Alternatives for nav/audio/clean install
 

I was chatting with @speed7 earlier today. I have been scheming toward installing a modern head unit in my car. Speed argues that the aftermarket units don't integrate super cleanly from a visual perspective, and he prefers to use his Apple Watch for the purposes of delivering navigation information, and a Spotify device for the rest. That sort of out of the box thinking got my gears turning...

My requirements are as follows:
a) Easy receipt of visual and audio information for navigation (i.e. Google Maps)
b) Easy to play podcasts, likely stored on my phone
c) Clean install with minimal fuss (cables, brackets, stickers, etc.)

The head unit checks all these boxes, but Speed is absolutely right about the look being less than fully integrated, and I consider that third priority requirement checked, but only just. I'm a bit old school, and like my watches mechanical; I don't like replacing batteries, let alone entire devices, every few years. My mind is open to alternatives though. What can I use to accomplish the above requirements that isn't a head unit or a disposable device? This isn't a domain I've ever dedicated a lot of mental energy to, so I'm exploring the bounds of the box in order to be able to think outside it if necessary.

the easiest would be the headunit with a metra kit but it will be up to you whether that aesthetically is appealing enough to you to check that C box.
what about a tablet in the spot where the Navigation flip up goes.

Yeah. Head unit + Metra is the default at the moment. We talked about the pop up, as well as the in dash unit.

I'm wondering if there's a phone mounty sort of thing that doesn't suck. I've certainly never seen one, but I've just as certainly never really looked.

I remember spending quite a bit of time looking for phone mounts back when I was trying to mount my AccessPORT in a visible location (ha, you guys remember when AP's were all the rage? :D: )
there wasn't much out there then and don't know how much that's really changed.
my only issue with the phone is the screen is too small. (and this coming from a guy who has a large cellphone)

I have an iPhone 12 mini, and I'm not sure I'm all that motivated to upgrade to another non-mini phone. I don't have any issue with the size of the image, it's that I have to look down in my lap or in the passenger's seat to see it. Speed's Apple Watch is hardly a large screen, but (I'm assuming) the way the information is displayed is clear and concise enough to get the information across at a glance as long as that glance isn't itself too much of a distraction.

I wonder if there isn't a cleanly integrated device that's small like a gauge for displaying navigation information... Like an Apple Watch in a gauge mount, but just the Google Maps app. My IP attorney might be annoyed with me at that one...

IIrc, Jazer mounted a 7" (?) tablet in her nav hood.
Idk if someone would go through all of the trouble to swap out the dash and controls for the flip up nav function, but I really like the appearance of mine.

It's a cool design, imo.

I had to go back and re-read the thread... Speed and I talked about repurposing the factory nav that's fixed in the dash, and when he first suggested it, that's exactly what my mind went to. I'm a software engineer, and that's not entirely out of my wheelhouse, but I'm not sure I'd want to go through that level of effort. The hardware and interface sides are each pretty large cans of worms. Definitely doable, but for the effort...

I was literally thinking things like phone mounts. Something that sticks on the dash is a non-starter. Cupholder things are even worse. I just haven't seen any that don't suck. I'm not sure there's a GOOD solution. I'm not even sure the aftermarket head unit is a good solution to be honest. The car is outdated, naturally, but bringing it "up to date" doesn't seem like an inordinately difficult task. One of the biggest differences between our cars and something sitting in a Mazda showroom right now is the infotainment system. On the one hand, the functionality can be very handy. On the other, they quickly become outdated. A double-DIN unit has the advantage of being upgradable over time (as long as the market continues to produce such things), and I think that's the saving grace. Plus, there's always a "purity box" to put all the original equipment in so that once such things are NLA, stock is just a weekend away... This is falling down the rabbit hole of philosophy though.

There are several threads with nav hood tablet installations.
With your background I don't think it would be all that difficult.