CarPlay Ultra in the Aston Martin: Sometimes the instrument cluster goes out
A one-week test by an IT blog still reveals some weaknesses in Apple's improved car integration.
CarPlay Ultra in an Aston Martin model: works well – largely.
(Image: Aston Martin)
CarPlay Ultra, Apple's improved iPhone vehicle integration, finally arrived in the first vehicles last May. The problem: it is an extremely exclusive feature, as only Aston Martin vehicles in the USA and Canada initially received the technology. Initial reports are correspondingly thin on the ground. So far, there has not been much more than an almost 18-minute video from the BBC program "Top Gear". Now the IT blog Ars Technica has managed to test CarPlay Ultra in a DB12 Volante for at least a week. The result shows that there are still some weaknesses in the exchange between the vehicle and Apple technology.
More data for Aston than for Apple
The set-up process takes significantly longer than we are used to with CarPlay without Ultra. It took at least a minute or two longer, according to tester Michael Teo Van Runkle. In addition, you have to nod at various screens with data protection notices. Although Apple itself only wants to have a little information – such as engine and speed status, the brand name of the vehicle and multimedia information –, Aston Martin itself allows an astonishing amount of data for the "online mode" required for CarPlay Ultra.
Videos by heise
This includes diagnostic and fault data, for example, but also location information (for navigation and traffic updates) and sensor data. In addition, "specific data" may be shared with "trusted partners such as service providers, insurers and authorized dealers" in order to perform "requested services and warranty obligations". After all, Aston Martin does not sell data for marketing purposes.
Works well as long as it works
In practice, however, CarPlay Ultra usually works well, which also applies to special situations. This is important, as the iPhone now also provides information on the dashboard with the new system, such as speed and engine speed. If you switch off the iPhone while driving, for example, the regular display – also appears in the entertainment system a few seconds later. However, switching off the iPhone in this way can result in the iPhone having to be reconnected from scratch.
In terms of speed, CarPlay Ultra should react faster than the traditional CarPlay – when "booting up", there should hardly be any interruption, and the CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster is also immediately visible. In practice, however, it was annoying that there is apparently a certain latency in the CarPlay Ultra UI in the dashboard when accelerating or revving the engine. This should not occur in the native UI, but it remains unclear whether this is due to Apple or Aston Martin. The battery consumption for CarPlay Ultra is said to be relatively low, with most users likely to be charging their iPhone at the same time. CarPlay Ultra can also be used offline. During the week with the system, there was a complete failure of the display in the dashboard. This lasted 30 seconds. What caused it initially remained unclear. The problem then resolved itself, but the driver was driving "blind" in terms of speed during this time.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
