Mercedes-Benz ML W164 / GL X164 7 inch Android Head Unit with Wireless CarPlay, Android Auto and 4G

Your iPhone connects to the unit without a cable, so maps, calls, messages and music appear on the dashboard screen while the phone stays in your pocket.

You can still plug in with a USB cable if you prefer a wired connection. Voice commands let you ask for directions or a song without taking your hands off the wheel.

Android phones get the same treatment. Android Auto runs wirelessly or over USB, putting Google Maps, calls and your music apps on the 7 inch screen with large, simple controls.

The 7 inch QLED screen runs at 1280×720 and uses G+G touch glass. Colours are strong and the anti-glare finish helps when the sun is on the dashboard.

It sits in a face panel shaped for the W164 and X164 dashboards, so it looks like it belongs in the car.

The screen is an IPS type, so the picture holds its colour when seen from the driver's seat or the passenger side rather than only straight on.

The AKM7738 DSP gives you control over how the sound is shaped, so you can tune it to the car rather than live with the factory balance. DTS sound effects add width to music and films.

The unit also has Hi-Res Audio support for high quality music files.

A TDA7803A amplifier drives the speakers at up to 4x47W maximum output. That's enough to run the factory speakers properly without adding a separate amp.

Put a nano-SIM in the unit and it has its own mobile data connection. Live traffic, weather and streaming then work without tethering to your phone, and the phone's battery is left alone.

Dual-band Wi-Fi on 2.4GHz and 5GHz connects the unit to a hotspot or your home network for app downloads, updates and streaming.

Bluetooth 5.1 handles hands-free calls and music streaming. An external microphone comes in the box, so it can be mounted near you for clearer calls.

The positioning receiver uses GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS and Galileo satellites. Using several systems helps the map keep track of you in towns and under tree cover. A GPS antenna is supplied.

Screen mirroring shows your phone's screen on the head unit, which is useful for apps that don't run in CarPlay or Android Auto.

The unit supports DAB radio through an external DAB tuner, which you'll need to add if you want digital stations.

CANbus decoding keeps the steering wheel controls working, along with ACC, reversing control, door reminder, light control and handbrake control. What you keep depends on what your car had from the factory.

A built-in gyroscope can show pitch and roll on screen as an inclinometer.

The unit has a fast reverse mode and works with 1080P AHD cameras (camera sold separately), so the picture appears quickly when you select reverse.

If your car already has a factory reversing camera, you'll need an adapter to keep it working after the upgrade; XTRONS ICE/ACS/FZMRM01 is compatible.

There's a region-free CD/DVD drive built into the unit, so your disc collection still has a place in the car alongside streaming apps.

The MediaTek MT6769V octa-core chipset has two Cortex A75 cores at 2.2GHz and six Cortex A55 cores, with a Mali-G52 GPU. It's paired with 4GB DDR4 RAM and 64GB UFS 2.2 storage, enough for navigation, music and 1080P video without long waits. A cast aluminium heat sink keeps it running steadily on long drives.