CarPlay Ultra, the next generation of CarPlay, begins rolling out today

[borski]

While I understand what you are saying, it seems like that is looking at it purely from the automakers perspective.

Yes, because if they don’t embrace it, the desire of the consumer doesn’t matter. There has to be incentive for the manufacturer, and people don’t make decisions on whether to buy a car based on whether it has CarPlay or AA.

Some do, but the vast majority do not make that their deciding factor.

As a consumer, I very much prefer using Carplay. Everyone I know with an iPhone now uses Carplay in their cars. It makes the infotainment and navigation aspect of cars so much better.

A lot of people agree with you. A lot of people also don’t.

I will only buy a car with Carplay Ultra for my next automobile now that this officially coming. I really thought Lucid would get it since they hired that Apple guy. Hope they do at some point. Surprised BMW is not getting this as they were at the forefront of Carplay at one point.

I hear Aston has cars for sale

I had a friend who said this about the original CarPlay. He ended up in a Civic, because it was the first one that had it.

He still likes CarPlay, but he doesn’t love his civic.

The vast, vast majority of people do not make their decisions based on this. Hang out at any dealership for a few hours and listen to the questions people ask.

I'm eagerly awaiting the start of a three-year-long "Carplay Ultra Thursday" thread. Good luck, guys.

I hate that thread.

I think people really overestimate how critical CarPlay and AA are to a cars sales.

Look, this isn’t hard to reverse engineer.

If AA and CarPlay were critical to selling vehicles, every manufacturer would have it. Manufacturers survive by selling cars.

That so many manufacturers don’t have it and refuse to at all, and are doing fine, and that so many manufacturers have one or the other and are still doing fine, and those that do have it aren’t suddenly the only cars people are buying, and it’s been well over a decade since CarPlay and AA have existed… all indicators that it may be a killer feature for some folks but it is not a feature that is required to sell lots of cars.

I don’t know why that seems hard for people to grasp; I wish I had stats, but I’m on my cell phone.

Companies don’t make decisions in a vacuum. If CarPlay and AA really sold more cars in any significant numbers, everyone would build it in immediately. It would be absurd not to, and the board of the company would be extremely pissed if they didn’t.

But if it sells 0.5% or 1% more cars? It may simply not be worth the cost or development time; it’s an ongoing cost, both from licensing and ongoing maintenance/improvements, and keeping up with Apple/Google. I don’t know what the percentage is, but it’s clearly not critical.

More complexity, more cost, less control… what’s in it for the manufacturer if it isn’t selling significantly more cars?

That’s why I agree you’ll see Hyundai/Kia, Aston, VW, Ford, and maybe a few other folks who a) are bad at software, and b) don’t particularly want to be good at it, embrace it. It isn’t their forte or something they care about; I don’t think that’s a hard argument to make. That’s not even a drawback; a lot of times there is too much software, imho.

But Lucid, for example, cares very very much, even if they are still learning how to build a successful software process; that’s what we call growing pains. That they care about and actually feel it is a required piece of the vehicle to keep in-house is a good indicator, imho.

Just my $.02

 

[Bobby]

Yeah, someone can correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think CarPlay works with any vehicles HUD as of today.

Works in my BMW, showing lanes and next turn.

 

[AirDoll]

Yeah, someone can correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think CarPlay works with any vehicles HUD as of today.

It does in our F-150 (2025)

 

[Cossa]

It does in our F-150 (2025)

And in our EV9.

 

[HaltheAerialist]

I can't form an opinion on CarPlay Ultra yet because I haven't seen it and haven't even read any reviews about it. But I will say that lack of CarPlay in a vehicle is pretty much a deal breaker for me. It was an essential feature that I wanted when I chose my current vehicle 7 years ago. I ruled out GM vehicles now because the company abandoned CarPlay. (I discovered that in order to use their "Google Built-in," you need an OnStar subscription, which costs about $50 per month. I can see why they are able to offer deep "discounts" on their vehicles . . .) I like Rivian as a company, but I would be very reluctant to buy one of their vehicles because they too don't support CarPlay.

What bothers me most about companies that rely on their own interface and apps to connect my iPhone is that they often charge a monthly fee just to access something that I'm already paying for. Want to use a streaming music service on a Rivian? You have to pay to use their app in addition to paying for the streaming music service. The only other option is connecting a phone with Bluetooth, which has mediocre sound quality and leaves you fiddling with the phone and staring at its screen while driving. I find that unacceptable.

