Hands on: This Android Auto unit works wirelessly and can be installed in seconds in any car - 9to5Google

Android Auto has become a standard part of brand new cars, but it’s something that older vehicles lack.

But, did you know that you can actually add an Android Auto unit to any car in seconds for an affordable cost.

Aftermarket head units have been available for decades at this point, and support for both Android Auto and CarPlay has become normal for just about any option you buy today!

For quite some time, I’ve wanted to add Android Auto to my wife’s car, as her Hyundai Elantra is from that awkward time where touchscreens and Android Auto weren’t particularly common, but Bluetooth and AUX connections were standard.

It was when I spent some time with Spotify Car Thing earlier this year that I thought how great it would be to have a similar device, but running Android Auto.

Over the past several months, my wife has been using a 7-inch external Android Auto unit in her car that mounts to the dashboard and supports the wireless form of Android Auto.

This is effectively just a little tablet that runs Android Auto?

You can mirror your phone’s screen or use this device as a traditional Bluetooth head unit to add support for wireless audio to a car that lacks the feature.

Meanwhile, Android Auto, when used wirelessly with her Pixel 5, generally seems to boot up within 40-60 seconds of turning on the vehicle.

That’s a little slower than what’s built into my Subaru Crosstrek paired with a wireless Android Auto adapter but not too shabby.

The only catch is that you’ll need to manually press a button to get Android Auto up on the screen, and that pop-up can sometimes time out.

Android Auto runs without any noticeable lag, and during her daily commute to work, she tells me it generally runs very reliably.

9to5Mac had a great experience with the Intellidash Pro on the CarPlay side of things, and there’s an Android Auto model as well.

Android Auto is an extension of the Android platform which is highly optimized for use in a moving vehicle

This Android Auto unit installs in seconds in any car