More than a year after it was first teased at the 2022 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple has now finally showed off what its full-car CarPlay will look like, courtesy of two new mock-ups from Porsche and Aston Martin.
The next-generation Apple CarPlay was first said to make its official debut in “late 2023”, and will eventually make its way into cars from Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, Polestar, Honda, Audi, and many more. Aston Martin says that the feature will begin rolling out the new Apple CarPlay experience in its updated cars starting next year.
In essence, the next-generation Apple CarPlay will see a much deeper integration between the car and your iPhone. Data from the vehicle’s sensor suite will be transmitted over to your phone in a “privacy-friendly way”, and you’ll also be able to control your car’s climate controls and various functions directly through the CarPlay interface.
Crucially, the system appears to still require an iPhone for most of the connectivity and processing duties, unlike Google’s Android Automotive OS that is baked right into the vehicle itself.
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Apple’s next-gen Apple CarPlay system will allow for high levels of customisation to give each brand a unique look. As demonstrated here, Aston Martin’s layout resembles a more pared-back approach similar to some of its existing models like the DBX707.
Porsche, meanwhile, went for a more information-dense setup with three individual screens. The instrument cluster is reminiscent of the layout seen on the Porsche Taycan, and since all three screens are powered by Apple CarPlay, they also share the same wallpaper for a more cohesive look.
The customisation can also be taken a step further with widgets that can be placed on the various screens as seen here on Porsche’s mock-up, and Apple has also previously said that the next-generation CarPlay system will work with all sorts of display sizes and shapes – possibly even the round displays on the Minis.
Not much else has been disclosed, but Car & Driver reports that all vehicle-sourced information will not be stored or tracked via your phone, according to Apple.
Aston Martin will be supporting the new Apple-powered infotainment system next year in the DB12 and DB12 Volante. Porsche’s plans are less clear, but a spokesperson for the brand told The Verge that the integration of its system will “go one level further” with the launch of its fully electric Macan that’s set to be revealed sometime next year.
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