Alpine iLX-W650 7″ Double DIN Touchscreen Digital Multimedia Receiver with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

9 Reviews For This Product

1. 

   by Sarah W. July 15, 2025

   Alpine Quality
   This is my first touchscreen head unit and it is worlds more advanced than any head unit I’ve had before. This Alpine unit is simple to use and tweak to your liking. The screen is bright and easy to see during the day when its sunny outside and dims automatically at night. You can also adjust the brightness and dimness of the screen to your liking. Sound quality is first class and you know you are getting Alpine sound a build quality which will bring you years of quality use. All parts of this unit are very simple to use including the 9 band EQ, making or receiving calls, or navigating to a destination.Before buying this unit I compared it to the Kenwood DMX9706S which cost about $100 more (best I could find on internet). The Kenwood is obviously a great unit (I have Kenwood in my other automobile) but the Alpine just seemed easier to manipulate and manage due to its simple (iPhone – Like) feel. Of course the Alpine is compatible with both Android and Apple Car Play which is very nice for navigation, playing music, and making calls.When shopping for a new head unit I found most of the units were very comparable and do a lot of the same things (sort of like comparing smart phones) but I felt this Alpine head unit was the simplest to use and I felt ease of use is particularly important when you are installing it in an automobile. Also the price on it is better than the competition as I picked this one up for $279.00. It’s a good buy on a great unit. Cannot go wrong with Alpine as the sound quality is definitely what you expect from Alpine.

2. 

   by Brianosaurus July 15, 2025

   Excellent for shallow installations!
   Installed this in a 2009 Chrysler 300 where the opening behind the radio is too narrow for double-DIN head units that are more than about 4 inches deep. This unit is only about 2.5 inches deep and is loaded with features (except for a disc player). I really like that the display is large and the text is very easy to read. The touch screen works really well. Blue-tooth connectivity works great. Apple CarPlay works great. The switch from Bluetooth to CarPlay is automatic just by plugging/unplugging the cable. It will drop audio for 1 or 2 seconds during the switch.Cons: Stupid #$%&ing parking brake sense wire is required to access most of the settings including just switching between two bluetooth devices. It can’t be bypassed by simply grounding the wire. It requires a smart bypass circuit with a timed relay. I bought the “MicroBypass Parking Brake Override” on Amazon after I found out I couldn’t even access the settings without the parking brake being engaged.The built-in amplifier is only 16W x4 vs. the typical 22W x4. I imagine this is due to the much smaller space available inside the unit. It’s still good enough for the factory speakers in my car, though.Update: Aug 22, 2019. After 3 months, I’m still liking this unit. Some things I’ve noticed since my initial review:I occasionally see a lag on the touchscreen when using CarPlay, but it’s rare. Not sure if it’s the phone or the unit.When switching between Bluetooth and CarPlay in the middle of a song, it’s obvious that the Bluetooth and CarPlay audio go through some different audio processing (e.g. equalizer settings). CarPlay sounds a lot better. Again, not sure if this is something on the phone or the unit.There is a small window of time about 3 seconds after you turn the unit on but before the unit is fully booted up where if you plug in your iPhone, it won’t be detected and so CarPlay won’t be available. If it happens, the simple solution is to unplug the cable and plug it in again.Update Aug 10, 2020: Wanted to update that the custom equalizer settings don’t seem to affect the Carplay or Bluetooth at all. This is kind of a let-down for me after changing out my speakers.

3. 

   by Phil July 15, 2025

   Solid mid-range option
   Installed this in a 2006 F-250. Quite happy with it, it has good sound quality even with old factory speakers, although I was mainly just looking for something to work with my phone’s map and to receive the audio/Bluetooth. It has a sleek look and was well worth the time and effort. I self-installed this and it wasn’t very difficult with the help of a couple YouTube videos.I have a few minor gripes that I can’t blame the manufacturer for. One is that without a dial changing the volume is a little bit of a hassle. I like the look of the solid glass face, but it is a little annoying trying to tap the small volume up or down spots while driving, a classic knob is preferred, at least by me. Alpine also uses a security feature to ensure the car is in park with the parking brake on before accessing some settings. I totally understand this is a safety matter but for me I was unwilling to locate and tap into the brake wiring. Granted there are other options out there to bypass this which I HEAR work well…… Final gripe is that in order to use Android Auto you must have it connected via USB. It works really well when hooked up, but would be even more useful if it was a wireless connection.That whining aside, happy with the final result and it is a worthwhile upgrade and expense.

4. 

   by mattpro101 July 15, 2025

   Hands-down, the worst radio I’ve ever owned
   I spent a lot of time trying to decide on which radio to put in my classic Impala and I settled on this Alpine because back in the day they used to be a pretty good brand. Clearly that’s not the case any longer. First off the Apple CarPlay sometimes just doesn’t connect at all. Like it won’t even attempt to connect to my phone. Other times it’ll be connected and then suddenly just shut off. Literally in the middle of cruising my radio just shuts off and my phone disconnects. Other times it does something weird where if I go into the audio settings to try to adjust the audio, it mutes the radio and doesn’t let me adjust the audio any longer.But the worst of all things is that the Bluetooth does not work and it will not connect to my phone. I’ve tried absolutely everything, and it will not connect to my phone so basically I have a radio That I cannot use to listen to audio. Yes, a car stereo that does not work for audio. What is it good for? I don’t know cause it’s not even heavy enough to be a boat anchor!Total trash!I’m going to switch to my little Chinese radio from my work van into my car because it works every single time…..

5. 

   by Grayson July 15, 2025

   I had to get a new phone as my old one wasn’t really compatible with the system, which I guess I was due got a new phone anyways. But either way it’s working great after about 16 months of owning it, even throughout the cold Canadian weather. The steering wheel controls won’t work for a few minutes if it’s really cold, but the touch screen does regardless. Very happy with this and I was even able to get a backup camera because of this, I’d highly recommend!

6. 

   by Francis Proulx July 15, 2025

   Great sound quality, using carplay and it works great.Tried an atoto unit but had to replace it twice because of weird sound on only one channel, switched back to known brand and it work great.

7. 

   by patrick July 15, 2025

   After owning a few Android head units and a BOSS unit that were all terrible in there own ways the Alpine unit has been amazing for the last year or so.

8. 

   by Joseph Lariviere July 15, 2025

   i really enjoy the interface and the screen is like using a phone screen i’ve used other infotainment screens that you have to touch hard for the screen to register. my only issue is that’s my deck turns off before it turns my subwoofer amp off so every time i turn my car off i get a super loud THUD from my sub. i fixed this my adding an automotive relay to my ignition so my amp turns off first no more THUD

9. 

   by Gilles Labelle July 15, 2025

   Appareil non fonctionnel. Impossible de l’allumer, demande autorisation de retour , suite a ça. On me rembourse 50% du prix payer ..