Review of Justone A1 11" CarPlay Screen

This is a review of an 11" CarPlay screen with a few very nice features. This one is made by Justone, model A1. With above average pricing, this unit has some features that justify paying a little bit more that smooth out the daily drive.

The unit arrives in a branded box with a decent manual. This seems like a strange mention, however, we've see a bunch of these screens that are sold by different brands with, literally, no effort to brand them. The A1 includes an SD port, but no card included. Since there's no dashcam on this model, this is not unexpected. However, that SD slot does give us the opportunity to upload a custom boot logo, with more on that later.

We're reviewing this screen mounted on a newly designed MeshHeavy mount. Ordering suggestions are at the end.

We tested the audio out using the aux connector. Sound was fine, nothing particulary note-worthy to these ears. No pops or crackles when powering on the unit, or changing apps and settings. Audio through the FM radio option was not good, though this is typical of all of these screens we've tested so far. Stick with aux or bluetooth output for the best experience.

The advertised screen size is 11.3". However, with the chunky bezels, viewable screen size is 10.25". You won't notice this while powered down as the front of the screen is completely flat, glossy and black. It's a nice, premium look. The display, at maximum brightness, looks great even in bright sunlight and works well with polarized sunglasses.

Let's talk about a rare, yet highly underrated, feature of this unit. It comes with an ambient light sensor. A well-placed sensor as well. Another unit that we've tested has the sensor in the screen, facing the inside of the car. This one is on the back, facing the windshield. I think that placement does a better job of adjusting the display to meet the conditions outside the vehicle. This tiny sensor, which probably costs well under a dollar, adds so much to the driving experience. It's not dramatic in it's contribution. From driving from daylight to sunset to dark. From driving from bright sunlight through underpasses to parking garages to sudden overcast and showers, it adjusts the display so smoothly, that you stop noticing it. Which is the point.

The response times of this unit are snappy. Boot from power on to operating system is a about 6 to 8 seconds; A few more seconds later and CarPlay is loaded and running; about 12 seconds total. The response time is good for those rare individuals that would wire up the backup camera, if they didn't have one included in the nav system; more on that below. Screen swipes and app changes are also smooth and snappy.

Let's look at some quirks with this unit. First, it comes with a separate wireless remote that is puck shaped. There really isn't a great place to mount this puck, and, frankly, it's klunky to operate. It's supposed to augment or replace finger navigation, but it's utility is limited. One beneficial use is a long press on the down button, which can enable and disable the back up camera, which leads to the next quirk.

This unit doesn't ship with a backup camera; only a pigtail is provided. With most GX470s equipped with a backup camera already, this may be a moot point. We were, however, going to test using an included backup camera instead as a front-facing trail camera. A long press on the down button of that wireless remote would toggle displaying the camera on and off, which would have been an excellent use for the remote. An optional Justone camera kit is mentioned in the manual, though I couldn't find it available for purchase.

Another quirk is the boot logo. Stock, the unit comes with a Justone text logo on boot. This is easy to change with a properly formatted SD card. Just place a boot image onto the SD card, insert the card, and power up the unit. It will detect the image file and offer to update the unit with the file. Remove the SD card when it's successful. Here are the important details: The image file should be small (under 50KB), jpg format and named (very specifically) boot_logo.JPG. The file extension of JPG and upper case is important. The other quirk is that the image needs to be 1920px tall and 720px wide. So, in your image editor of choice, orient the image sideways, so that the bottom faces left. Yeah, I know.

You should know this model was available on Amazon briefly in the winter of 2025 (maybe December through January?), then disappeared until perhaps last month. There were no updates in the latest that I could tell that are different from the 2025 unit.

Because the rear connectors for this unit are on the driver side and are not blocked or recessed, I'd recommend ordering the MeshHeavy mount with the right angle USB-C connector for the cleanest look. This doesn't block access to the A/V In connector. I'd also recommend a right-angle Aux cable, if you're wiring up audio that way.

The MeshHeavy Mount Style you'll want to order is a new one. The 'ball-mount' on this one is 25mm in diameter, much larger than the typical 19mm diameter mounts we build for. You'll want to order the 11" Screen - Mid Vertical Quad Slot - Large Ball. This is what we call a mid mount because the vertical squad slots are centered in the back. This is typical when the unit comes with an offset dashcam or no dashcam.

Price is moderately high, but the display quality is very high and perfect for a daily driver. The question you have to ask yourself: Is a great display enough to get by without an integrated dashcam or backup camera? It's a yes, for me. Highly recommended.

Tested July 2026. Available on Amazon for about $129 at time of testing.