Apple CarPlay ultra arrives on Aston Martin first

Hitting the streets at least five months late, Apple's next-generation CarPlay experience that it is calling "CarPlay Ultra" will start arriving in Aston Martin cars in the next few weeks.

Apple first gave a sneak-peek at the next-generation CarPlay experience in 2022. At the time, it said that it would land on vehicles by the end of 2024.

What Apple showed was nothing less than the complete takeover of a car's entire dashboard by CarPlay. Instead of being confined to a square-ish screen that shows a few apps, CarPlay Ultra runs everything.

And, it's finally coming, after missing the date by five months. Apple made it clear that the feature is imminent in a press release on Thursday morning.

"iPhone users love CarPlay, and it has transformed how people connect with their vehicles. With CarPlay Ultra, together with automakers, we are reimagining the in-car experience, making it even more unified and consistent," said Apple's vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing Bob Borchers. "This next generation of CarPlay gives drivers a smarter, safer way to use their iPhone in the car, while deeply integrating with the car's systems and showcasing the unique look and feel of each automaker. We are excited to kick off the rollout of CarPlay Ultra with Aston Martin — and this is just the beginning, with more automakers on the way."

Apple says that CarPlay Ultra provides content for every screen, including the speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, and temperature gauge. Drivers can choose to show information from their iPhone, like maps and media, along with information that comes from the car.

Car dashboard display showing speed at 60 mph, fuel range 200 miles, driving mode 'Sport,' temperature 195F, and digital road view with adjacent vehicles.

Another dashboard theme in CarPlay ultra - Image credit Apple

Drivers can also use onscreen controls, physical buttons, or Siri to manage both standard vehicle functions. As rumored, CarPlay Ultra also introduces widgets powered by iPhone that perfectly fit the car's screen or gauge cluster to provide information at a glance.

At the debut, Apple showed a slide featuring 14 car manufacturers, from Audi to Volvo, and none of them have released a car featuring the new CarPlay. Instead, Aston Martin, who just committed to a 2024 launch, is the first to get the update.

Beyond the teaser that it used, Apple filed drawings in 2024 with the European Union Intellectual Property Office illustrating the concept. These are only illustrations, but they at least point to Apple's aims — and one of them has an Audi logo.

Two illustrations of CarPlay in Audi cars

Apple says that other automakers are working to bring CarPlay Ultra to drivers, including newly committed brands Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.

Beginning in the U.S. and Canada, CarPlay Ultra will be available for Aston Martin's core model lineup, and will expand to include vehicles globally in the next 12 months.

The experience is available in new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada starting today, and will be available for existing Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada featuring the brand's next-generation infotainment system in the coming weeks through a software update available at local dealers.

CarPlay Ultra works with iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later.

29 Comments

AppleZulu 9 Years · 2464 comments

About 4 weeks ago

Is there any indication that this might eventually be enabled on existing vehicles? Mine already displays album covers in the middle of the tachometer, and the dials behind the wheel are already digital. Also the heat and air controls have knobs, but I’m pretty sure they’re fly-by-wire and not mechanical. So that makes me wonder if there are cars on the road already that will be compatible with “CarPlay Ultra.”

entropys 14 Years · 4451 comments

No doubt it can be put into some late models with digital clusters. But why would a manufacturer update a say, 2021 car when they can encourage you to buy a new one?

3 Likes · 1 Dislike

mpantone 19 Years · 2448 comments

AppleZulu said:

Is there any indication that this might eventually be enabled on existing vehicles?

This is addressed in the last paragraph of the article:

"...
and will be available for existing Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada featuring the brand's next-generation infotainment system in the coming weeks through a software update available at local dealers."

It is safe to assume that it will be up to each manufacturer to decide whether or not to do the extra programming work to bring the CarPlay Ultra to vehicles already on the road. Most likely it will be a model-by-model decision with a higher chance of it being deployed on more expensive, premium trims.

In the old days, the car you bought is the car you live with. I don't think anyone should be entitled to think that they deserve all of the latest features when nothing like that was promised when they signed the sales contract. I certainly don't expect CarPlay Ultra to magically appear in my 20-year-old Toyota. :p

However most people aren't in the habit of changing their automobiles often so bringing the CarPlay Ultra feature to existing recent vehicles demonstrates some goodwill.

It is clear there was a fundamental shift about ten years ago about what constitutes an automobile. They're basically computers with wheels these days. At some point, manufacturers may start charging extra for infotainment software upgrades in existing vehicles. It's not like software engineers work for free.

It's really up to the individual manufacturer who will have to assess the value of the additional engineering effort. There is plenty of precedence for this. Tesla Full Self-Driving Mode (FSD) is an extra charge and GM's OnStar satellite connectivity was a recurring subscription fee after a complimentary first year. Today's consumers are now accustomed to recurring charges (like streaming music/video or satellite connectivity on phones) so at some point car infotainment upgrade fees might be tolerated (albeit not embraced with open arms). It'll take just one manufacturer to start imposing fees and then soon the most of their competitors will follow suit.

1 Like · 1 Dislike

dewme 11 Years · 6053 comments

This looks very intriguing and it will be interesting to see how it’s implemented on lower and mid tier car brands and models. There seems to be a trend with some automakers to use proprietary systems both for differentiation and monetizing what they define as premium features.

We will see, but I think it’s going to be a struggle to get much penetration with CarPlay Ultra, at least until the automakers realize the support costs associated with their proprietary systems outweigh the financial benefits.

rob53 14 Years · 3361 comments

I doubt CarPlay Ultra will be available on any car other than very expensive ones in the next 10 years. EVs might take a chance with these but all the current ones already have invested tons of money on their own digital dashboard, which is what CarPlay Ultra is. Tesla isn't going to use this and might be out of business because of insane management. GM and Ford might end up using China as their manufacturer and Chinese cars have already created their own digital system. I could see every car manufacturer continuing to use the simple, current Car Play. I might be wrong but I can't see anything happening with general vehicle manufacturers any time soon. They have to worry about tariffs and their ability to stay in business.

1 Like · 0 Dislikes