Key Takeaways
- Next-gen CarPlay integrates key car controls on multiple screens.
- Radio, climate control, and dashboard widgets enhance user-experience.
- CarPlay requires an iPhone with iOS 17.4 or higher; launch expected in 2024.
Once rare and cutting-edge, CarPlay is now practically de facto on many vehicles. Apple has even bigger plans for the next generation of the platform, designed to keep people firmly rooted in the iPhone ecosystem. The CarPlay technology could become especially important now that a full-fledged Apple Car is out of the picture.
Some companies have already said they won’t play ball. Here’s what you need to know.
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We’ll touch on that point later. Before we get there, we’ll explore the features Apple has announced so far, when they’re expected to launch, as well as which automakers have said they’ll participate. That last point is crucial — some companies have already said they won’t play ball. Here’s what you need to know.
What is next-generation CarPlay?
Over two years in the making
As first announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in 2022, Apple’s aim is to expand CarPlay beyond infotainment displays to offer complete control of a car’s interior, or at least as much as automakers will allow. Concept images from Apple, Porsche, and Aston Martin show CarPlay operating on two or more screens, even replacing dash elements normally handled by physical dials and buttons. Since there’s a lot to talk about, let’s break these upgrades down piece by piece.
Apple
Cluster integration
Perhaps the most dramatic change involves replacing dials and other components on the instrument cluster — i.e. the space directly behind the steering wheel. In theory, CarPlay could become your tachometer, speedometer, and odometer, as well as your oil, gas, and/or battery gauges. Ideally, drivers should be able to choose between different layouts, including ones unique to each car brand.
It’s not yet clear whether clusters will support third-party apps, such as Google Maps or Spotify.
You won’t be limited to gauges and meters, though. Some clusters could include real-time navigation through Apple Maps and other apps, solving CarPlay’s current problem of forcing users to look off to the side. Other options will include a compass and a “Now Playing” view for music. It’s not yet clear whether clusters will support third-party apps, such as Google Maps or Spotify.
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Radio and climate controls
While CarPlay has long supported internet-based radio apps like NPR and TuneIn, it so far hasn’t been able to control a vehicle’s built-in FM, AM, or satellite tuners. With next-gen CarPlay, users should be able to change stations, mark favorites, and glimpse track info, including artwork when available. Accordingly, Apple is flagging stations that support HD Radio.
With climate controls, drivers should be able to switch between AC and heat modes, turn on heated seats and steering wheels, and adjust zones, temperatures, and fan speeds, among other things. These items are mostly self-explanatory, but a nice touch is that you’ll be able to see zone temperatures at a glance, including secondary zones when present.
Apple
Dashboard widgets
Something you’re likely to see on plenty of vehicles — since it’s easier to implement — is an expanded set of dashboard widgets. Instead of just music and navigation controls, or calendar alerts, these widgets should include things like clocks, trip statistics, and extended weather forecasts. You’ll be able to control HomeKit accessories too — Apple offers the example of opening your garage door with a single tap. And when you take a phone call, it should appear as a single widget instead of overriding an entire display.
Something else of note is that these widgets will scale to different sizes and align either vertically or horizontally, depending on the dimensions of the screen. You won’t need a gigantic Tesla- or Polestar-style interface to make use of them, in other words.
Apple also has plans to display tire pressures and rear camera feeds in CarPlay. These could come in the form of dashboard widgets, but it’s possible one or both could be options in the instrument cluster.
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Aston Martin
Which cars are getting next-generation CarPlay?
Here’s the current list of announced brands:
- Acura
- Aston Martin
- Audi
- Ford
- Honda
- Infiniti
- Jaguar
- Land Rover
- Lincoln
- Nissan
- Polestar
- Porsche
- Renault
- Volvo
The only two automakers to provide specific details have been Porsche and Aston Martin, and even then they’ve been quiet on details. The latter has said it plans to have compatible models by the end of 2024, including a new version of the DB12.
