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Here's Which Vehicle Brands Will and Won't Offer Apple's CarPlay Ultra

macduke said:
Kia and Porsche are two of my favorite car brands, so I’m excited for this. Except I’ll probably never be able to justify buying a new 911, so I’ll have to wait until these are well used. And don’t laugh, the Telluride is an excellent upscale family hauler. Kia makes pretty good cars nowadays, compared to the crap they made 15-30 years ago.
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Kia cars are some of the most reliable on the road. Btw, don't short yourself, I see you in your new paint-to-sample-plus 911 one day with a big smile on your face, noting, it's not about the destination but the journey. What you visualise you will realise.
 
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Patchwork said:
I think Nissan will probably end in the no colum (assuming they survive their current financial problems) as they do a lot of platform sharing with Renault, who are very much in th Android Automotive camp. It isn’t possible to say what direction Jaguar will take as they don’t currently make any cars and Land Rover currently use an in house system. In the case of Porsche they’ve also said they’ll use Android Automotive as well as Apple CarPlay Ultra, so they should probably be in the maybe column.

It’s is also worth mentioning that BlackBerry launched QNX Cabin earlier this year as a customisable user interface which included things like speech recognition, digital instuments and infotainment systems. For those who don’t know most manufacturers already use QNX for real time systems, such as anti lock brakes and ADAS systems. This means manufacturers already have experience in programming in QNX so there’s less of a skills gap compared to bolting on Apple CarPlay Ultra or Android Automotive (though obviously a fair amount of work to tailor your own system, so only likely to appeal to the big manufacturers).
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I believe Porsche are not in the "maybe" column. I've seen a Porsche designer executive in a mainstream vehicle YouTube interview state that they prefer the Apple CarPlay Ultra system over Porsche's in-house software, so they'll be using Apple's software (unless I'm confusing it with an Aston Martin exec). Offering users the option to choose whether the software starts in the car maker system, CarPlay Ultra, or Android Auto is perhaps the best approach. This way, customers have a choice. I hope, however, that the user choice is from-then-on recalled on vehicle startup.

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MacRumors said:


Apple last month announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles.

CarPlay-Ultra-Climate-Controls.jpg

There was news this week about which automakers will and won't offer CarPlay Ultra, and we have provided an updated list below.

CarPlay Ultra is currently limited to newer Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Fortunately, if you cannot afford a $250,000 luxury vehicle, the software system will eventually be available in more affordable vehicles.

Apple-CarPlay-Ultra-cluster-Maps.jpg

Apple said "many" other automakers around the world plan to offer CarPlay Ultra over the next year and beyond, including Korean brands Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.

Earlier this week, Porsche also reaffirmed its commitment to CarPlay Ultra.

Apple first previewed the next generation ‌of CarPlay‌ all the way back at WWDC 2022, and at the time it shared a long list of automakers that were committed to offering the software system. The list is more than three years old, and it is not entirely accurate anymore.

The list was as follows:
  • Acura
  • Audi
  • Ford
  • Honda
  • Infiniti
  • Jaguar
  • Land Rover
  • Lincoln
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • Nissan
  • Polestar
  • Porsche
  • Renault
  • Volvo
According to a report this week from the Financial Times, there are at least five automakers on that list that have since confirmed that they have no plans to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Polestar, Renault, and Volvo.

All in all, here is where things stand currently.

Currently Offers CarPlay Ultra
  • Aston Martin
Will Offer CarPlay Ultra
  • Hyundai
  • Kia
  • Genesis
  • Porsche
Won't Offer CarPlay Ultra
  • Audi
  • BMW
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • Polestar
  • Renault
  • Volvo
General Motors controversially ditched the regular version of CarPlay in its new electric vehicles, so it is likely to pass on CarPlay Ultra too. That means vehicles from brands like Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC are unlikely to offer CarPlay Ultra.

Maybe
  • Honda
  • Acura
  • Ford
  • Lincoln
  • Nissan
  • Infiniti
  • Jaguar
  • Land Rover
Unknown
  • Toyota
  • Lexus
  • Chrysler
  • Dodge
  • Jeep
  • RAM
  • Volkswagen

Article Link: Here's Which Vehicle Brands Will and Won't Offer Apple's CarPlay Ultra
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What about the EV OEMs? Lucid already supports CarPlay. Any word on them? I know Tesla and Rivian are out.
 
Mac Fly (film) said:
I believe Porsche are not in the "maybe" column. I've seen a Porsche designer executive in a mainstream vehicle YouTube interview state that they prefer the Apple CarPlay Ultra system over Porsche's in-house software, so they'll be using Apple's software (unless I'm confusing it with an Aston Martin exec).
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I don’t recall any Porsche executive ever saying this.
 
I have many Apple devices (iPad, Mac, Watch, iPhone etc...) and love them all but My Nissan Rogue has the Google Built-In interface which is essentially an Android tablet on the dash connected to my Google Account. It has everything I need (Nav, Com, Text, voice control, calendar, contacts, smart home control etc... all synced to my Apple based data) without CarPlay engaged at all.

Except for just one single thing... the Android Apple Music app is walled off and can't be installed to the device. It's an artificial block likely because of an Apple or Google policy. Let me load that app on the car and I have every function CarPlay could offer.
 
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nathan_reilly said:
it is kinda crazy that the GM trucks don’t have carplay. We use them for our fleet.
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As far as I’m aware, all GM trucks have supported CarPlay since 2019 with a few trim levels before that. The Silverado EV does not support it though as GM doesn’t support CarPlay on any EV’s anymore.
 
turbineseaplane said:
So why is Apple doing it?

You know, the same Apple fighting tooth and nail to make sure not a bit of traffic flows across iPhones without them getting a cut.

