CarPlay Ultra: Features, supported cars, more

After three years of anticipation, Apple officially launched next-generation CarPlay this week, dubbed CarPlay Ultra. CarPlay Ultra packs countless new features, updates, and more compared to normal CarPlay.

Here’s everything you need to know about CarPlay Ultra, including whether your favorite automaker will support the platform.

Which cars support CarPlay Ultra?

Apple says over a dozen automakers have signed on to support CarPlay Ultra. So far, however, the platform has only debuted in Aston Martin cars. As of May 2025, CarPlay Ultra is rolling out to Aston Martin cars in the United States and Canada. It’s available on new cars as well as through a software update rolling out to existing Aston Martin owners.

According to Apple, here are the automakers who have committed to supporting CarPlay Ultra:

• Land Rover
• Lincoln
• Audi
• Volvo
• Honda
• Nissan
• Ford
• Porsche
• Jaguar
• Acura
• Polestar
• Infiniti
• Renault
• Hyundai
• Kia
• Genesis

Unfortunately, we don’t have any additional details on when CarPlay Ultra will come to any cars beyond Aston Martin.

CarPlay Ultra features

CarPlay Ultra is the biggest revamp to CarPlay since Apple’s infotainment platform first launched (originally called iOS in the Car). Apple explains that CarPlay Ultra takes over all of the driver’s screens in a car and offers “deeper integration than ever before.”

CarPlay Ultra design

From a visual perspective, CarPlay Ultra will be designed such that it’s unique to each automaker. So far, we’ve only seen what that means for Aston Martin. Apple says that its designers collaborated with Aston Martin’s designers to develop a customizable user interface that blends the aesthetic of both brands. This results in an experience that is “tailor-made for each vehicle.”

The CarPlay Ultra design extends to every aspect of your car. This includes the gauge cluster and center screen, covering things like the speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge, and more. It also features optimizations for things like driver assistance systems and various settings.

In terms of customization, users will have control over multiple different aspects of their cars. For example, then can choose between instrument cluster designs that prioritize showing speedometers and other gauges, or opt to have Apple Maps navigation take over the entire screen. Drivers can also choose between different theme colors and wallpapers for their CarPlay Ultra experience.

For example, here’s what it looks like when you opt to have Apple Maps dominate the instrument cluster screen:

CarPlay Ultra also features a new screen that is dedicated to widgets powered by your iPhone. These widgets can show up on your car’s center screen or the gauge cluster and show things like Calendar, Weather, Reminders, and more.

Here’s a look at the new widgets screen:

Deep integration with your car

In addition to the dramatic design changes introduced by CarPlay Ultra, there are substantial improvements to the functionality. Previously, CarPlay largely existed in a silo from the rest of your car. It mirrored information from your iPhone for things like media playback, Messages, and Maps. To manage your car’s settings, however, you typically had to leave the CarPlay experience. This all changes with CarPlay Ultra.

CarPlay Ultra takes over every aspect of controlling your car. It features a new “Vehicle” app that houses settings for a wide variety of things, including climate, tire pressure, drive modes, and more. All of this is managed natively in the CarPlay Ultra interface, making for a far more consistent experience than before.

CarPlay Ultra also integrates with other input methods in your car. This includes physical buttons for things like media controls, climate controls, performance modes, and more. CarPlay Ultra also ties in with Siri, so you can use your voice to control different vehicle functions like climate.

Hands-on with CarPlay

So far, our best look at CarPlay Ultra in the real world comes courtesy of the folks at Top Gear and MotorTrend, both of which have published in-depth videos showing off every aspect of the new platform.

Wrap Up

What do you think of CarPlay Ultra? Will it factor into your decision-making process when buying a new car? Let us know in the comments. We’ll have more coverage of CarPlay Ultra as it rolls out over the coming years.

And if you’re worried Apple might end support for existing CarPlay as most of us know it today, fear not. The company says it will continue to be supported as CarPlay Ultra rolls out.

My favorite CarPlay accessories 

CarPlay Ultra gallery