Kenwood DNX696S 6.8 Inch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto A/V Receiver w/Navigation

So far this radio is amazing, i put it in a 2018 Jeep Renegade and with the right accessories it works Amazingly! Works better then the original Uconnect! I see more accessories i want to buy for it!

Installation was not too difficult in my 2012 Toyota Tacoma. The touchscreen works pretty well, in bright sunlight/heat it is not as responsive. Carplay integration works perfectly. No complaints. I did not use the camera inputs as did not install cameras on my vehicle. Sound quality is much better than the factory radio, even using just the toyota speakers.

I bought this locally as a replacement unit for my 2019 Toyota Tundra. Install was easy and it looks really nice in my Tundra with the right trim kit. Compatible with Maestro so I was able to maintain my steering wheel controls, to a certain degree. All in all I like the unit but there are some shortfalls that are rather annoying, especially for the price I paid.I wanted a unit with Gamin Nav with traffic, and Android Auto. Garmin Nav with traffic was important to me because I spend lot of time in remote areas of Oregon with no cell signal, thus neutering Android Auto (with the exception of offline Google Maps, but even that has its limitations). This unit has Garmin Nav with traffic, but the traffic info comes from a partner app on your phone called Kenwood Traffic which DOES NOT FREAKING WORK!!!!! Look at the reviews in Google Play or Apple App Store. It BLOWS. It never connects, thus, you never get traffic info on the built in nav. I was oblivious to this. My wife has a Honda Pilot with Garmin Nav and it updates traffic info over the air, which is what I assumed this unit would do. It does not.It touts Pandora and Spotify integration and I can tell you as of this review, neither of them work as a standalone app. You cannot launch Pandora or Spotify as a standalone app. Within Android Auto, they both work, but if you want to use them as an "audio source", you get a "check app" error on the screen. Full disclosure, this is probably due to the makers of the apps themselves so I cannot knock Kenwood for it, and you might also say "what is the big deal if I can use them both within Android Auto"?? That's a great question, and the perfect seque into my next complaint.The Android Auto USB connection does not charge at Samsung quick charge rates, so if I want to listen to Pandora or Spotify, I am forced to use Android Auto and charge my phone at slower rates vs my adaptive fast charger. So, I can use Garmin GPS without traffic data (because of the crappy traffic app) and fast charge my phone, or I can fast charge my phone and not use Android Auto, Pandora, or Spotify.Other annoyances..When switching to reverse my OEM radio didn't give me a warning to check surroundings in the backup camera. This one not only gives you a warning to check surroundings, but it also displays the AV input selection in the upper left corner. BOTH of these are extremely distracting and obstruct my view. It's HIGHLY annoying. You can turn them off my tapping the screen on the "check surroundings" area, but you cannot permanently turn it off. It eats up valuable real estate on the screen that I could otherwise use to see my surroundings.If you use Sirius XM and are used to being able to scroll thru stored presets with your steering wheel controls, you cannot do that with this radio. You can change the seek mode to scroll thru presets within HD radio, but not within XM. Therefore I am constantly constantly forced to put my eyes and hands on the screen if I want to change stored presets within XM. Huge safety issue for me.The screen is susceptible to glare. I have read this isn't as much of a problem on the higher end units, but they don't offer much more for the price and the problems I mention are still present. You get wireless Android Auto with more expensive units, thus allowing you to fast charge your phone, BUT, wireless AA only works with select phones...and mine isn't one of them.I hope this helps someone make up their mind in the future.