CarPlay Ultra: car manufacturers are apparently not into it

It was the next logical step for Apple three years ago: CarPlay, the interface between the iPhone and the car's infotainment system, was a great success and is in high demand among car owners. In Cupertino, the idea was therefore to extend it to the entire dashboard and offer the Apple experience there too. But what do the car manufacturers think? Apparently not as well as Apple had hoped, as a new report now shows.

The next generation of CarPlay, now called CarPlay Ultra, has apparently met with little approval, reports the Financial Times, citing sources in the automotive industry. The German luxury brands Mercedes-Benz and Audi as well as Volvo Cars, Polestar and Renault have announced that they will not integrate the extended software system into their vehicles – although Apple had named these manufacturers as future CarPlay Ultra users in 2022.

Jaguar Land Rover has stated that it will examine the system more closely. Ford and Nissan with the Infiniti brand have stated that they have nothing to announce at present, although they have also been named in Apple presentations.

Only Aston Martin so far

So far, only Aston Martin has been the first car manufacturer to integrate CarPlay Ultra into its vehicles. This follows Apple's proven strategy of using premium brands as door openers – Ferrari was the first CarPlay partner back in 2014. Hyundai, with its Kia and Genesis brands, has also committed to integrating the enhanced system, although they were not among the 14 brands originally named by Apple. Apple emphasized to the Financial Times that more car manufacturers are to follow. Porsche chief designer Michael Mauer confirmed plans to integrate CarPlay Ultra into future models, according to the report.

The skepticism among car manufacturers may also explain why the development of CarPlay Ultra was temporarily put on hold after the announcement. CarPlay Ultra goes far beyond the previous integration. While classic CarPlay mainly transfers music and navigation from the iPhone, the Ultra version accesses additional vehicle information at – from temperature displays to speed and fuel consumption.

Why car manufacturers are skeptical

Analysts say that Apple's system, which brings vehicles of different brands closer together in terms of software, is at odds with the ambitions of car manufacturers, who want to differentiate themselves more strongly from one another through software. They believe that software plays a more important role and therefore do not want to become dependent on Apple.

Apple can, of course, still hope that – as with the first CarPlay – car buyers will ensure that the car manufacturers will ultimately feel compelled by the customer to support CarPlay Ultra. Meanwhile, Apple's existing CarPlay is likely to become more important again. With iOS 26, this is to be expanded to include the display of widgets, among other things.

(mki)