I have had the unit installed for almost a month now, I bought it directly from chinese taobao(basically amazon for China), direct link here
Price range from 5900 - 8500 RMB(~800 - 1200 USD) at the time of writing, I chose the one with 360 cameras which cost 8500 RMB plus negligible shipping.

Prior to this, I have had UAD unit for a long time, so I will reference it a lot through out the review.

This review is intended to serve as a general installation and set up guide, as the unit came with no instruction, and what is advertised is not always what you get.

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Now let's get to the point:

1) What is it?
This is an Android 11 based headunit for 2013-2019 F type with small screen, manufactured by merryway. Soft and hardware version attached below, I believe this is the latest unit on the market.

2) Why?
Main reason you want this is for the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto(abbreviated ACP and AA from now on) function, a large 1920x720p screen, and native android functionality.

3) How easy is the installation?
It's easy, a few more steps than UAD unit but fundamentally the same.

4) How are you liking it?
9 out of 10 for my personal usage, 10/10 if I'm being fair, after all this is an aftermarket unit made for a small volume car.



Next we will dive into the cons, if you find any of these unacceptable, you don't have to read any further.

1) AA phone calls is routed through the unit's bluetooth. I do not use AA often, I prefer ACP 99% of the time even though I have both, I wasn't able to get audio through phone calls, I'm pretty sure it will work if I tried harder, but I didn't. If there's enough interest, I will dive into it. Otherwise maps and music works normally.

2) ACP or AA does not always auto connect on start up. When it does, you will be in ACP or AA interface in about 20 seconds, when it doesn't, you have to manually tap 4 or 5 times to connect. I have not found a solution for this.

3) Does not utilize factory mic. An external mic is provided instead.

4) Volume control is separate. Once set up, your steering wheel volume up and down buttons controls both your factory volume and headunit volume, volume knob next to shifter controls only factory volume, touch screen controls only head unit volume.


Now the pros:

1) Large oem looking 1920*720p touch screen with gloss black bezel and factory mounting point.
100% satisfied here, fits and looks exactly like the new system used in the 2020+ models
If I had to nitpick, the screen can be a bit brighter as certain angle of sunlight render it illegible.

2) Fast and stable operating system.
Everything is fast and snappy including the interface, touch control, ACP, AA and instant display of backup/360 camera upon selection of reverse gear. I have not encountered a crash during my 1 month experience with it. No slow down either, even with prolonged use and 100f days.

3) Various infotainment mode.
Supports both wired and wireless ACP and AA, phone screen casting, native android apps(maps, music, youtube and more)
The main mode I use is ACP, as it is the one most well optimized for use while driving.
Tried screen casting once, they work, but ACP is better.
Native android apps work okay, they have lightly optimized some apps, like youtube vidoes has gesture control for min and maximizing(don't get too hyped though, your resolution is capped at 720p due to the screen being 720p vertically and you will never fill the entire screen), youtube music layout is slightly different than what is on my android phone etc.

4) 100% oem functionality and system retained
All functionality are retained including the oem nav, Bluetooth etc, you’re unlikely to use them anymore but they are still there.
And yes, steering wheel volume, prev/next and phone answer all works, with a caveat, they are still trying to control the factory unit at the same time.
Let me explain what this means, when you press phone button on steering wheel to answer incoming call from ACP, it will answer the phone on ACP, at the same time it will try to take you to factory unit's phone page, but since you're most likely not connected to the factory unit, it will do nothing. Same goes for prev/next.
Now Volume up and down is a bit different, since factory unit's volume is always active in the background, you will always be adjusting both that volume, and your android unit's volume at the same time.

5) Audio transmitted through the oem Bluetooth unit
No more annoying 3.5mm Jack or usb cable in your armrest! Audio is physically transmitted from the headunit to factory bluetooth unit(located behind the armrest, connection hidden after installation).
Audio quality is possibly better because of this.

