Apple finally ships its next-generation CarPlay, complete with a new name

Y’all, I finally cured my eleven-year-long bout of CarPlay Envy by finally buying a new-to-me car that came equipped with CarPlay… only for Apple to finally ship its long-awaited next-generation CarPlay under the new name “CarPlay Ultra.” And… now I have CarPlay Ultra envy. Maybe I’ll have a car with this in 2036!

But in all seriousness, Apple first announced next-generation CarPlay nearly three years ago at WWDC 2022, and Thursday they finally announced it alongside their first automotive industry partner, Aston Martin, with the DBX luxury SUV. We’ve long since reached the point where just about every new car sold in the world now supports CarPlay, and customers love it. But a lot of people wondered if automakers would go along with letting Apple take over their entire digital user experience, particularly in a world where cars are highly computerized and not only feature infotainment systems in the center dash, but also “digital cockpits” replacing the traditional physical gauge clusters with customizable digital displays. This concern only intensified as the months turned into years with no CarPlay Ultra news.

But my feeling was that it was only going to take one car company to jump on board, then more would, and once customers experienced this, it would become as ubiquitous as regular CarPlay. Now that we’ve seen what it’s like, I’m even more confident that that’s what’s going to happen.

The BBC’s Top Gear YouTube channel got the exclusive first press look at CarPlay Ultra in action in the DBX, and I highly recommend watching their really in-depth video showing all the ways that it can be customized. But that video also highlights the ways that Apple and Aston Martin clearly worked together to make sure that the car maker’s brand still shone through. On the default digital cockpit display, even though it’s clearly Apple’s overall design, there’s still the Aston Martin logo in the gauge with the words “Hand Built In Great Britain” wrapping around the speedometer.

At the end of the Top Gear video, the presenter interviews Aston’s head of design. Of course, we can never know what the deliberations were like within Aston Martin, but their design chief was adamant that they never hesitated to embrace this feature. He was also asked whether he uses the default Aston Martin interface or CarPlay Ultra, and he answered, “CarPlay Ultra.”

I can’t wait to see how other manufacturers embrace CarPlay Ultra, and who knows? Maybe I’ll buy my first CarPlay Ultra-equipped car by… 2036.

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