CarPlay 2 is still a long time coming: Apple has missed its own set deadline for the market launch of the “next generation” of iPhone car integration. The first vehicle models with support for the new CarPlay version introduced two and a half years ago should actually appear in 2024, as Apple promises unchanged on the corresponding product page. That hasn’t happened yet.
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Porsche and Aston Martin onboard
So far there are only two car brands that have specifically promised support for CarPlay 2 – Aston Martin and Porsche. The British sports car maker wanted to bring the first models to market in early 2024, it said in late 2023. The DB12 was in the news, but according to the manufacturer, it only supports the famous CarPlay 1 as well as Android Auto. No concrete models have been announced by Porsche yet. The revised 911 introduced in the middle of the year also remained with the first generation of CarPlay.
Rumors from Asia: Apple mouse with voice recognition, expensive iPhone SE 4With CarPlay 2, Apple is envisioning even deeper integration into vehicles: the user interface provided by the iPhone will extend to all displays in the vehicle and, for the first time, will also output central elements such as the speedometer digitally. Apple has promised to work closely with car manufacturers so they can customize the interface according to their own design ideas.
Complex integration of CarPlay 2
Automakers have publicly expressed little interest in CarPlay 2. Integration is considered complex because, unlike Google’s Android Automotive, Apple does not provide a complete operating system for the vehicle:
CarPlay 2 still runs primarily on the iPhone, but some elements have to be rendered locally in the vehicle to be able to display real-time information. The system should be designed to continue displaying the speed on the speedometer even if the wireless connection to the iPhone is lost.
Apple said last summer that CarPlay 2 works exclusively wirelessly. CarPlay 1 works either via a cable connection or wirelessly, with the interface streamed from the iPhone to one (or more) of the vehicle’s displays.
CarPlay and Android Auto are now almost ubiquitous in new vehicles. The only major consequence is Tesla itself, where only individual Apple services like Music are supported. Even EV newcomers like Rivian have dropped CarPlay support by now. American car company General Motors created a stir with its announcement in 2023 that it will do without CarPlay and Android Auto in electric cars.
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