I have no idea how much CarPlay or lack thereof affects vehicle sales. There probably is no way to know. You can't just compare sales of different brands because all else is not equal--there are big differences among vehicles that are unrelated to the phone interface. Surveys of prospective buyers may or may not reflect actual buying behavior. Someone has probably tried surveys, though I haven't looked for any.

I understand the arguments for and against CarPlay Ultra. I don't see either option as inherently better. There is a case to be made for designing the software interface in-house and maintaining ultimate control over the look and feel. There is a case to be made for outsourcing the interface design and implementation and maintaining consistency across models. Apple is great at user interfaces, and it sounds as though CarPlay Ultra allows a car manufacturer to make a lot of customization to the look and function of the interface. Car companies are not always great at user interfaces or software. There are some intriguing possibilities here, and I'm not going to judge the concept or the results until I see the outcomes.

 

[borski]

And in our EV9.

To be clear, CarPlay puts things in your HUD? Because our Ioniq 5 definitely doesn't, and they have the same HUD, I thought.

 

[johnse]

Apple is great at user interfaces

We will disagree on that one. Some people like Apple products. Some don't.

I do admit to some bias against them after they sued developers who were porting their own applications to the PC, claiming that Apple owned their user interfaces because they had used menus!

And this from a company who stole the whole mouse-based graphical Lisa/Macintosh UX from Xerox PARC.

 

[borski]

And this from a company who stole the whole mouse-based graphical Lisa/Macintosh UX from Xerox PARC.

Way to hold a grudge

 

[Leftlane]

I have a sample size of one, but my wife has CarPlay as one of the very top priorities in a new car. It’s why she won’t drive a Tesla or a Rivian and won’t consider any new cars without it. I don’t really care either way and think that the Tesla system is great, but there is a reason why there is a huge aftermarket to help people get CarPlay in cars that don’t support it. Most people have a more intimate relationship with their phone than they do with their spouse.

 

[Batteryman]

I will only buy a car with Carplay Ultra for my next automobile now that this officially coming. I really thought Lucid would get it since they hired that Apple guy. Hope they do at some point. Surprised BMW is not getting this as they were at the forefront of Carplay at one point.

Why would you want an iPhone in your car dash…it’s like living 100% in an apple ecosystem. Gets boring and not exciting. Being able to get away from google or apple is very satisfying. I would just looking at apple every where I look. Need a breather. Ok as CarPlay, but CarPlay ultra is too much for me.

 

[TonyLieske]

Why would you want an iPhone in your car dash…it’s like living 100% in an apple ecosystem. Gets boring and not exciting. Being able to get away from google or apple is very satisfying. I would just looking at apple every where I look. Need a breather. Ok as CarPlay, but CarPlay ultra is too much for me.

This seems like such a basic thing.

Most people use their phones as entertainment multimedia hubs. Its not just "a phone" and hasn't been for ~20 years.

The nice thing about Carplay (and presumably Android Auto, though I've never used it) is that you don't have to go from one device to another when getting into your car. If I am listening to music or a podcast and I get in my car, the music or podcast just continue right on going. I can also now use the cars screen to control that app/UI. I don't have to stop using my phone and start using the car...its seamless.

The one downside, as noted a few times here by people that don't like Carplay, is that if you want to use car specific functions you normally have to leave the Carplay menu and go into the cars menu. I actually have to give Lucid some credit here. One of the nice things about having Carplay on the upper dashboard and not the lower one is that I can keep my carplay apps up on the top screen and still adjust any car settings in the lower screen.

Carplay Ultra is trying to improve this experience, but of course it would require the full buy-in from the car maker. With Carplay Ultra the entire car UI is done through car play. There is no separation between the car's UI and carplay...they become a single UI. This can certainly be an improvement.

From the video's I've watched it seems as if Apple is giving the automakers a suite of tools to customize how CarPlay will look in the car. Users will/may even have be able to change the look and feel of the UI based on how much flexibility the Automaker wants to hand over. In other words, the look of the gauges can be different. It can be a single design the automaker designs/chooses, or the automaker can make multiple designs and let the user choose the look and feel of their gauges.

I'd certainly be interested in using Carplay Ultra, but for me as long as a car has Carplay that will probably be enough for me. Most of my interactions with the cars UI is its infotainment, and that is like 95%+ done through carplay for me as-is.

