An older car can still have plenty of life left in it, even when its dashboard feels a decade behind your phone. If the stereo works and the car does everything else you need, replacing the head unit just to get Apple CarPlay or Android Auto can feel like a bigger project than it needs to be.
The Laser 10-inch Portable Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Screen offers a simpler upgrade for $229 AUD. Mount the display, connect power, pair your phone and you have a modern interface for navigation, music, messages and calls, without pulling the dashboard apart.
After several weeks of using the NAVC-10CP-235, mostly with wireless Apple CarPlay in my older car, it has earned a permanent place there. It has a few rough edges, particularly around audio and the mount in hot weather, but the everyday convenience has been enough to make me want to keep using it.
Getting an older car connected
Installation is one of the Laser screen’s biggest strengths. There is no head unit replacement or installer involved, and the box includes both a windscreen mount with an extendable arm and a dashboard mount. That gives you a couple of ways to position the display around your existing dashboard.
The supplied car power cable connects to a 12V or 24V socket and powers the screen through USB-C. Pairing the phone was straightforward, and the process felt much closer to connecting an accessory than installing a new infotainment system. Once everything was plugged in and paired, there was very little else to do.
One small frustration is that the supplied car adaptor has no extra USB socket. Once it occupies the cigarette lighter socket, you lose that spot for another charger. An additional USB output would have made the adaptor more useful, especially in an older car with limited charging options.
I also tried running the screen from my car’s USB port with a USB-C cable, which worked in my testing. Laser specifies a 5V/3A power input, so whether that is an option will depend on the output of the USB port in your own vehicle. The supplied adaptor remains the straightforward starting point.
A large, bright display
Despite the 10-inch name, the display measures 10.26 inches. It uses a 1600 × 600 IPS capacitive touchscreen, with a wide shape that suits a dashboard interface and gives maps and media controls plenty of space.
Brightness was a particular highlight. The screen was easy to see in my car, and having navigation on a display of this size felt like a substantial upgrade over the older dashboard around it. It is the sort of improvement that becomes useful immediately, rather than a feature you need to find a reason to use.
Touch responsiveness was good with my newer iPhone. When I switched to an older iPhone 13 for testing, the experience felt less responsive. That was a noticeable difference between the two phones, so my experience was not identical across both devices.
Most of my time with the screen was spent using wireless CarPlay. I also gave Android Auto a brief test and found it similarly good during that time, although the longer-term impressions here come primarily from using an iPhone.
CarPlay makes the daily difference
The real appeal is having the familiar CarPlay experience in a car that previously had no touchscreen at all. Maps, music, calls and messages become accessible through the screen, with Siri available for voice control. Android users get the corresponding Android Auto experience and Google Assistant support.
You can use compatible phone apps such as Apple Maps, Google Maps or Waze, with navigation and traffic information coming from the phone. Music services such as Spotify and Apple Music are also part of the appeal: the screen brings that familiar interface into the car without needing to replace the existing stereo.
After the initial pairing, CarPlay connected automatically when I got into the car. There is a wait while the screen boots and establishes the connection, so it is not ready the instant the car starts. Once connected, though, the convenience of having it available on each trip was a big part of why it stayed installed.
Three audio options, each with a trade-off
Laser gives you three ways to handle sound: the built-in 2W speaker, the 3.5mm AUX output or the FM transmitter. That flexibility matters because older cars vary considerably in what their stereos can accept.
The built-in speaker is functional, but the sound is thin. It is fine as a basic way to hear GPS directions, and it means the screen can produce sound without another connection. For music, however, it would not be my preferred option.
The FM transmitter is useful if the car has a radio but no AUX input. You set the screen and the car radio to the matching FM frequency, allowing the audio to play through the existing stereo without an AUX cable. In my older car, having that option was a welcome inclusion.
There was some minor interference during testing, and the sound quality was not the best. It is a practical way to get audio into an older system, but it comes with compromises you can hear.
AUX provides another way to connect to the car stereo, provided it has a suitable input. The included cable is short, though. When I tried it in my newer car, it could not reach the AUX socket in the centre console from where the screen was positioned. Depending on your cabin layout, you may need a longer cable.
The AUX connector also comes straight out of the bottom of the screen. That makes it harder to sit the display close against the dashboard without putting pressure on the plug. A 90-degree connector would help here. The power cable already has an angled connector, which is a more convenient fit.
A secure mount with a hot-weather quirk
The mount’s adhesive held securely throughout my testing and never fell off. There is also a useful range of adjustment, helping you work around the shape and layout of the dashboard.
The issue I encountered was with the mount’s adjustment after the car had been sitting in the heat. It loosened enough that I needed to retighten it, and the screen dropped down to rest on the AUX cable. That placed pressure on the connector and raised concerns about damaging it over time.
It is an annoyance worth knowing about, particularly if your car spends a lot of time parked outside. The adhesive grip was good; it was the adjustment holding the screen’s position that needed attention.
A quick-release mechanism is another handy inclusion. You can disconnect the screen and put it somewhere out of sight when parked, rather than leaving a large display visible in the cabin.
Extra features and what is missing
Beyond CarPlay and Android Auto, Laser lists AirPlay and Miracast screen mirroring, Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. A microSD slot supports cards up to 256GB in FAT32 format, with MP3 and WAV audio and MP4, AVI and MOV video support. These are additional options rather than the focus of my testing.
There is also a 2.5mm five-pin AV input with support for 480p analogue/CMOS video. However, there is no reverse trigger, and this model does not support reversing-camera integration. That is a disappointing omission if you were hoping to add both phone connectivity and a reversing camera in one purchase.
The box includes the screen, car power cable, dashboard and windscreen mounts, a 3.5mm AUX cable and the user manual. Laser also supplies a 36-month warranty. You can download the official NAVC-10CP-235 user manual from Laser’s support website.
Verdict
At $229 AUD, the Laser NAVC-10CP-235 is an easy upgrade to appreciate in an older car. The screen is bright, setup is simple, and automatic CarPlay reconnection makes it convenient to use regularly. It adds something useful without turning the job into a dashboard renovation.
There are things I would change: a longer AUX cable with an angled connector, an extra USB socket on the power adaptor and a mount that holds its adjustment better after sitting in the heat. The built-in speaker is basic, FM audio has its limitations, and anyone wanting reversing-camera support will need to look elsewhere.
Even with those compromises, I would happily recommend it for an older car. The strongest endorsement I can give is that I am keeping it in my own. It makes a car without a touchscreen feel much more convenient to live with, and that is exactly what I wanted from it.
Zachary Skinner is the editor of TechDrivePlay.com, where tech, cars and adventure share the fast lane.
A former snowboarding pro and programmer, he brings both creative flair and technical know-how to his reviews. From high-performance cars to clever gadgets, he explores how innovation shapes the way we move, connect and live.
