non-Apple product that is glitchy: the mirroring will work fine for 10-15 min, then the display will freeze, requiring the cable to be unplugged and replugged into the phone: this is a pain when driving alone. Since the CarPlay kit also uses a wired connection to iPhone, I am wondering whether it will suffer the same problem.
The two major benefits of this new kit over the iPhone mirroring kit are:
- with CarPlay, apps can be opened using the remote touch controller on the car's Nav screen rather than by touching the iPhone screen
- with CarPlay, the app icons are nice and chunky rather than tiny images, especially if using older iPhones, where the screens do not autorotate.
Sadly, both the iPhone Mirroring and CarPlay kits can be installed only in 2013+ LS460s.
Last edited by comotiger; Jul 26, 2019 at 08:03 AM.
Bought it and installed on the LS. Everything is working great. Wasn't optimized for the LS screen but Beat-sonic sent out firmware update within a day to fix the issue. Anyone else planning on getting it?
Bought it and installed on the LS. Everything is working great. Wasn't optimized for the LS screen but Beat-sonic sent out firmware update within a day to fix the issue. Anyone else planning on getting it?
What year is your LS? I have a 2014 and love to have this. Can you use Apple car play with just Bluetooth? Any glitches we should know about? Thanks!
Don't hold your breath. This is essentially a specialized low-volume computer. I don't see it being mass produced and the price dropping significantly.
And I'll echo SW17LS, I've spent the past 10 years not having CarPlay but still using my phone for nav and music, and then I had CarPlay for a couple months in a loaner car and it was a game changer. I will gladly spend $500 to add it to an older car that I otherwise like. I use Waze and Audible virtually every time I get in the car and it would be nice to not have to fumble with the phone.
At the end of the day, whats $500? I just paid $500 to upgrade my apple watch just to get an always on display. $500 to completely replace the infotainment in this car? Totally worth it.
I feel that the one from the other thread offers better features for the money, and that the BeatSonic doesn’t. In fact, that’s the one I’m going to order.
And remember: it isn’t about the money, it’s about the performance I get for that money. And I don’t feel the BeatSonic is worth it.
I agree, the one I have is a better unit IMHO, the inability to do the fullscreen and requiring it to stretch alone would be a deal breaker for the Beat Sonic one for me.
What year is your LS? I have a 2014 and love to have this. Can you use Apple car play with just Bluetooth? Any glitches we should know about? Thanks!
Mine is 2015 F-sport AWD. You need to be plugged in via included USB to use Carplay/Android Auto. Beat-sonic told me they'll be launching a wireless version of this unit next year for more $.
There are a few minor issues that I'm working with them to troubleshoot and fix. Issues include like laggy display when launching Android Auto. Sometimes Android Auto not auto-launching when phone is plugged in before starting the car. Screen not switching to full night mode at night. Some of these issues are not present in the Carplay version, only Android Auto and only pertains to the LS. I had 1 issue initially which they fixed by firmware update within one day. Amazing.
Eric from Beat-Sonic came by to my house to check on the issues and report the problem to their engineer. They issued me a firmware update yesterday stating they have fixed all the problems but I won't get to installing it until next week. Eric said they didn't have an LS to test on it fully which I believe is true as they have made an install video for every Lexus model on Youtube except the LS. Eric did send me instructions on how to remove panels and stock stereo etc which was helpful since I did the install myself. He had offered me a refund initially but I declined it since there is nothing like it in the market and they are committed to their products and customer support. I use Android Auto on it every time I drive the car and it's well worth the cost. I have installed aftermarket Android Auto Kenwood headunits on my 98 LS400 and 06 Honda Odyssey which was around the same cost as this system but there is absolutely no wire to splice/solder here. It's all plug and play. And I'm sure the issues I'm having will be ironed out by next week or so once I install the new firmware. I'll post my update here when that happens.
I agree, the one I have is a better unit IMHO, the inability to do the fullscreen and requiring it to stretch alone would be a deal breaker for the Beat Sonic one for me.
Don't think it is possible to do full screen on the 2015 and previous years of the LS. It's a limitation from Lexus not Beat-sonic. I don't mind the display as it is still bigger than the screens in aftermarket Headunits I have in my other cars. Plus I can change climate controls etc on the right side without switching screens. Maybe lexus will update the display of my car to utilize full screen but I'm not holding my breath on that one.
Don't think it is possible to do full screen on the 2015 and previous years of the LS. It's a limitation from Lexus not Beat-sonic. I don't mind the display as it is still bigger than the screens in aftermarket Headunits I have in my other cars. Plus I can change climate controls etc on the right side without switching screens. Maybe lexus will update the display of my car to utilize full screen but I'm not holding my breath on that one.
I already asked Lexus about it, and they said it's not possible because of hardware differences in the navigation units between the 2013-2015 LS and 2016-2017 LS. I was also hoping the full screen feature may be a simple software update.
Wow, sounds like BeatSonic has great customer service unlike the other near-fraudulent companies out there peddling bolt-on Carplay boxes. If you talk to them again, let them know there's interest in a version of their product compatible with 2010-2012 LS!
Wow, sounds like BeatSonic has great customer service unlike the other near-fraudulent companies out there peddling bolt-on Carplay boxes. If you talk to them again, let them know there's interest in a version of their product compatible with 2010-2012 LS!
You can contact them and see what they say. Yes their product support is awesome.
Beat-Sonic Android Auto / Carplay