As an aside, this has been mentioned before but it bears repeating...when carmakers don't allow you to use Carplay they almost always lock their own apps behind a monthly subscription. What i have seen with GM is that they offer the first few years for free, but beyond that the owner will have to pay a monthly (or annual) fee to utilize the built in infotainment and connectivity. For people who already have a phone (Apple or Android) this means you have to, more or less, buy two subscriptions to use the apps you already have on your phone. This is purely about creating a revenue stream for automakers beyond selling the car. I get why THEY would want to do this, but I cannot see how this is a win for any consumer.

 

[Bdr100]

I think most of the posters that say that they, their wife, their son, must have this new improved version of CarPlay, are confused by the differences. Most people who love CarPlay, love it because it continues their comfort of accessing their music, navigation, texts, phone calls, which are all things that iPhone has traditionally done. Ultra is not going to make those experiences any better but rather it would now add control of your HVAC, windshield wipers, speedometer and driving dynamics, mode changes, etc. Regular CarPlay pulls all of its music, nav, phone, etc. info directly from the phone and just uses your car screen to display it.

Personally I would rather leave those car specific functions to the car maker. I can see a limited appeal for Ultra to those Apple fanboys that want their entire care display to look like one big iPhone.

 

[Leftlane]

I think most of the posters that say that they, their wife, their son, must have this new improved version of CarPlay, are confused by the differences. Most people who love CarPlay, love it because it continues their comfort of accessing their music, navigation, texts, phone calls, which are all things that iPhone has traditionally done. Ultra is not going to make those experiences any better but rather it would now add control of your HVAC, windshield wipers, speedometer and driving dynamics, mode changes, etc. Regular CarPlay pulls all of its music, nav, phone, etc. info directly from the phone and just uses your car screen to display it.

Personally I would rather leave those car specific functions to the car maker. I can see a limited appeal for Ultra to those Apple fanboys that want their entire care display to look like one big iPhone.

I agree with this. CarPlay as it is right now makes sense - if the only option is to control everything in the car through CarPlay, that will turn people off. My wife hates that all the controls in my Tesla are through the screen somewhere - she wants regular old buttons for basic features like wipers and AC. She likes CarPlay for infotainment, messages, Waze, podcasts….not the actual car stuff.

 

[TonyLieske]

I think most of the posters that say that they, their wife, their son, must have this new improved version of CarPlay, are confused by the differences. Most people who love CarPlay, love it because it continues their comfort of accessing their music, navigation, texts, phone calls, which are all things that iPhone has traditionally done. Ultra is not going to make those experiences any better but rather it would now add control of your HVAC, windshield wipers, speedometer and driving dynamics, mode changes, etc. Regular CarPlay pulls all of its music, nav, phone, etc. info directly from the phone and just uses your car screen to display it.

Personally I would rather leave those car specific functions to the car maker. I can see a limited appeal for Ultra to those Apple fanboys that want their entire care display to look like one big iPhone.

After watching/reading more specifics about CarPlay Ultra I think you are correct. Normal Carplay will satisfy the vast majority of what most users are looking to get for in-car infotainment.

Carplay Ultra looks interesting, but I can't see if being an "absolute must have" for people.

 

[HaltheAerialist]

This seems like such a basic thing.

Most people use their phones as entertainment multimedia hubs. Its not just "a phone" and hasn't been for ~20 years.

The nice thing about Carplay (and presumably Android Auto, though I've never used it) is that you don't have to go from one device to another when getting into your car. If I am listening to music or a podcast and I get in my car, the music or podcast just continue right on going. I can also now use the cars screen to control that app/UI. I don't have to stop using my phone and start using the car...its seamless.

The one downside, as noted a few times here by people that don't like Carplay, is that if you want to use car specific functions you normally have to leave the Carplay menu and go into the cars menu. I actually have to give Lucid some credit here. One of the nice things about having Carplay on the upper dashboard and not the lower one is that I can keep my carplay apps up on the top screen and still adjust any car settings in the lower screen.

Carplay Ultra is trying to improve this experience, but of course it would require the full buy-in from the car maker. With Carplay Ultra the entire car UI is done through car play. There is no separation between the car's UI and carplay...they become a single UI. This can certainly be an improvement.

From the video's I've watched it seems as if Apple is giving the automakers a suite of tools to customize how CarPlay will look in the car. Users will/may even have be able to change the look and feel of the UI based on how much flexibility the Automaker wants to hand over. In other words, the look of the gauges can be different. It can be a single design the automaker designs/chooses, or the automaker can make multiple designs and let the user choose the look and feel of their gauges.

I'd certainly be interested in using Carplay Ultra, but for me as long as a car has Carplay that will probably be enough for me. Most of my interactions with the cars UI is its infotainment, and that is like 95%+ done through carplay for me as-is.

