Summary
- CarPlay Ultra is finally available, if only on Aston Martin vehicles so far. More brands are due within the coming year.
- I’m looking forward to features like instant launch, and of course the ability to customize my instrument cluster.
- Things like navigation apps behind the wheel and expanded voice controls should have a meaningful impact on driving.
Apple has been known to tease products that never come out, like its infamous AirPower charging mat. But to its credit, it recently delivered on the promise of a next-generation CarPlay by way of CarPlay Ultra — despite announcing the project in 2022, and missing an extremely broad “2024” launch window. Many companies would give up after that much frustration, even with billions of dollars to push things through. I’m looking at you, Google, who gave up on Stadia cloud gaming without giving it much of a chance.
At the moment, you do have to be an Aston Martin owner to try Ultra, so the tech isn’t about to revolutionize the auto industry. But I am looking forward to trying Ultra once it comes to a vehicle I can afford in a few years, and there are several reasons why. With some of these things, Apple hasn’t even devoted much publicity.
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1
Jumping straight into CarPlay when I turn the car on
What about multiple drivers, though?
Apple
One of the hassles of the original CarPlay is that even if you’re the only driver of your car, and your iPhone is already paired, you still often have to trigger a launch command in your car’s native software. Admittedly, my Hyundai Venue “remembers” my phone if it’s only been off for a short time — but when I’m leaving work to go to pick my son up from school, the last thing I want is to wait another minute or two before I can load Google Maps and Apple Podcasts. If I’m in a hurry, I’ll just start driving and hope the dash interface catches up.
It’s practically necessary, given that the tech is supposed to take over features essential for driving.
Ultra solves all of this, launching the moment your iPhone connects. It’s practically necessary, given that the tech is supposed to take over features essential for driving, like your speedometer. I’ve got a couple of questions, mind. What happens if there are multiple iPhones paired with a vehicle — can I switch without using the car’s native OS? And if my partner uses Android Auto, will I have to use the native OS to open CarPlay anyway? It’s hard to conceive of a driver auto-detection feature that would get around that scenario. iOS and Android don’t play nice.
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2
Navigation in my field of view
A simple change that’s much safer
Apple
While putting navigation apps on an 8-inch, 10-inch, or even larger dashboard display is an improvement over a 6-inch iPhone screen in a car mount, it’s still inconvenient, if not dangerous. If I have to look at the dash for a few seconds, that could still be enough time for me to miss a curve in the road, or someone drifting into my lane. As much as I keep my head on a swivel, mistakes happen.
CarPlay Ultra supports navigation apps in the instrument cluster, i.e. the space directly behind the steering wheel. That should be within the field of view of any attentive driver, leaving less opportunity for something to go wrong. It may actually make navigation easier in calm circumstances, too — often, I find myself having to do a double-take to match Google Maps’ instructions with what I’m seeing through my windshield.
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3
Automakers still don’t know how to do native software properly
With certain exceptions, of course
Apple
Native car interfaces have come a long way, particularly in the last five years. With better 2025 models, it shouldn’t be a hellish experience to pair a phone, get directions, or change settings. If you’ve got something like a Rivian R1T or Chevy Equinox EV, you might not miss CarPlay at all, since native Android-based software can handle most of the same functions.
You’ll be able to access things like climate controls and radio tuning without once switching to a less refined interface.
Apple’s software still tends to be cleaner and simpler to use, though, and with Ultra, you’ll be able to access things like climate controls and radio tuning without once switching to a less refined interface. When some native function doesn’t have a CarPlay equivalent, it can even “punch through” without forcing Ultra to close down. I’ve seen this in action, and it feels a little like witchcraft, as if Windows is briefly popping up when you’re trying to do something on your Mac.
Ultra additionally supports flipping through different visual styles for things like the instrument cluster. Sometimes this is a purely aesthetic touch — but if it’s easier for me to tell how fast I’m going, or how much battery I have left, it can be a legitimate aid to driving.
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4
Siri voice control for everything
Take that, BMW
Pocket-lint / Apple
Though some automakers offer their own voice assistants, they are of course limited to controlling a car’s built-in software. BMW’s assistant might, for instance, be able to get you directions, send a text, or change AC settings, but it can’t send a message through Facebook Messenger, let alone open your garage door using HomeKit.
Ultra enables voice control of all essential car and iPhone functions using a single assistant: Siri. Yes, Siri is flawed, especially in comparison with Google Gemini — but it’s still invaluable while driving, and it’s likely to get even better once iOS 19 introduces contextual awareness to Apple Intelligence. Hypothetically, I could ask Siri to “navigate to my doctor” and have it automatically extract the address from Mail or a Calendar event. There may be Ultra-specific contextual enhancements in the works — I suppose we’ll find out one way or the other at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9.
Ultra enables voice control of all essential car and iPhone functions using a single assistant.
The company is also rumored to be working on an LLM version of Siri, i.e. something similar to Gemini or ChatGPT. That’s probably not coming until late 2026, but imagine being able to say “Siri, navigate to my appointment and make the car more comfortable” and have that executed perfectly. Even support for two commands in the same sentence is a badly-needed improvement — Google Assistant has been capable of that for years.
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