Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

[rgwebb]

Ironically, I think the allure of CarPlay Ultra is actually down market from an Aston Martin. So it is interesting that Apple's first example of this offering is in such a high-end vehicle. Probably a tactical decision by Apple. However, I do not suspect luxury to ultra luxury vehicles will be quick to adopt this functionality.

Frankly, I drive a new BMW and I never use CarPlay as my "default" screen. The BMW OS allows for a lot of great CarPlay integrations that make it quick to get into the apps I actually need. Otherwise, I'm enjoying the bimmer experience I decided to pay a premium for not my smartphone's. However, I have a few Hondas (one that my parents daily and other my wife drives) and they would be improved by my smartphone taking over the screen(s).

I do think it is ridiculous that Tesla and Rivian are not even supporting CarPlay. The high-end brands should be aiming for what BMW iDrive 8.x supports: CarPlay apps in the car OS main menu, Apple Map navigation in the gauge cluster screen, Hey Siri support, etc. I get why CarPlay Ultra is not exciting for the luxury brands though. The in-cabin experience is going to be a bigger part of the luxury experience as EV drive train "sameness" sorta commodifies the driving experience. Ceding that experience, at least partly, to the driver's phone is not good business.

Honda, Toyota, etc? Sure, people are bound to get a more premium experience with Apple leading the way on the screen UI. It is a value add for the general consumer brands. Not so much for the next step up.

 

[Tempor_aka]

How would a button run on your phone? Of course it runs on the car. That does not invalidate his desire for physical buttons. It is about the feedback, how fast you are not about where it is hosted. In addition, I think Germany passed a law that prohibits you from changing anything on the touchscreen while driving like seat warmers and so on.

That is just the point! The physical buttons in THE CAR can be used in conjunction, when used this will be reflected in the CarPlay interface! So for example if I want the heater at 22C and use the button of the car, I will see CarPlay Ultra interface updating accordingly …

 

[mjs916]

Can someone explain to me how Apple makes money off of this?

For the privilege of installation on a set top box/TV I’d think there would be a mutually beneficial deal in place but how does it work in the vehicle space, other than a single Apple Music subscription that was likely already being paid.

I’m sure Apple put a lot of money into R&D on this.

 

[mjs916]

I would’ve agreed with you before last year but I have since bought a car without CarPlay.

I’m not saying I don’t want it but when buying a car you have to look at the entire package. If it gets high scores in everything, but that one item it’s hard to say I’m going to buy another car with lower scores in everything else just because it has CarPlay. That’s just my perspective but I really hope car manufacturers give consumers the choice to have CarPlay

CarPlay can also be added retroactively for very little money if you’re the tinkering type.

In the past I’ve preferred my car’s stereo to look stock even if the rest of the audio is not, but for my current vehicle I’ve considered swapping the radio out for one of those CarPlay/Android dashes.

The only reason I haven’t is because so few of the kits are SiriusXM ready which happens to be the service I use the most while on-the-go. I’d lose that to gain what I can already get by simply connecting a cable and dash mounting my phone.

 

[russell_314]

CarPlay can also be added retroactively for very little money if you’re the tinkering type.

In the past I’ve preferred my car’s stereo to look stock even if the rest of the audio is not, but for my current vehicle I’ve considered swapping the radio out for one of those CarPlay/Android dashes.

There’s actually kits available for my car that put a CarPlay screen on the dash. I just haven’t messed with it because it’s working and I’m lazy 😂

The only reason I haven’t is because so few of the kits are SiriusXM ready which happens to be the service I use the most while on-the-go. I’d lose that to gain what I can already get by simply connecting a cable and dash mounting my phone.

My car doesn’t have a satellite antenna, but it picks up SiriusXM through cellular data. I’m actually enjoying the different channels. The only problem I suspect is going to be on a road trip when there’s no cellular coverage it’s not going to work like satellite. I haven’t tested that yet so we’ll see.

 

[TeamMojo]

Obviously readers here are pretty deep Apple fans. But FWIW, wireless CarPlay was a non-negotiable feature in my current vehicle. And CarPlay Ultra will be non-negotiable on my next. Oh, car MFGs, please put in a setting to permanently disable Automatic Stop/Start. It's annoying and saves very little fuel.

 

[highdefjunkie]

Just bought a 2026 Genesis GV70. Looking forward to CarPlay Ultra.

 

[ayephoner]

There’s actually kits available for my car that put a CarPlay screen on the dash. I just haven’t messed with it because it’s working and I’m lazy 😂

I have external carplay screens in my car and my wife's car. They are awesome. They make them with integrated dash cams and connected back up cameras too. I wish I had gone for those models, but wasn't sure how much I would like them, so I got relatively cheap ones. We are probably getting new vehicles soon though.

 

[_karrol]

It's not about every day. It's about when I want to go away for the weekend and not have to deal with finding chargers.

You're really getting 350 miles between charging? Do you drive downhill both ways?

Mixed use, of course in winter it is less. But even then, I did a 700 kilometer trip with two quick charging stops without bigger issues. I have the most efficient version, ie LRSM. Which one did you drive?