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The best screens for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
MRQ
If you don’t have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto already in your car, don’t worry: You don’t need to go out and buy a new ride. Instead, you can spend less than $150 and easily add this functionality using one of these touchscreens.
Using a portable car touchscreen, you can safely take advantage of navigational tools, music or podcast streaming, hands-free calling, your smartphone’s digital assistant, and other apps and features that can make your drives easier and more fun.
Pro Tip: Since these units are portable, you can also use any of them in a rental car with ease, so you don’t have to pair your phone with a vehicle you don’t own.
Are portable car touchscreens worth it?
The best portable car touchscreens, like the models our in-house consumer tech experts have selected as part of this roundup, make it easy to pair your smartphone with a vehicle that does not already have a built in infotainment system.
Pro Tip: All of these portable car touchscreens are compatible with Apple iPhone and Android smartphones. The option that’s best for you should be based on display size and included mounting options, based on how you plan to use it.
Best portable car touchscreen: Buonaldea 7″ car touchscreen with backup camera
Amazon
This seven-inch touchscreen mounts on a dashboard. It pairs wirelessly with your smartphone to provide CarPlay or Android Auto capabilities. It also mirrors content on your smartphone’s screen, so this device can showcase movies, TV shows, or other video streamed via your smartphone.
The working voltage of this CarPlay screen is DC 12V~24V. This means it supports all vehicles and can be plugged into an auxiliary power port. Simply mount this screen using the supplied and adjustable self-adhesive dashboard mount. In addition to working as a CarPlay or Android Auto display, this touchscreen comes with a 180-degree view, waterproof backup camera with night-vision capabilities.
Also integrated into the screen are Bluetooth speakers and an AUX and FM transmitter. That means you can also play audio through your car’s original sound system. We selected the Buonaldea portable car touchscreen as our top pick because it works with almost any smartphone and vehicle, plus it offers a variety of functions at a very competitive price.
Best value portable car touchscreen: MRQ 9″ portable wireless car screen and backup camera
Amazon
Our top pick and this best value pick are very close in price, but this portable car touchscreen provides a better overall value, since it offers a larger (9-inch versus a 7-inch), full-color touchscreen display. Plus, it comes with an adjustable dashboard mount, a 64GB microSD memory card, and a 1080p resolution backup camera with a 140-degree field of view — all for $55 (when you use the Amazon instant coupon).
You can connect your smartphone to this screen wirelessly or using a USB cable. It’s easily to accesses the phone’s CarPlay or Android Auto functions for music, navigation, phone calls, and more. The display is a good size; offers an anti-glare filter; and won’t obscure your vision while driving.
The screen is powered using a cable that plugs into any 120 volt auxiliary power port. Meanwhile, the included mount provides 180-degree rotation at the central axis, two extendable arms, and 360-degree rotation at the top. A suction cup uses an adhesion and clasp design to provide a secure attachment to your vehicle’s dashboard or windshield.
Best portable car touchscreen with a dash cam: Westods 9.3″ portable car touchscreen
Amazon
We like this Westods 9.3-inch portable car touchscreen because it comes bundled with a 1080p resolution backup camera and a 2.5K resolution dash cam. Once connected with your phone, this screen gives you access to all CarPlay (iPhone) or Android Auto capabilities.
You get easy-to-operate tools for music, navigation, hands-free calling and texting and more. You also get access to your phone’s digital assistant using voice commands — without having to touch the screen or take your eyes off the road.
The front camera and rear camera supports split-screen loop recording and playback. Plus, when your vehicle is in reverse, the front-view and rear-view images appear onscreen at the same time for easier navigation and better visibility. Using the supplied 64GB memory card, the system automatically records mode while you’re driving.
Meanwhile, the display connects to a car stereo system using the built in FM transmitter, so any audio that accompanies the smartphone apps you’re using will be played through your car’s speakers or the speaker on the display. One notable feature of this screen is that it offers an extra-wide, 178-degree field-of-view with 1,600-by-600 pixel resolution. The unit mounts on a dashboard and is easily removable.