Apple is famously not known for pursuing altruistic "win wins" with no expectation of remuneration.
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Ecosystem. Having continuity in software in really useful and that’s been proven with regular CarPlay.
 
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danr_97070 said:
I think it remains to be seen for the car companies making this available whether they begin to see this as a competitive advantage. IMHO, I think it would make sense for car manufacturers to implement their own solution while also making this a user-selectable option realizing that that does complicate development/deployment. In the two different cars I've had where there's been a "native" (i.e., developed by the auto company) vs. Car Play implementation, the "native" version has been awful.
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this boils down to if the OEM is capable of making a good infotainment system, sadly no one is capable of matching applecar play or android auto. only tesla's experience is on par with it.
 
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FelixDerKater said:
Tesla taught us CarPlay wasn't necessary, but most head units aren't of that quality.
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As a Tesla owner and HUGE CarPlay fan also, the difference here is mainly for rental cars. I won’t rent a GM car anymore because it doesn’t have CarPlay. It took quite a while to get my Tesla to the point that it matched the usability of our CarPlay experience and I don’t have that time (or interest) in a rental car. (Of note, I agree with you on the Tesla interface being good but I still added another display to my Model 3 that integrates CarPlay into my Tesla experience right in front of the driver.)
 
FelixDerKater said:
Tesla taught us CarPlay wasn't necessary, but most head units aren't of that quality.
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As an 8 year owner of a Model S, hard disagree. I don't use the Tesla infotainment system at all, I use my iPhone in a holder - i'd much rather car play on the big screen.
 
gank41 said:
Wouldn't the difference between CarPlay Ultra and Android Automotive OS be that Google will collect your driving data and then sell it, in partnership with the Car Manufacturer, for ad revenue/profit while Apple would not? Seems like you can see who's being more transparent in who's choosing to add it to their cars. And thus, see who's offering CarPlay Ultra and who's not...
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Android Automotive OS is a full blown infotainment OS that runs independent of a phone being connected. AAOS can be provided with or without Google’s services like Maps and Assistant built in. For versions without Google services (Audi, BMW, etc.) there is minimal data sent back to Google but the car manufacturer still collects data.

CarPlay Ultra, while having a deeper integration with the car than plain old CarPlay, still has to sit on top of the car’s infotainment OS, because it cannot function independently of an iPhone. A car can never be equipped with only CarPlay Ultra and no other OS because a car has to be able to function without a phone being paired. Since CarPlay has to sit on top of an existing infotainment OS your data can still be collected and shared at the car level depending on the carmaker’s privacy terms.

It’s also worth noting that even non Android-based car infotainment systems like QNX can still collect data and send it back to the car manufacturer.
 
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dannys1 said:
As an 8 year owner of a Model S, hard disagree. I don't use the Tesla infotainment system at all, I use my iPhone in a holder - i'd much rather car play on the big screen.
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When going on a long trip I double check the Tesla route with Apple Maps or Waze. But other than that don’t really miss CarPlay.

If one really misses it there are all sorts of workarounds to get CarPlay in your car.
 
gank41 said:
Wouldn't the difference between CarPlay Ultra and Android Automotive OS be that Google will collect your driving data and then sell it, in partnership with the Car Manufacturer, for ad revenue/profit while Apple would not? Seems like you can see who's being more transparent in who's choosing to add it to their cars. And thus, see who's offering CarPlay Ultra and who's not...
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Android Automotive is, for lack of a better way to describe this, the AOSP version. They can take it and fork it to their hearts content. See: Rivian. Rivian’s system, again for lack of a better way, is like Amazon’s Fire. It’s way better than that, but work with me here - You wouldn’t know it was Google/Android. There’s then Google Automotive Services (GAS) that’s like Google Play Services for their phones. Chevy uses this, they’re essentially the equivalent to an Android (tm) phone as opposed to the “Android” AOSP device (only Android in spirit). Hopefully that paints the picture better… but without GAS, you aren’t giving anything to Google.
 
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This is very disappointing. What people need to realise is that CarPlay Ultra is optional, so you can still use the car maker's system if you want. The problem here is that manufacturers are not giving us this option.

I have a BMW and people say its iDrive is one of the best manufacturer's solutions. If BMW is one of the best, I dread to think what other car systems are like. It is not user-friendly and ugly. I always use CarPlay. I find it surprising that BMW are not on board with CarPlay Ultra as it was one of the first to offer CarPlay and car keys.

I see quite a bit of backlash from people for manufacturers not offering CarPlay Ultra. If there is voices are loud enough, maybe the car makers will change their minds. I am not in the market for another 5 years for a car, but if at that time BMW doesn't offer CarPlay Ultra, my next car will be from a maker that does offer it
 
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Skyscraperfan said:
If you buy a European car, you might not want any American software in it. CarPlay should never be preinstalled. There should be an option to install it via a USB stick for those who want it, but people should have the option to by a clean car, where CarPlay is not just deactivated, but not existent.
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CarPlay and CarPlay Ultra are not preinstalled. The user has to authorise using their iPhone before CarPlay or CarPlay Ultra to work.
 
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211 said:
CarPlay and CarPlay Ultra are not preinstalled. The user has to authorise using their iPhone before CarPlay or CarPlay Ultra to work.
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Exactly. And the car manufacturers have to enable screen casting for this to work. In GM’s case, even though their EV Trailblazer (among others) has the new Android Auto system in place, GM is choosing to not add the screen casting option on the Android system, so no CarPlay, CarPlay Ultra, or Android. You’ve gotta use their system.
 
I7guy said:
When going on a long trip I double check the Tesla route with Apple Maps or Waze. But other than that don’t really miss CarPlay.

If one really misses it there are all sorts of workarounds to get CarPlay in your car.
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My work around is to just use my iPhone!
 
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