Explore Apple's CarPlay Ultra, its advanced integration with car systems, and how it differs from standard CarPlay. Learn about its features and market impact.
© E. Vartanyan
Apple continues to influence the automotive market, even though the Apple Car project never materialized. Instead of building its own vehicle, the company has focused on software, turning CarPlay and its more advanced CarPlay Ultra into key tools for integrating the iPhone into car interiors. This approach allows Apple to maintain a presence in the industry without directly manufacturing cars.
Standard CarPlay essentially mirrors the iPhone screen onto the car's display. All functions—from navigation and music to calls—are controlled through the smartphone, with the car acting merely as a display device. For this to work, automakers must provide support, and functionality is limited to apps optimized for CarPlay. The interface offers a full-screen mode, a dashboard card panel, and a separate widget screen.
CarPlay Ultra takes integration to the next level. This isn't just a mirror of the iPhone; it's a full-fledged in-car multimedia system. Ultra gains access to climate control, seats, cameras, and the instrument panel, with some information processed directly in the vehicle. Even if the connection to the iPhone is lost, critical data like speed and safety system indicators remain available.
The Ultra system remains tightly linked to the Apple ecosystem, and apps depend on the iPhone, unlike Android Automotive with its own app store. Full functionality requires close collaboration with automakers, which has made some brands cautious. Apple gains significant control over the car's interface, and that's what makes Ultra a unique tool—but also a topic of debate among manufacturers.
For now, CarPlay Ultra is available only in a limited number of models, including Aston Martin, with connections to Hyundai and Kia expected later. Standard CarPlay remains the more widespread and straightforward solution, familiar to most drivers. CarPlay Ultra demonstrates Apple's ambition to create a "car without a car" by controlling the digital architecture of the cabin, but the platform's future will depend on how widely the market embraces deep Apple integration.