Apple today revealed an all-new, enhanced version of its CarPlay phone projection system. Called CarPlay Ultra, it won’t work with your current car. But it might appear in the next car you buy.
What is Apple CarPlay?
If you’ve been car shopping in recent years, you’re likely familiar with CarPlay.
It essentially mirrors your iPhone’s screen on your car’s touchscreen. CarPlay doesn’t give you access to every app from the car. But it lets you run streaming entertainment, get turn-by-turn directions, and interact with Apple’s Siri digital assistant through the car’s speakers.
Related: Apple CarPlay — Do You Need It?
It will even read your text messages and let you compose responses using voice commands.
Android users have a similar system, Android Auto.
Most new cars on the market in 2025 work with both systems, and electronics retailers sell aftermarket kits that let you convert some older cars to use them.
What Are CarPlay’s Limitations?
CarPlay runs on your car’s central touchscreen. It’s largely a replacement for your car’s infotainment programming, replacing the interface with something you were already familiar with before you bought the car.
It does not control other car functions, like heating and cooling. Some automakers have moved to touchscreen controls for virtually everything a car can do (in the Cadillac Lyriq and Optiq, even opening the glovebox requires the touchscreen).
This trend has bothered drivers enough that the European Union is starting to mandate buttons for certain car functions.
That means that, in some cars, you need to tap on the touchscreen to exit CarPlay so you can tap on the touchscreen to change the temperature or adjust your seat.
What Is Different About CarPlay Ultra?
CarPlay Ultra aims to solve this by, essentially, taking over more of your car.
Apple explains, “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.”
Each automaker that signs up can design interfaces for Ultra, retaining some of the look and feel that differentiates one brand from another. But, with CarPlay Ultra, everything from the speedometer to the driving modes will interact with your phone.
With CarPlay Ultra, Apple says, drivers can “use onscreen controls, physical buttons, or Siri to manage both standard vehicle functions like the car’s radio and climate, as well as advanced, vehicle-specific features and controls like audio system configurations or performance settings, right from CarPlay, giving them a more fluid and seamless experience.”
What Cars Use CarPlay Ultra?
Right now, the Aston Martin DBX and Aston Martin’s “core sportscar range.” That’s the whole list. Aston Martin says it “is the first manufacturer in the world to deliver CarPlay Ultra to drivers.”
Apple says, however, that “Many other automakers around the world are working to bring CarPlay Ultra to drivers, including newly committed brands Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.” So you’ll probably be able to get it for less than $200,000 before long.
Why Might Some Automakers Hold Back?
We wouldn’t be surprised, however, if some automakers are reluctant to sign on with CarPlay Ultra.
General Motors has announced plans to phase out both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from its electric cars.
Tesla and Rivian never offered it in the first place.
Why not? Likely because both Apple and the company that built your car are after data on your driving.
Today’s cars capture an immense amount of data about their drivers. Some have even found themselves in legal trouble for how much data they collect and sell.
When you ask your phone for turn by turn directions and cue up a podcast, Apple and its app providers learn a lot about your habits and your tastes. Automakers might rather have that information for themselves.
They’re not always particularly responsible with it. In a 2023 analysis, privacy researchers from a prominent tech watchdog group found “cars the official worst category of products for privacy ever reviewed.”