In this review, I look at the MINIX CP89-HD Portable Car Display. A premium portable CarPlay & Android Auto display for any car with an FM car stereo to help modernise your in-car experience.
You can buy this car stereo display for a bargain price of $189.99 (with current voucher) from Amazon US – https://amzn.to/40aW7MN, for £174.99 from Amazon UK – https://amzn.to/4fX1u81, and for €269.99 from Amazon DE – https://amzn.to/4acPaQ7. For other locations, you can buy it direct from the MINIX store here – https://bit.ly/minixcp89.
The MINIX CP89-HD display is my second portable CarPlay screen with a laminated display. It either borrows, licences or blatantly copies similar hardware that I have seen on the CarpodGo T3 Pro, with some subtle differences, mostly with its mounting design, rear power button, and a revised home screen user interface.
In the box you get a paper instruction manual, the MINIX 8.9-inch IPS display, a traditional windscreen mount, a minimalistic dashboard mount and spare adhesive pad for it, a magnetic plate to attach either of these mounts to the back of the display, a large adhesive disc for dash mounting the windscreen mount, a 1.5m AUX cable and a 12V to USB-C power cable with USB-A power passthrough.
Features & Design
Looking over the display, it’s a 8.9” diagonal in size, using IPS display panel technology that helps offer a wide 170-degree field of view and it has a 1920×720 resolution. The striking difference over most portable car displays is that this touchscreen layer is laminated to the LED display panel underneath. There are no air gaps or visual misalignments of the screen that I so easily see on other car displays. This gives a more high-end iPad-like feel to using the display and it visually looks a lot better too.
A thin narrow bezel wraps around the edges of the display with the exception of the lower edge which is slightly thicker, again making the display feel more professional than its cheaper competitors. On top is a small light sensor to automatically adjust the display’s brightness levels in the day and night, this can also be overridden manually in the display’s Settings menu.
The left side is where you’ll find all the display’s I/O ports. There is a USB-C for power, a 3.5mm AUX IN audio, an AV IN port for an optional rear camera, the microphone input is also located here at the side of the display, and beside the microphone is another USB-C port that’s (unfortunately) only used for upgrading the display’s software – and it can NOT be used for wired CarPlay/Android Auto. Shame.
On the back is the display’s circular magnetic mounting system that’s recessed to prevent the magnet attachment from slipping. It’s much deeper than the T3 Pro and it also has very strong holding power. To one side at the rear of the display is a finger-sized power switch, that when pressed, will toggle an onscreen menu to sleep/wake the display, turn the display off, or reboot the display.
Mounting Options & Power
There are two options to mount the magnetic display to your car interior. The first is the more traditional suction cup mount that’s typically used for mounting to a car windscreen. This mounting arm has some depth and vertical adjustment, and the display can rotate on its ball joint tip. The second mount is more simple and minimalistic, very similar to the T3 Pro, with an adhesive dashboard plate that supports curved surfaces, a ball joint at each end to attach to the mount at one end, and the magnetic plate for the display on the other.
I found this mount wasn’t as well designed as the T3 Pro, though. MINIX chose to design a different S curve for the CP89-HD, almost swan neck-like, a design that restricts the mount from being able to place the display chin onto the dashboard. Without any extra support, the display floats off this mount, and this makes the display wobble a little too much when the car is in motion or whilst it’s being touched. The “less is more” approach of the T3 Pro, with its simple single 90-degree curve design, was much better and this design easily allows the display to rest on the dashboard surface and help reduce strain on the adhesive mount. I think a major revision to the MINIX mount design is required here.
The 12V to USB-C cable has plenty of length to insert around the car interior to make a clutter-free look. It also can be powered off a suitably powered USB port using a USB to USB-C cable, however, if you wish to use FM, the 12V cable is also used for its antenna, so you would lose this ability. But a USB cable route might help with shorter cable runs, or easier cable management through a car interior.
Boot-up & Main Menu
Once powered the MINI CP89-HD powers up very quickly, in around 6 seconds. After a short MINIX splash screen I am taken to the display’s homescreen. Its bright laminated display is stunning, however oddly familiar to the CarpodGo T3 Pro main menu. Three status icons line the top right of the display, indicating brightness mode, phone and bluetooth connection status. The remaining clock and function button icons neatly span the left and right regions of the display. Switching the driver side in the display’s Settings menu will swap these over.
The display has four main functions from the home screen: CarPlay, Android Auto and Settings and Volume. The remaining four of eight total function buttons act like shortcuts that take you to specific sections of the display’s Settings menu to easily access Bluetooth, Brightness, FM and Bluetooth audio areas. Its three available wallpapers are nicer to look at than the T3 Pro and like the other display, no further wallpapers can be added.
The MINIX shares very similar Settings options, with a few advancements and some omissions. The CP89-HD offers better touch and slide FM adjustment that’s quicker and more intuitive to use, however, options to return to CarPlay after 10s of using other areas of the display, and being able to change the display’s launch logo to a car brand logo on the CarpodGo are missing from the MINIX. These latter options are not deal breakers and could be implemented for new firmware updates on the MINIX. I’d take better FM adjustment over these missing functionalities and features.
