Here is our Android Headunit ROM F.A.Q
ROM is where the apps are stored in the Android Headunit
Typically ROM is less important for an android headunit because you have less apps and very few photos compared to your phone. Modern android headunits come with at least 64Gb that you will only use less than half of.
No. The amount of ROM is fixed and can not be added to. You could always try removing some apps to make best use of the ROM you have available.
Yes, your android headunit needs free ROM to install and update the apps that are stored on the ROM. Not enough free space in the ROM can cause problems with apps. Remove some apps to free the ROM space.
What is ROM?
ROM is a word that is always mentioned with the android headunit specifications.
ROM must be very important to print is so clearly on the sales posts, right?
Can I get more ROM if I need to?
How much ROM does an android headunit use?
Do I even need the ROM?
ROM
ROM is an acronym for Read Only Memory. That description doesn’t tell you what it is used for or how it affects the android headunit.
Android Headunit Tip
The modern use of the acronym ROM bears little resemblance to how the name was made. Read Only Memory (ROM) would hold the operating system or any information that wouldn’t be updated in the lift of the device. Nowadays apps, maps and games are constantly updated and modified so the memory used is never true ROM. The actual memory is a flash based, write many times memory, but the name has stuck.
ROM is place where your apps are stored before you run them. When you run an app, part of it is copied out of ROM and into the much quicker RAM for processing.
Slow
ROM is much slower to access than RAM, but it does have one redeeming feature. When the power goes off, the memory stays stored. This is an ideal memory to keep apps on. You wouldn’t want to have to download all your apps each time the power is disconnected form the android headunit.
Uses for ROM
The cousin of the android headunit is the android phone. These phones are equipped with cameras that take high resolution images that need ever increasing storage. While the phone also stores apps in the ROM the android headunit won’t be storing gigabytes of photographs in the ROM. You also have alternative storage options for an android headunit that just wouldn’t be practical with a phone. See ‘How to get music onto your android headunit‘ for MP3 storage options. USB sticks and phones don’t mix well.
Android Headunit Tip
Why are android images for the headunits sometimes called ROMS or ROM images?<br /> Because they will be installed and stored on the ROM area of the headunits
ROM doubles
ROM storage typically doubles as the RAM increases, 16Gb doubled to 32Gb and 32Gb then doubled to 64Gb in the next generation of android headunit. ROM is much cheaper to produce than RAM, so adding huge quantities of ROM compare to the RAM doesn’t cost much more to manufacturer.
ROM needs
ROM quantity doesn’t affect the speed of your android headunit. Having more ROM won’t make it any quicker and conversely, having less ROM doesn’t slow anything down. You don’t need ROM like you need RAM in an android headunit.
More ROM?
How much ROM do you need? Without the camera feature, there will be no photos to store on an android headunit. Also the USB option for expanding the storage means that having less ROM than the latest models of android headunit won’t have an big impact on the storage capacity. Limiting your ROM usage to apps, a 16Gb ROM model will suffice.
16Gb
Unfortunately, the 16Gb ROM models of android headunit also have a substandard and unacceptable 1Gb RAM and a pathetic four core processor. So while the theory is good, it isn’t practical to get an android headunit with only 16Gb ROM. This is because the doubling of ROM with RAM means you will have a very limited RAM when you find one with a small ROM.
ROM worries
Don’t worry about the ROM, focus on the RAM and processor when looking at the specifications for an android headunit. Ignore the big letters, shouting how much ROM there is fitted. ROM is of a very low importance. Don’t think that 256Gb ROM is in any way better than the 128Gb model. Unless you have a particular specialist use for that extra ROM, it is very unlikely to ever be used.
