PLZ 7″ Wi-fi Double Din Automotive Stereo Apple Carplay Radio Display screen for Automotive Audio Receivers, Bluetooth 5.3 Automotive Play Android Auto Touchscreen, 240W 4.2 CHN 2 Subwoofers Outputs, Backup Digicam, SWC, FM/AM

Mostly good news about this radio
I received and installed the PLZ 7″ Wireless Double Din Car Stereo Apple Carplay Radio Screen and installed it today in my 2005 Honda CRV – I did not install the backup camera yet. Here are my observations and thoughts:- The radio itself has a nice look and seems well designed and thought out. I like placement of controls and functionality is as described.- I was able to quickly and easily (without reading the manual) pair my Apple phone and Car Play just worked! I was quickly able to play music, audiobooks, podcasts and use the maps function just like on my wife’s wireless Car Play system. Apps that are Car Play compatible all show up appropriately on the display and the two or three I tried worked just fine.- Performance is pretty good. It boots quickly, my phone connects pretty quickly and the radio and bluetooth all seem to function well. Audio quality is not quite as good as the stock 6 disk CD changer. I have been using a Yomikoo bluetooth adapter for a while on the stock system (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JQ9G2LP?ie=UTF8&psc=1) that really sounds incredible, so I know the difference isn’t the bluetooth connection, but it sounds good enough that my wife can’t hear the difference, so maybe it’s just me!- Installation was… not terribly bad, but I’m not crazy about the particular kit I bought. I purchased the Metra Electronics 95-7801 (they make different kits for different vehicles, so make sure you get the right one) and the Scosche HA08BCB wiring harness adapter. The Scosche came with pre-attached crimp connectors. I replaced those with solder seal wire connectors to ensure solid connections.- The Metra adapter kit was a bit of a job to use – It required removing a lot of tabs that weren’t needed. You’ll need a good pair of diagonal (preferably flush) cutters or a dremel to do the job well. I wound up using a heavy file to remove the stubs after cutting the tabs off so the mount would fit in the opening. Also, I’m not terribly happy with the fit between the radio itself and the Metra faceplate. I’m going to have to do some more trimming to make it look a little better. On the plus side, it seems to hold the radio pretty well. I’ll know better once I do some driving to see how it handles bumps and bangs.- The microphone that came with the older Yomekoo bluetooth adapter doesn’t appear to work with this unit. I’m going to look into a different mic and see if I can get it to work. The built-in mic seems to work pretty well, although the person I called said it sounds ‘large room-ish’. I’ll do some more testing and will add some updates here if I find any good solutions that improve the audio.- I haven’t yet done a firmware update but will do so – it apparently will allow you to upload a custom splash screen which I think I’ll play with a bit. If there’s anything odd about any of this, I’ll update the review.My overall impression is that this is well worth the price and I’m actually pretty happy. If you’re looking for a nicely made, easy to use unit that does a lot for not a lot of money, this may be a good option. I’ll be installing the backup camera at some point and will update the review once I do.UPDATE – 12/7/2024:I’ve had the radio installed for a few days and here are my impressions:1. Glare – this is a bit of a problem. See the attached pictures. When sunlight comes in the front of the car it reflects off of my light colored seats making the screen very difficult to see. I have ordered some anti-glare screen film to put on it to see if it helps. If it does, I’ll update the review with details about what I ordered.2. Polarization – The LCD screen appears to have some polarization which is not a problem, unless you are wearing polarized sunglasses. When wearing my sunglasses, I have to tilt my head to the left to see the screen clearly. Non-polarized sunglasses are not an issue, but these days they seem to be rare.3. Screen Brightness – The settings allow you to set the amount of screen brightness you want, but unfortunately, adjusting the daytime screen to be bright enough (particularly to overcome the glare) washes out the maps so much that you can’t see the streets. Also, these setting changes carry over to the night mode, so if you make it bright during the day, it is (to me) too bright at night. I’ve found a happy medium, and also found an option that lets me leave it in dark mode so the map roads are easier to see during the day with brighter settings.4. Customer Service – These guys are really good. Even though they are on the other side of the planet (I’m pretty sure), I always get a polite response within a day. I asked for the firmware update with the Honda logo – The links and instructions were all in my email in less than 24 hours, and it worked like a charm! I appreciate their responsiveness and how polite and interested they were. It took me a couple of days to apply the updates and earlier today I got an email asking if I had applied them and how it went. That was a very nice touch and speaks volumes about the company.I’ll update again with more details as I get them. I’ve ordered and received a new external microphone that I need to install so I’ll let you know how that goes.Update 1/3/2025:I finally installed the backup camera – a couple of notes:- The video quality is good and it works great!- I ran into a bit of confusion with the trigger wire that runs to the PLZ radio itself: The red wire coming from the camera connector will attach to the hot wire on your backup light. The other end connects to the PINK wire (not the pink with black stripe) on the small white connector that came with your radio. If you, like me, did not buy the steering wheel control module, you may not have even installed this cable. It’s listed as connector ‘C’ on the drawings. Tie that red pigtail that comes out of the yellow video connector to the pink wire in that connector, and plug the connector into the radio.- The new microphone I installed works, but one thing you may want to keep in mind: If the person you are calling is on a speakerphone (cell or otherwise), they will complain that you are cutting in and out. This has to do with noise blanking, i believe. If they turn off their speaker phone, they’ll be able to hear you just fine most likely.- My radio came with a defective remote control. I notified the PLZ Customer Service Team and they sent me two new ones! I’ve been VERY impressed with Songfly – they have always been very responsive to any request I’ve made. This is very unusual these days, so I want to stress just how happy I am with them as a company!Overall, I’m pretty happy with the PLZ radio – the sound quality is ok, and the display gets washed out in bright light, but generally, it’s worth what I paid for it and I’m enjoying having the functionality!