Apple’s long awaited update to CarPlay, CarPlay Ultra, has been announced with the first vehicles to officially support Apple in-vehicle system coming from Aston Martin.
Of course, James Bond’s favourite vehicle won’t be the only marque to get the CarPlay Ultra treatment with a number of other car-makes signalling their intent to add Apple’s new in-car software. Aston Martin is first out of the blocks with the software shipping in vehicles from now. But Apple says a bunch of others will be following. Those include Land Rover, Lincoln, Audi, Volvo, Honda, Nissan, Ford, Porsche, Jaguar, Acura, Polestar, Infiniti, Renault, Hyundai, Kia and Genesis.
Current Aston Martin owners with the brand’s next-generation infotainment system will get CarPlay Ultra as a software update.
The original version of CarPlay was dubbed iOS in the Car but what it really delivers is a cutback mirroring of your iPhone. While many apps have CarPlay connectivity, that doesn’t extend to all apps. And there’s limited in-vehicle integration to systems like climate control or customisable instrument clusters.
CarPlay Ultra is a completely different beast. Apple says it integrates with in-car systems to provide “information for all of the driver’s screens, including real-time content and gauges in the instrument cluster, while reflecting the automaker’s look and feel and offering drivers a customizable experience.”
Essentially, and assuming car makers enable the full suite of features that Apple is touting, this means every dynamic display on the dashboard can be customised. If you like an analog speedometer or tachometer – you can have that. Or you can flick to digital displays where you only see numbers and no dials. When you need navigation help. The driver’s instrument closer can show directions, or push them to a heads-up display.
As is Apple’s typical playbook, the USA and Canada will see CarPlay Ultra in vehicles first with the rest of the world to follow. But if you’re considering a new vehicle over the next year or two then it may be worth waiting for CarPlay Ultra to become more widely available.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.