[crockerdt]

Hi all, first of all apologies if the answer is buried in a thread but my search didn't yield promising results. I have a non-Bose 2006 Boxster. A few years ago I installed a Kenwood Exelon DNX891HD. Unfortunately, it was done about a year or so before CarPlay became more common on head units. I'm considering changing the head unit out in order to have at least wired CarPlay.

But here's the catch: I have the Kenwood's screen brightness cranked all the way up. And I have my phone on a mount right next to it. The phone's display is bright enough to see with the top down during the day. The Kenwood's screen brightness is not. Maybe there is a glare issue mixed into this.

Is there a brand/model that has much better brightness for convertibles? We all know that brighter screens are possible, since our phones have them. Is it that my Kendwood has a resistive screen instead of a capacitive screen? Any personal experience with this issue, positive or negative, is welcome. In the meantime I'll forego CarPlay unless I can get a substantial upgrade in head unit display brightness. No point paying $1000 for a head unit that is as dim as the current Kenwood.

 

[deilenberger]

Just wondering - are you wearing sunglasses with the top down (good idea, helps prevent retina damage from UV)?

If so - take them off and hold them in front of the screen, look through them and then rotate them 90 degrees. Does it get brighter?

Some display screens use a layer of polarized plastic in front of the actual display - for a touch-screen interface or just protection. If the brightness changes when you rotated your sunglasses that means your sunglasses are polarized, and the two polarizations are at 90 degrees to each other which will drastically cut the visible light. The only cure is to try to find a pair of sunglasses that are polarized in the opposite axis, or not polarized at all.

 

[crockerdt]

That's an interesting idea, thanks - but I don't wear polarized sunglasses. The Kenwood's screen can tilt slightly and I may try that. As it is, I can live with it. But if there is a head unit that is known for being appreciably brighter than this Kenwood model I have now and has CarPlay functionality, then I think I will upgrade. So looking for feedback from other 987 Boxster owners who have upgraded their head units and are happy with their brightness.

On this note, I see that Kenwood offers both resistive and capacitive screen models. An informal reading seems to indicate that capacitive models may be brighter (which mirrors what I experience when running nav off of my iphone next to the Kenwood). I'd love feedback from other users on that possibility.