Apple CarPlay Ultra brings even more smarts to your car

Apple has announced the release of its next generation smart car interface, CarPlay Ultra.

CarPlay has been around for more than a decade, and this is the biggest upgrade since it first arrived. The concept is the Apple software is now integrated a lot more deeply with the car’s inner workings. And CarPlay Ultra debuts in supported Aston Martin cars in the US and Canada.

Apple’s CarPlay Ultra makes the software effectively the front-end for your car, showing elements like your fuel level, speed and oil temperature. The original CarPlay ends up mirroring what’s on your iPhone to the car’s own display, making this new version a whole lot more involved.

The instrument cluster part of CarPlay Ultra can be customised by the car maker, making the whole thing feel a bit like a collaboration rather than a smart interface add-on. In the case of these first demos, it’s an Aston Martin-Apple love in.

“The integration of CarPlay Ultra is a clear example of the dedication to collaborate with the best companies in the world to bring unique experiences and in-vehicle capabilities to our customers,” says Adrian Hallmark, Aston Martin CEO.

“Building on our in-house state-of-the-art infotainment system, CarPlay Ultra will provide additional functionality and personalisation opportunities, which place Aston Martin at the forefront of infotainment in the sector.”

One of the core benefits as the driver, the end user, is you’ll likely have far more options as to how the core display behind the steering wheel looks, and what information it shows. You can also control core vehicle functions within the interface.

Of course, it’s going to look quite different from car to car, as CarPlay Ultra is designed to be able to work with all sorts of display shapes and sizes, and numbers of displays.

“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,” says Bob Borcher, Apple VP of Worldwide Product Marketing.

The roll-out of CarPlay Ultra starts with new Aston Martin cars in the US and Canada, but will spread out “globally” over the next 12 months.

When CarPlay Ultra was first announced in 2022, we heard a whole stack of car-makers were on-board, including Audi, Volvo, Honda, Nissan and Ford. If you're lucky enough to have a car that gets the update down the line, you'll need to take it to a dealer to install the upgrade.

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