Wireless CarPlay & Android Auto
Pairing my iPhone and Android for wireless CarPlay and wireless Android Auto was easy and seamless. Connection to CarPlay and Android Auto took 7 seconds and 10 seconds respectively. The 60fps function worked just like it does on the CarpodGo, with buttery smooth 60fps animations, transitions and general interactions were much smoother than most clunkier CarPlay displays. This is a rare feature I’ve yet to see elsewhere on any other display than these two displays.
Call quality was decent, albeit a little distant due to the microphone facing out the left side of the display – away from a right hand driving position. But this was improved by using the car microphone when in Bluetooth audio mode. Independent volumes can be set for main audio, media, and navigation/calling. Ideal to set the volume of Siri or the Google Assistant to a lower level to music.
The screens 1920×720 resolution allow for a better view of icons per screen and home interfaces of CarPlay and Android Auto relish the increased real estate, making the display feel more high-end and pro over the swarm of cheaper displays that are out there. More so when viewed on its gorgeous laminated display.
Audio Output
As expected, the 1W internal speaker is a token gesture of audio, only fit for calls and navigation. Any music is better done from your phone speaker, or done better still, by choosing one of the other three audio output options.
FM transmission allows the display to send a radio signal to your car stereo FM source and have its audio come from your car speakers once a FM frequency has been dialed into on both the display and your car stereo. Once locked in there is a slight hiss from the FM transmission but it isn’t significant to be worrying. Of course different vehicle systems will handle FM differently. Hitting play within CarPlay Spotify soon shot audio out of my car speakers. Sadly there is a slight audio distortion from the FM audio output when the volume is set to its maximum levels. Dialing the volume of the display down to halfway makes it far more acceptable. Coiling or uncoiling the 12V cable didn’t give any advantage or impact the signal or hissing from FM transmission so feel free to coil that cable up and stow it within your car’s recess.
Swapping the wireless FM audio to Auxiliary audio via the supplied cable improves things a lot in the audio department. Quality is much clearer, you can dial the volume back up on the display without distortion and its a pleasant audio experience, you just have to channel that extra audio cable somehow…
Finally, there is Bluetooth audio. A wireless, digital, and the best audio output from a car display (well, it’s really from your phone) to your car stereo – just as long as your car stereo supports Bluetooth audio. If your car also has wheel controls, using this audio method will allow you to skip track back and forth. Calling in Bluetooth audio mode worked with my in-car microphone instead of my phone, so that’s a bonus over many displays that simply don’t work this same way.
My Impressions
So there is a lot to love about both of these displays. But the biggest hurdle for buyers will be its price. Why pay in the region of $200 when there are alternative displays out there for as low as $50-75? Well, the answer is the experience, overall quality of the product, and the similar case of ‘you get what you pay for’. If you’re not willing to pay for the Ferrari of displays, then settle for your Ford. Sure it may get the job done, but it just won’t do it in style or finess. If you want the best, then either of these laminated displays will not disappoint. But is one better than the other..?
The MINIX CP89-HD appears to pull ahead of its identical rival due to its slight hardware refinements, including its unique rear power button, and its deeper mounting magnets, which were also very strong. I found its Android Auto performance to be a little better, but this could be that I’m using a faster Android than the one I tried on the T3 Pro. The MINIX seemed to handle the resolution better than the CarpodGo.
Users seeking customisation may miss the option to change the display’s launch screen logo, to match their brand of vehicle, and the return to CarPlay option that’s also missing from the Settings area can at times be a good feature to have, especially when pairing the display with a rearview camera. The MINIX has the advantage if you’ll be using this with FM audio, thanks to its rapid frequency selection over the very slow interface of the T3 Pro. If you find yourself needing to alter frequencies often, then the MINIX is light years ahead thanks to its ease of use.
Otherwise, both displays are nearly identical in how the display performs once in CarPlay or Android Auto. Sale prices could swing you in either direction, and it should certainly sway you when they are at their cheapest. Right now, at $189.99, that gap between the average display and the MINIX is so much closer that it makes owning the MINIX a no-brainer! Whichever you choose, use my experiences above to tailor which display is before for you. The MINIX feels a little more refined, but it is let down by its limited smaller mounting arm movement and some software omissions that a future software update could see put right.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Brief overview
0:24 – Unboxing
1:30 – Features & design
2:57- Magnetic mount
4:09 – Boot-up time, menu & settings
7:16 – In-car install & demo
9:26 – Wireless Apple CarPlay
10:10 – Built-in speaker audio
11:07 – Microphone Test
11:36 – FM Transmission audio
13:31 – Call quality & return delay test
13:50 – AUX audio
15:07 – Call quality via AUX audio
15:26 – Wireless Android Auto
18:01 – Bluetooth audio
19:28 – Wheel controls
19:49 – Alternative power source
20:22 – Call quality & return delay over Bluetooth audio
20:35 – Switching phone platform
21:01 – Testing BT audio & microphone
21:59 – Rear power button
22:17 – My Impressions
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