You’ll notice some conspicuous absences on this list, such as BMW, Kia, Hyundai, and Toyota. GM has announced plans to abandon CarPlay entirely in future EVs, while Mercedes-Benz says it’s sticking with CarPlay’s current incarnation while building its own operating system.
When is the next-generation CarPlay launching?
At the moment, the official CarPlay website says only that the “first models” will arrive in 2024. That’s consistent with Aston Martin’s announcement, but says nothing about Porsche, and could be disappointing to the majority of iPhone owners if brands like Honda and Nissan don’t join in short succession. After all, very few people can afford a state-of-the-art sports car.
You might remember that CarPlay’s current incarnation followed a similar track. The first vehicle to support it was the Ferrari FF, and the platform took several years to reach most major auto brands.
What are the requirements for the technology?
There’s no official word yet, except that you’ll still need an iPhone — Apple describes its next-gen software as “the ultimate iPhone experience for the car.” There haven’t been any rumors of Apple creating a preloaded OS beyond its own abandoned car project.
There’s no official word yet, except that you’ll still need an iPhone.
You can count on needing an iPhone with at least iOS 17.4, if not iOS 18, which should be revealed at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June and launch in September 2024 alongside the iPhone 16. We say this because 17.4’s code included hidden references to several previously unknown feature plans, such as the camera and tire pressure monitors mentioned earlier. More additions could be in store if Apple is planning to require iOS 18.
If iOS 17.4 is the baseline, you’ll need at least an iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, or 2nd-gen SE. Even those devices could be cut off in iOS 18, in which case the minimums might shift to the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, or 3rd-gen SE.
On the automotive side, we’re expecting that most companies will offer a choice of USB or wireless connections. Wireless CarPlay is still gaining traction, but it’s more likely to show up in expensive models and trims, which certainly describes any vehicle with an all-digital dash — for now, anyway.
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Apple
What happened to the Apple Car?
The answer to that is complex. The effort, dubbed “Project Titan” internally, originally began in 2014 and over time expanded to draw in thousands of people, including staff poached from Tesla. Despite the company going as far as testing self-driving technology on California roads, Apple leadership appears to have been conflicted about the best path to take — development at one point shifted to a platform rather than a full-fledged car. The project was alive as recently as January 2024, aiming for an EV with scaled-down driver assistance closer to existing vehicles.
Titan reportedly went through multiple leadership changes and layoffs, and even saw an FBI investigation when someone was accused of stealing Apple trade secrets. The death knell came in February 2024, when resources were shifted over to generative AI plans instead.
Titan reportedly went through multiple leadership changes and layoffs, and even saw an FBI investigation when someone was accused of stealing Apple trade secrets.
More than anything, Titan was likely too ambitious for the technology available. While companies like Alphabet’s Waymo have already deployed self-driving taxis, these operate in limited urban areas — an Apple Car would have to be able to drive anywhere, dealing with highways, rural areas, and all possible collision threats. Even Tesla’s Full Self Driving technology sometimes struggles, despite having an ample amount of real-world data to extrapolate from. Short of a breakthrough, it seems unlikely that self-driving cars will become commonplace until the 2030s.
Apple was also facing unavoidable hurdles in manufacturing and selling a car. It was in talks with several parties about contract manufacturing, and there was little if any indication of how it might set up showrooms and test drives. On top of that, automakers are usually expected to supply parts and repairs for many years, whereas current Apple products are cut off after just seven years. In effect Apple would’ve had to create an equivalent of Tesla — minus factories and Superchargers — just to support a single vehicle.
What is going on with Tesla right now?
Layoffs, project cancellations, Cybertruck recall and a bad fiscal quarter. Tesla once looked invincible, now it looks merely mortal.
We don’t know to what extent next-gen CarPlay represents what Apple had in mind for an Apple Car. Some concepts for the vehicle minimized plans for a driver, but Apple was certainly working on in-car displays. Regardless, the company now needs CarPlay if it doesn’t want to cede full-car display tech to Android Auto/Automotive and first-party operating systems.
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