If anyone searches on the internet for ways to download and use YouTube on a Car screen, they may find only a few ways and the most popular ways are CarTube and CarStream. Both of these apps allow you to watch YouTube videos on car display. So, here we are going to compare both of these two apps to find out the best platform that you should use for a more enhanced viewing experience.
What is CarTube?
CarTube is basically a YouTube app that is compatible with Android Auto and CarPlay devices. It is very similar to the ordinary YouTube app that we use on our phones but it is designed specifically for car screens. The UI is customized for car infotainment. It is a fully functional YouTube app with all the useful features such as the ability to search via voice, you can also log in with a Google account and subscribe to any of your favorite channels.
What is CarStream?
CarStream is a free-to-download app that allows users to watch YouTube videos on a car screen. Although it is not safe to use YouTube while driving but you can escape boredom in a parked car by watching YouTube shorts or videos of your favorite creators for a short time span, it is a great app that gives you access to YouTube in a car without any need of taking out your smartphone.
What are the differences Between CarTube and CarStream?
With the definition of both of these apps, you might only understand one thing and that is both apps are YouTube apps for car screens and it is true. But there are some major differences that you can only experience if you have used both apps. Our team has been testing this app for the past 2 years and we know everything about these apps, their pros and cons. So, here we have explained the differences in both of these apps that may help you to choose the better one.
Full-Screen Mode
The screen size and ratio of car screens are usually friendly for watching YouTube videos so if you don’t crop it to the full-screen mode, it will leave a lot of black screen on the left and right sides of the screen. The CarTube app does not have the feature to play videos on the full-screen mode while the CarStream app enables you to crop the video to fit it to the entire screen so that you can enjoy watching videos on the full-screen mode for a better viewing experience.
Ad Interruption
Ads the definitely the most annoying part of YouTube’s free version. Nowadays, we have experienced the ad frequency is increased and if the video is longer than 20 minutes, you may have to go through 2-5 ads while watching the whole video which could get frustrating sometimes. Nonetheless, If you are using the CarTube app, you can enjoy watching the whole video without any ad interruption because it comes with a built-in ad blocker system that disables all the ads and the Carstream app does not have this feature.
Smooth User Interface
CarStream is based on the web version of YouTube and it is not very smooth and quick whereas CarTube works more smothers and provides a better overall user experience. It has a more advanced UI with many additional controls and customization settings.
Voice Search
YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the entire world and if you want to search for anything on this platform then you don’t need to use the on-screen keyboard as it provides voice search functionality which means you can search your queries just by saying about your query. This feature is very useful while you’re in the car because it gets uncomfortable to use the on-screen keyboard to type anything as it takes a lot of time, so you simply need to tap on the voice search icon and say what’re looking for and that’s it, the app will show you level search results on YouTube voice search feature is available in both of these apps.
Compatibility
Car infotainment systems usually have two operating systems that are Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. If you have Apple CarPlay then you can’t use the CarStream app because it only works on Android Auto devices, so you have to use the CarTube app that works flawlessly on both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
No Jailbreak Needed
In order to install CarTube, you don’t necessarily need to jailbreak your device. All you need to do is to install the TrollStore app and then use it to sideload the CarTube IPA file on your iPhone without jailbreaking your device. Whereas, if you want to use the CarStream app then you have to jailbreak your iOS device and then change it to Android OS and only then you will be able to run the CarTream app which is quite a complicated process and jailbreaking process will also destroy your device security system and service support.
Conclusion
CarStream and CarTube both are great apps that allow you to enjoy watching YouTube on your car screen. Both of these apps have their own advantage and consequences. Your choice of these apps are depends on your preferences and requirements. If you highly prefer an ad-free experience then you should go with the CarTube app but if you want to watch videos on full-screen mode then this feature in absent in the CarTube and you have to use the CarStream so if you have read the whole comparison till the end, you most likely have made your decision. Let us know in the comments which one you going to use for watching YouTube on the car display.