The rest of the apps can be downloaded from the Google Play Store app. Without a SIM card slot though on this dongle, you are forced to use a personal hotspot from your iPhone or Android smartphone, or connect it to a local Wi-Fi source, such as a Mi-Fi dongle, or connect it to your own in-car Wi-Fi if you have one. All these apps worked fine once a stable data connection was given to the dongle.

From Google Maps, Chrome Browser, and Gmail, to YouTube, VLC, and Netflix. There are many default apps loaded onto the Z3 Box. And at the bottom side of the dock, there are two status indicators for USB connection and Bluetooth.

And the left side dock features quick options to access the Google Assistant, enter Wi-Fi settings, check GPS connection, as well as a dedicated home and back button. The main difference is that there is a separate menu option to access all the dongle’s own functions – away from the main Android settings menu. From here everything is pretty much the same as any other Android OS box that I have covered already. Boot up time took a little longer than expected, but soon I was in the main menu interface. So in the car, I plugged the Z3 box into my CarPlay USB port. It does run Android 10, instead of Android 9 on most of the other dongles I have reviewed so I’ll be seeing what differences that makes, if any. Now, most of these boxes are very similar, so there may not be much difference in this one. And finally, this dongle doesn’t have GPS built into the dongle, instead, they supply an OBD Bluetooth transmitter that wirelessly connects to the Z3 Box, and there is a GPS antenna that clips into the OBD transmitter, and the antenna itself is then located in a suitable location in your car interior for it to receive a stable GPS signal. There is a short USB-C to USB-A cable to connect and power the dongle, and a female USB-A to USB-C adapter for modern CarPlay ports in the car. There is a paper manual that lightly covers how to install and update the Z3 Box and a brief introduction to its menu interface. It features USB C output and there is a USB A input for media, apps, and to install software updates. You can also run apps like weather, car system data apps, browsers, and email on these so-called AI boxes too.

Right now, these boxes are the only way to get content from apps such as YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video running on your CarPlay display. It is another Apple CarPlay to Android OS dongle that you plug into your existing Apple CarPlay USB port and it will take over your display to give you a full Android operating system.įrom here you can download and display a vast library of Android apps from the Google Play store and run them on your CarPlay display. In this video, I will be looking at this new Z3 Box.

Apple video player android