Apple's big, next-gen CarPlay Ultra upgrade is here – if you drive these cars

Apple has officially revved up its next-generation CarPlay Ultra, an integrated system that promises to change the way you control your car. Uniting key functions of both your car and your iPhone, the new flavor of CarPlay will let you view and access a variety of options from your dashboard and touchscreen.

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“CarPlay Ultra builds on the capabilities of CarPlay and provides the ultimate in-car experience by deeply integrating with the vehicle to deliver the best of iPhone and the best of the car,” Apple said in a news release Thursday. “It provides information for all of the driver’s screens, including real-time content and gauges in the instrument cluster, while reflecting the automaker’s look and feel and offering drivers a customizable experience.”

Not everyone will get CarPlay Ultra

To start, the technology will appear in new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the US and Canada, then expand to them globally over the next year. Existing Aston Martins with the right infotainment system will receive it via a software update in the coming weeks.

Other carmakers working to add CarPlay Ultra include Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. Ford, Volvo, Renault, and Porsche apparently are also on board, according to the folks at Top Gear.

As for other types of cars, each automaker would have to support CarPlay Ultra on specific models right from the get-go; it’s not something that can be jury-rigged into just any car. Assuming you do have the right type of auto, you’d also need an iPhone 12 or later with iOS 18.5 or higher.

How exactly does CarPlay Ultra work?

All the key gauges, panels, and instrument information are front and center on your dashboard. That includes the speedometer, tachometer, fuel, temperature, tire pressure, trip details, driver-assistance tools, and safety features, among others. The dashboard also displays items normally seen on the touchscreen, including maps, directions, music, and other media.

CarPlay Ultra itself brings a more consistent look to all this information, which each automaker can customize for its individual models. Car owners can also tweak the look and design of the displayed information to determine what they want to see.

As with regular CarPlay, the CarPlay Ultra touchscreen provides access to directions, media, phone calls, texts, apps, and other content and features. But you’ll also be able to view and adjust many of the car’s controls from the touchscreen, including the AC, heat, temperature, fan, and more. And if you’d rather not take your eyes off the road to fiddle with the screen, you can always adjust the features through the usual physical buttons or by chatting with Siri.

The one drawback

Apple initially announced a new version of CarPlay almost a year ago at WWDC 2024. At the time, the company didn’t reveal a specific release date but did say the upgrade would be available later in the year. The actual debut is about six months later than promised but is finally here.

Also: Google is upgrading Android Auto in 5 useful ways – including a big one for voice inputs

On the surface, CarPlay Ultra may not sound too innovative, at least not to those of us with newer cars. I own a 2025 Toyota, which already displays key information from both my car and my iPhone directly on the dashboard. But Ultra seems to offer a more consistent and customizable experience across supported cars.

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Of course, the one drawback is that it will be available only on certain makes and models. But back in 2014, regular CarPlay was initially limited to Ferraris. Cut to 10 years later, and CarPlay is an option on almost all new cars. Plus, aftermarket products can adapt CarPlay technology into even unsupported vehicles. I’ll be curious to see where and how CarPlay Ultra lands over the next 10 years.

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