Lamtto RC35 review: The huge 11-inch CarPlay screen that upgrades older cars

There are still millions of perfectly good cars on the road that missed out on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto by a few years, and replacing the whole stereo just to get them can be a bit of a faff - to say the least. That’s where screens like the Lamtto RC35 come in.

This is essentially an 11-inch portable infotainment display that sits on your dashboard and brings wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to almost any car without ripping apart the dashboard or replacing the original head unit.

But the RC35 goes a fair bit further than that. Thanks to its smart operating system, it has built-in entertainment apps including YouTube, TikTok, Prime Video and Spotify, dual-band Wi-Fi, dual Bluetooth, split-screen support and even comes with a 1080p rear-view camera.

The screen itself is a 1280 x 800 IPS panel, and at 11 inches it’s considerably bigger than other portable CarPlay displays I've been testing. In fact, it's one of the biggest on the market.

It's currently discounted on the Lamtto website, down to just £144, so if your car’s infotainment system is showing its age, it's a pretty inexpensive way of dragging it into 2026.

What I liked about the Lamtto RC35

The first thing you notice is the sheer size of the screen. Eleven inches is enormous in portable-CarPlay terms, especially on this 1280 x 800 format. I've tested 11" screens before that have a wider footprint, but this aspect ratio makes maps, navigation instructions, and media controls much easier to glance.

The resolution isn’t tablet territory, but it’s sharp enough for what you’re doing in a car and the IPS panel gives you decent viewing angles.

Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto are the main event, and that’s still the feature that makes these screens worth having.

Once your phone is paired, you can leave it in your pocket and get Google Maps, Waze, Spotify, calls and messages on a proper display rather than balancing a phone in a vent mount.

The RC35 is designed to reconnect automatically when you start the car too, and it boots up and connects extremely quickly.

The other clever bit is that this isn’t simply a dumb CarPlay monitor.

Connect the RC35 to your phone’s hotspot and you can use built-in apps including YouTube, Prime Video, TikTok, Spotify, Hulu and Rumble.

Obviously, watching The Grand Tour while actually driving would be an exceptionally bad idea, but parked up at a charger, waiting to collect someone, or sitting at a campsite, having proper entertainment apps built into the screen is genuinely useful.

Audio options are generous too. You can send the sound through your car using Bluetooth, AUX or FM transmission, or use the screen’s built-in speaker. I wouldn't recommend the latter, but you shouldn't need to.

And then there’s the reversing camera. A 1080p IP67-rated rear camera is included, which can automatically bring up the rear view when you select reverse if it’s installed properly.

You can adjust the parking guidelines and change the image orientation too. For anyone fitting the RC35 to an older car, that alone could be a surprisingly useful upgrade.

What I didn't like about the Lamtto RC35

The biggest advantage of the RC35 is also potentially its biggest problem. Eleven inches is enormous.

That’s great when you’re actually using the thing, but you need a sensible amount of dashboard real estate to accommodate it without obscuring your view or blocking other controls.

In some cars it’ll look almost factory fitted. In others it’s going to look like someone has left an iPad on the dashboard.

I’d definitely have a good look at where you intend to mount it before buying one.

Then there are the cables. The basic setup isn’t too bad, particularly if you can hide the power cable around the edge of the dashboard.

Start using AUX as well, then install the rear camera, and suddenly there are considerably more wires to route around the cabin.

That rear camera is probably the most involved part of the installation. The screen itself really is plug and play, but getting a neat camera cable all the way to the back of a car is a very different afternoon.

The built-in entertainment apps also rely on an internet connection. There isn’t some magical mobile-data connection hidden inside the screen, so you’ll need to tether it to your phone or another hotspot if you want to stream video.

Finally, there’s a one-year warranty. That isn’t terrible for this sort of accessory, but with something permanently sitting in a car where temperatures can swing from freezing to absolutely roasting, I’d always welcome longer cover.

Overall verdict - should you buy the Lamtto RC35?

The Lamtto RC35 solves a very specific problem remarkably neatly. If you’ve got an older car you still like but its infotainment system feels as though it belongs in a museum, spending roughly £150 on one of these is considerably easier to swallow than replacing the entire stereo.

Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto are the main reasons to buy it, but the huge 11-inch display, entertainment apps, and included reversing camera give the RC35 quite a bit more going for it than a basic portable screen.

The size won’t suit every dashboard, and you’ll have to accept some cable management if you want the neatest possible setup.

But those compromises are relatively minor compared with the amount of technology you’re adding.

I particularly like that there’s no permanent modification required. You can fit it in minutes, take it with you when you change cars and, if you decide you hate it, you haven’t attacked your dashboard with a screwdriver.

For older cars without CarPlay or Android Auto, the RC35 is one of those relatively inexpensive gadgets that can make the whole cabin feel several years newer.