As an aside, this has been mentioned before but it bears repeating...when carmakers don't allow you to use Carplay they almost always lock their own apps behind a monthly subscription. What i have seen with GM is that they offer the first few years for free, but beyond that the owner will have to pay a monthly (or annual) fee to utilize the built in infotainment and connectivity. For people who already have a phone (Apple or Android) this means you have to, more or less, buy two subscriptions to use the apps you already have on your phone. This is purely about creating a revenue stream for automakers beyond selling the car. I get why THEY would want to do this, but I cannot see how this is a win for any consumer.

Thank you for describing these issues so well. Yes, a big benefit of CarPlay Ultra is is having a unified, consistent interface in the vehicle rather than having to switch between two very different systems to access different functions (a car interface and a phone interface).

And you have reinforced my comment about car makers charging subscriptions for services that you already have--it's nothing but a cash grab in my view. I looked into a Chevrolet Blazer EV last year. It did not even come with a trial subscription. To use their apps--even the "built-in" Google maps--you had to buy a monthly or annual subscription from day 1. Without a subscription, you don't get any route planning in the car.

 

[HaltheAerialist]

I agree with this. CarPlay as it is right now makes sense - if the only option is to control everything in the car through CarPlay, that will turn people off. My wife hates that all the controls in my Tesla are through the screen somewhere - she wants regular old buttons for basic features like wipers and AC. She likes CarPlay for infotainment, messages, Waze, podcasts….not the actual car stuff.

Who ever said that CarPlay Ultra would force a car maker to abandon physical controls? I see no reason why they can't still have physical buttons and switches for HVAC, seats, mirrors, and anything else that they want.

 

[L-Dude]

I'd like to see it in my car (whatever make). CarPlay makes driving easier and safer for me, and let's me stay in touch with what's going on in my life while I'm behind the wheel.

 

[uieo563]

and it's what can give you a leading edge over your competitors which is why they've pulled the plug on CarPlay and AA. Automakers would be stupid to just give this data to Apple and Google for free especially knowing Apple for example was at one point developing a car.

You're making a pretty huge assumption that any auto MFG can match what Apple and Google bring to the table. Everyone talks about Tesla being the gold standard of software in a car, and I can tell you from first-hand experience I find that to be a joke. The interface looks like early 2000s linux and behaves like it too. Both AA and Carplay run circles around it. Heck, you can't even like a song on Youtube music with Tesla - which it took them almost 5 years to even add support for.

If you're relying on your infotainment to be the differentiator for your car, you're going to find yourself on the losing end of the battle sooner or later. I can tell you I wouldn't have even considered the Lucid if it hadn't supported Carplay, and it was on the list of reasons I ditched Tesla. I had a third-party adapter that put Carplay in the browser but it was annoying to have to turn on every time I got into the car.

 

[illopp00]

I think most of the posters that say that they, their wife, their son, must have this new improved version of CarPlay, are confused by the differences. Most people who love CarPlay, love it because it continues their comfort of accessing their music, navigation, texts, phone calls, which are all things that iPhone has traditionally done. Ultra is not going to make those experiences any better but rather it would now add control of your HVAC, windshield wipers, speedometer and driving dynamics, mode changes, etc. Regular CarPlay pulls all of its music, nav, phone, etc. info directly from the phone and just uses your car screen to display it.

Personally I would rather leave those car specific functions to the car maker. I can see a limited appeal for Ultra to those Apple fanboys that want their entire care display to look like one big iPhone.

I too would prefer separation, OEM for all car function controls, and Carplay for Infotainment. The hairy part is the Navigation, which covers both. For an ADAS/autonomy or Charging Route Planning the car needs to have all that. For going to find your next meal I still would just use my phone, especially since Yelp and other stuff isn't necessarily any better in the in-built screen. Apple having control of HVAC and drive modes or god forbid autonomous driving seems very iffy.

 

[uieo563]

I too would prefer separation, OEM for all car function controls, and Carplay for Infotainment. The hairy part is the Navigation, which covers both. For an ADAS/autonomy or Charging Route Planning the car needs to have all that. For going to find your next meal I still would just use my phone, especially since Yelp and other stuff isn't necessarily any better in the in-built screen. Apple having control of HVAC and drive modes or god forbid autonomous driving seems very iffy.

Navigation shouldn't be an issue? The car can exchange the info with Carplay and AA. Ford does it already - you can even automatically precondition the battery with AA, Carplay may support it in the future.