It’s crazy to think it’s already been three years since Apple unveiled what they said would be the next generation of their CarPlay phone projection system. At the start of 2025, I wrote an article saying it was already late, and that maybe we were better off without it. And it seems I was not the only one to think that…
I know it might seem so, but I am no Apple hater. I am deeply integrated into their ecosystem, own many of their devices, and they control pretty much my entire window into the internet. And while phone projection (mostly CarPlay and Android Auto, as other standards have died off) is a seriously useful feature, there are concerns around distractions while driving, data privacy and something even less tangible: brand perception.
Most of the time, it is easier for car brands to let the super computer everyone has in their pockets to do the heavy lifting of the processing, and maintaining safe and performing software up to date so they don’t have to, all the while providing a consistent experience. For that reason, the majority of people say they wouldn’t buy a new car without phone projection today.
Still, some brands take this bold and dangerous move. GM (in select products), Rivian, Tesla, etc, to this day don’t offer phone projection from an interest of owning the full software experience they offer their users, and not wanting another tech giant forcing their thinking into dashboard screens.
Which is exactly what Apple wants with CarPlay Ultra. By taking over all screens, giving them the Apple treatment and showing all car information in a consistent way, they can make a clear leap forward with their offering (that can maybe win over Android-using passengers) and get their talons deeper into the drivers. If the car brands see the value, that is.
The first one was Aston Martin. Matt recently wrote about them making CarPlay Ultra available for some of their models, with a few other brands (mostly luxury) pledging they would follow. So, fast forward to now, and some of them – namely Volvo, Polestar, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz have walked back, citing rethinking how much control they want to relinquish to Apple, and development hiccups from both ends.
Me, personally? Connecting to CarPlay is something I do to every press car before I drive off for the first time. And while I appreciate users having more choice, even if Ultra becomes a reality, I would still stick to vanilla CarPlay. With cars becoming more and more similar as time goes on due to hardware and software consolidation and electrification, car makers have limited opportunities to put their personality forward and wow their customers. And letting Apple take over the sea of screens dominating the dashboards of new cars is something that goes against all of that. I still want my Apple Maps and Spotify to bring my phone’s details, but call me an old timer: Apple can have literally every other device I use, but I want Mercedes-Benz designing the gauges of my Mercedes-Benz (same applies to Volvo, Audi, etc.).
If your phone, laptop, tablet and watch all already look and feel a certain way, would you also want your car to do the same? There seems to be no in-between here, so what is your take? I know what mine is!