Best portable car touchscreen with extra-wide display: Car and Driver Intellidash Pro
Amazon
Many car enthusiasts rely on Car and Driver magazine to learn all about the latest rides, but the magazine also offers its own portable car touchscreen with a wide and easy-to-view display. In addition to working with CarPlay (iPhone) and Android Auto, this model is also compatible with SiriusXM Radio.
The Intellidash Pro easily mounts on your vehicle’s dashboard using a strong adhesive disk that prevents accidental tipping. Like most portable car touchscreens, this one is powered using the 12-volt auxiliary power port in your car. It can then connect with your smartphone using a USB cable or Bluetooth.
You get voice-based access to Siri or Google Assistant, as well as easy access to your phone’s navigation, music, phone, messages and other apps. You can also use the device to listen to podcasts or audiobooks from your phone. All audio plays through your car speakers.
When it comes to navigation, we like that the device is not just limited to the Maps app that comes preinstalled on your phone. It works seamlessly with Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze and numerous other navigation apps, too.
Best portable car touchscreen with suction-cup mount: Aumume 7″ car touchscreen
Amazon
The mount on this seven-inch portable car touchscreen attaches to your vehicle’s front windshield. You also get an alternative cup-holder mount. Either option gives you extra flexibility to position the display at the perfect height and angle for you and your car.
You can connect your phone to this screen using Bluetooth or a USB cable. The display can then rely on your vehicle’s built in stereo system to play all sound and audio using a built in FM transmitter or AUX input cable. The display is powered using your car’s 12-volt auxiliary power port.
This 7-inch touchscreen also comes with a 720p-resolution backup camera that kicks in whenever you put your vehicle in reverse. Another useful feature is the display’s memory card slot. You can preload an optional memory card with music, audio, or video to play back while you’re driving. (For safety, we recommend that video playback only be used by passengers, not the driver.) You also get access to either Siri or Google Assistant using voice commands.
Whatever you’re shopping for, the deal seeking experts at CBS Essentials will always help you discover the best prices, while recommending the best products when it comes to consumer tech, as well as items for your home, kitchen or outdoor living.
Police arrested a man on murder charges this month, 14 years after he allegedly killed a man in Virginia, but the victim’s body has never been found.
Shane Ryan Donahue, a Virginia man, is presumed deceased, the Prince William County Police Department said Tuesday. He was last seen leaving his parents’ home in Nokesville, Virginia, on March 22, 2010. Donahue, 23, was headed to his house in Nokesville, but never made it there.
Donahue was added to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System after he vanished. According to records, Donahue did not have a car and regularly got rides from friends. He frequented Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Fauquier County, Virginia, and Northern Virginia.
The case stumped investigators, who followed a number of leads over the years. This spring, detectives reactivated the investigation and started looking at every detail of the case from scratch, officials said. They revisited people who had been interviewed during the initial investigation and reviewed “digital evidence in greater detail due to advances in analytical technology and modern police investigative practices,” according to a news release.
Officers said Donahue was last seen leaving his parents’ home with Timothy Sean Hickerson, now a 43-year-old Florida resident. Investigators connected Hickerson to a burglary at Donahue’s home that happened just days before the Virginia man disappeared.
Detectives got an arrest warrant this month and, with the help of Florida’s Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Hickerson was taken into custody in Palm Coast, Florida. Hickerson was charged with murder and burglary, is now set to be extradited to Virginia.
Former President Donald Trump, an avowed proponent of tax cuts, is floating the idea of reversing a measure passed during his tenure in the White House that effectively raised taxes for many U.S. homeowners.
In a post Tuesday on Truth Social, Trump suggested he would scrap a $10,000 cap on deducting state and local taxes (SALT) that was passed as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — a massive revamp that he has said boosted economic growth.
