The Magic Box™ Lite

Not too shabby

I bought the box lite after first trying a cheaper version on Amazon (which was not good). Overall I'm pretty satisfied. I do find that if I leave it plugged in and turn off the car and come back later... it sometimes doesn't see my phone and auto connect. I may have to unplug and replug it into the USB on my 2023 Mercedes Sprinter van. I haven't yet explored the Netflix and YouTube apps, but essentially it is an Android OS computer with apps include a Apple Carplay app from a company called ZLink. That ZLink app sometimes has problems connecting too. But not enough to be a big problem. Since the video card on this "micro-pc" is set for Netflix / YouTube content, it does make the Carplay screen zoomed out much further than a native Apple Carplay experience. Which makes all of the buttons a bit smaller. Which means you have to be more careful about where you are touching to ensure you are hitting the button in Carplay you expect to hit. But you get used to it. It has very little latency between touches. Its fairly responsive. So, not perfection, but not bad for the price. I'd love to compare and contrast with their newer models but I didn't want to dish out that much cash without a way to get my money back if not satisfied. So this was a more palatable loss if it did not perform. So overall, its an improvement over the cheaper Amazon Chinese brands. But still could be better. I give it a 3.5 but I'll give it 4 stars to be nice.

Fixed a huge issue with my phone

My phone was not connecting well via USB cord and this completely resolved the issue. Connection is rediculously simple and it has actually made the cars screen more viable by utilizing the entire screen for a multitude of apps where are large screen matters. Works with Apple and Android with ZERO issues.

A bit glitchy. Stays connected to phone when car is in driveway when I am in my house with the phone. It is annoying to have to plug and unplug the unit when I get in and out of the car. Connection is cumbersome when switching from Android Auto (Navigation) to YouTube and Netflix. Screen colors are washed out and dull in the interface, but color is good when running YouTube and Netflix. Was happy with the Magic Link on my motorcycle, so I decided to give this one a shot in my car. Magic Link is a hit, but Magic Box Lite is a miss.