6) Optional 360camera
You have the option to choose no camera, replacement backup camera(negligible price difference), or a full 360 camera(about $400 USD more) with front, rear and 2 sides.
Camera quality is superb, leaps and bounds ahead of the oem system we have. Camera wakes up upon car starting or reverse gear selected, can also be manually engaged.
Perfect installation requires removal of front and rear bumper, trunk trim, side mirror, and hole drilling.
I have not finished the sides, and front and rear can be installed better(currently installed without taking off bumpers and drilling holes.)


I'm sure I have missed something, ask me anything.




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Now into the installation, reference to this video for trim removal, I will add steps specific to this setup and a few points I found was hard or easy to mess up:

Tools needed:

T8, T9 and T15 bits

Trim removal tools (or a rigid thin flat piece)

Magnetic stick (prevents screws disappearing into your dash)



Caution: pieces removed can be sharp so do not place them on your leather!


*Reconnect start button so the car doesn’t go haywire

*fun fact: your volume knob does not work with ac unit pulled

*3 fakra connections in the middle, here is exactly what you do:
Rotate each connector counterclockwise to make room for the white locking tab, pull the white tab upwards towards the car's roof, pull it a tad more until
you hear a click, now you can remove it. Do NOT pull too hard, tabs can break off, do NOT force remove if you feel it’s stuck, tabs will break off…ask me how I know.


What is different:
Once you have removed the screen and their connections, you are ready to transfer the oem mother board to the android head unit, start by removing all the screws on the back, some t8 and t9 bits, slowly pull the back cover away, disconnect the ribbon cable by popping up the black piece with your finger nail, put it aside, remove all the t9s on the motherboard, slowly loosen each edge using your
fingers until it’s free, do NOT pull too hard on one edge!!! Put it aside and remove the smaller mother board in the same fashion.

Remove the back cover on your android unit, screw in the small motherboard, only one way to go in, only t8 screws.

Screws in the larger motherboard, only one way to go in, only t8 screws, you will have extra screws at this point, it’s normal.


Connect the power cable from the main wire loom to the screen, connect physical button assisted cable, connect 360 camera connector if you have it,
insert SIM card if you have it, place the included thermal pad on the cpu, connect the back cover to the screen with the ribbon cable.
(connect the gps and lte dongles now if you plan to use a sim card and google map on native android interface, I left them out)
(you can use the car's gps signal by buying an extra gps splitter cable and connect it to the gps plug on the unit, the factory gps signal comes from a blue fakra port on the rear of the bluetooth
unit, I have not tested it though)

Now the ribbon cable will be in the wrong side, don’t be afraid, you can fold the ribbon cable to make it fit, or just screw in the back cover and let it do the folding, just make sure it ain't pinched the the edge of the cover.

Your screen is now ready for installation.

Start by putting all the factory connectors back into the screen, those 3 fakra connectors are still your enemy here, I had to install them blind, note the color and you will be fine. Tidy up the wires behind the screen and away from the mounting points, put the screen back and screw it down, connect your mic to the loom, put the AC unit back on ,connect the audio pass through to the Bluetooth unit(behind armrest), connect your cameras
to the corresponding ports, TEST ALL FUNCTIONS before putting things back.

the usb port and audio passthrough is too large to pass through the opening on knee pad, so instead I pulled the gear shifter assembly and feed them underneath it and out on the side of the knee pad, to the back of the bluetooth unit.

How to pull the gear shifter assembly you may ask?
remove 4 t25s circled, BEFORE YOU DO ANY LIFTING, using a flathead screw driver, push the tab circled upward towards the roof of the car to dislodge it, DO IT ON BOTH SIDES BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK OF pulling the unit in any way.
These tabs will bend and plastic deform if you tried to lift it from the front side making things needlessly hard.

Once the gear shifter assembly is free, feed your USB port and audio cable underneath and out from the side of the knee pad. Clearance is very tight, you may have to juggle the wire a few times before you are able to seat the gear shifter back in. It's also a good time to remove and clean up your sticky buttons.


You're all set at this point, once you've confirming everything works, put all the trims back and enjoy your new head unit!



videos:
https://youtu.be/5QVrfue0WNc
https://youtu.be/BkDFkM7G5j0

pics:

 

If I may ask, where did you purchase the unit from?