Now, in the run-up to the November election, Trump said in the post he would “get SALT back, lower your taxes, and so much more,” although he stopped short of offering details. Trump made the post ahead of a speech he’s giving Wednesday at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.
Trump’s new proposal for getting rid of his $10,000 SALT deduction cap comes as the presidential hopeful is pitching several additional tax cuts that would, if enacted, reduce taxes for major groups of voters. He’s also vowed to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits, a pledge that could get support from the nation’s senior citizens, as well as to end income taxes on tipped workers and on overtime pay, ideas that would help lower- and middle-income Americans.
Yet Trump’s reversal on the SALT deduction has sparked skepticism from lawmakers as well as economists and policy experts.
“So … now Trump is against the SALT tax cap which *checks notes* is a key part of the — only — major piece of legislation passed during his administration?” noted Chris Koski, a political science professor at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, on X.
Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from Nassau, Queens, said in a statement on Wednesday that he is “happy that the former president is saying that he has finally reversed his devastating decision in 2017 to cap the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction.” He also urged Trump to convince Republican lawmakers to vote to restore the full deduction “if he is truly serious.”
The SALT deduction cap “has been a body blow to my constituents for the past 7 years,” Suozzi added.
Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, wrote on X,”Donald Trump took away your SALT dedications and hurt so many Long Island families. Now, he’s coming to Long Island to pretend he supports SALT. It won’t work.”
Asked for details about Trump’s proposal to restore the SALT writeoff, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign told CBS MoneyWatch: “While his pro-growth, pro-energy policies will make life affordable again, President Trump is also going to quickly move tax relief for working people and seniors.”
Here’s what to know about the SALT deduction.
What is the SALT deduction?
The state and local tax deduction allows taxpayers who itemize to deduct property taxes, sales taxes and state or local income taxes from their federal income taxes. Prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, there was no limit on how much people could deduct through the SALT deduction.
But the 2017 tax overhaul passed under Trump limited the deduction to $10,000 – a blow to many homeowners in states with high property taxes, many of which are Democratic leaning. At the time of the law’s passage, the Treasury Department estimated that almost 11 million taxpayers in high-tax states like New York and New Jersey would forfeit $323 billion in deductions.
Who benefits from the SALT deduction?
Homeowners with high property taxes, such as people in New York, New Jersey and California, were the biggest beneficiaries of the the full SALT deduction.
But some experts also noted that the SALT deduction primarily put more money in the pockets of higher-earning Americans. About 80% of the full SALT deduction had helped people earning more than $100,000 a year, according to the Tax Foundation.
What happened after Trump capped the SALT deduction at $10,000?
The limit has increasingly impacted middle-class homeowners across the U.S. because of rising property taxes and incomes. Some lawmakers have also sought to either repeal or increase the SALT cap, but none of those efforts have borne fruit.
Earlier this year, some lawmakers sought to double the SALT deduction cap to $20,000 for married couples, with the change retroactive for the 2023 tax year. But that bill was blocked in the House in February.
Won’t the SALT deduction cap expire anyway?
Yes, the SALT deduction cap is a provision that’s due to expire in 2025, as are many other parts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, such as a reduction of the individual tax brackets. But Trump has previously indicated he wants to extend the provisions in his signature tax law.
How much would it cost the U.S. to repeal the SALT deduction cap?
It won’t be cheap, according to the the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a think tank that focuses on budget and policy issues.
Eliminating the $10,000 deduction limit “would increase the cost of extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) by $1.2 trillion over a decade,” the group estimates, adding that such a measure would be a “costly mistake.”
Extending the TCJA’s tax cuts would increase the nation’s deficit by $3.9 trillion over the next decade, the group estimates. By adding in a expiration or repeal of the SALT deduction cap, that would grow to $5.1 trillion, it added.
“Lawmakers should not extend the TCJA without a plan to – at a minimum – offset the costs of extension, but ideally the plan would raise revenues relative to current law and help put the nation’s debt on a better trajectory,” the group said in a statement.
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