Android Auto/Android Head Unit Settings

[Condi]

I've recently had an Android Head unit with it's own SIM card put in my car, running Android 13. When it was installed it was set up to use Android Auto to link to the phone, and when it booted it connected to the phone automatically, start A/A, and started playing music. All good. However the whole point of getting a head unit with it's own SIM rather than just an MMI box was that the head unit itself could run navigation and music itself rather than draining my battery. The phone is still connected for calls to the original bluetooth system.

So, now I've installed Waze, BBC sounds etc, into the head unit, is there any way of setting the unit up to run A/A when it boots, and start playing music/opening maps without connecting to the phone. I can load maps and music individually, but they load to full screen instead of split screen. It's not difficult to switch between apps, but also is less ideal than having a split screen as per A/A. It feels like it should just be a case of installing a new app from the App store, but no doubt is more complicated than that.

[supacool1]

A/A and carplay runs off the phone/tablet...they have to connect to the phone to mirror. You can't run A/A or CP without a phone, unless you get some third party app which will lead you down many a rabbit hole.