This is what the new Apple CarPlay looks like
With the new CarPlay, Apple wants to integrate the iPhone more deeply into cars. Two luxury brands will be among the first to implement the system in 2024.
Porsche and Aston Martin are the first car manufacturers to show their integration of the next generation of Apple CarPlay. It not only covers the centre display, but also the instrument display. The first cars with the new iPhone integration will come onto the market in 2024. Aston Martin has announced it for the DB12, while Porsche is keeping quiet about specific models. One possible candidate is the expected all-electric Macan.
Aston Martin has a landscape-format display in the centre console that includes navigation, infotainment and air conditioning. The instrument panel shows a media player in the centre, flanked by a rev counter and speedometer.
Porsche goes one step further and adds an elongated third display to the controls on the right-hand side. It offers space for various widgets, such as the calendar, media player, on-board computer and weather. The instrument display shows the speed twice - once as a number and once on a round display. The circle in the centre appears to contain information on the charge level of an electric car.
Apple presented the new CarPlay in June 2022. It is designed to be more deeply integrated into the operation of cars. Unlike Google's Android Automotive, it is not expected to replace the car manufacturer's operating system. Instead, as before, CarPlay can be optionally activated as soon as an iPhone is connected. Only then does it take over the car's interface. Brands can customise the user interface to their vehicles and give the software their own look. The most important innovations:
- Unified design of displays in the centre console and the digital instrument display
- Integration of speedometer, rev counter, coolant temperature, oil pressure, fuel gauge and more
- Control of air conditioning, seat and steering wheel heating
- Control of the entire infotainment system including FM radio app
- Widgets - for example for the on-board computer, calendar or weather
- Vehicle data is only stored and processed in the car, personal data remains on the iPhone
My fingerprint often changes so drastically that my MacBook doesn't recognise it anymore. The reason? If I'm not clinging to a monitor or camera, I'm probably clinging to a rockface by the tips of my fingers.