Apple did not cancel its next-generation CarPlay project. The company missed its promised 2024 launch window, confirmed the delay in January 2025, and said development with “several automakers” was continuing. In May 2025, Apple launched the system under a new name: CarPlay Ultra.
As of August 2026, CarPlay Ultra is real but still far from universal. Aston Martin was the first launch partner, while Apple has identified Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis as committed brands. However, ordinary CarPlay compatibility does not mean a vehicle supports CarPlay Ultra.
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What happened to CarPlay 2?
“CarPlay 2” was the informal name commonly used for Apple’s next-generation in-car system. Apple originally called it the next generation of CarPlay and later gave it the official name CarPlay Ultra.
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Apple previewed the project at WWDC in 2022 and said the first supported vehicles would arrive in 2024. That deadline passed without a production launch. On January 23, 2025, Apple removed the 2024 timing from its CarPlay website and confirmed that it was still working with “several automakers.” The company did not provide a replacement date or identify every partner. 9to5Mac reported Apple’s statement and the website change.
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The important distinction is that Apple confirmed a delay, not a cancellation. The project eventually appeared as CarPlay Ultra.
CarPlay Ultra’s timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| June 2022 | Apple previews a deeper, multi-screen version of CarPlay at WWDC. |
| December 2023 | Apple identifies Porsche and Aston Martin as early partners while continuing to point toward vehicles arriving in 2024. |
| January 23, 2025 | Apple removes the 2024 promise and says work continues with several automakers. |
| May 15, 2025 | Apple announces CarPlay Ultra and begins rolling it out with Aston Martin in the United States and Canada. |
| 2026 | CarPlay Ultra remains dependent on automaker, vehicle, hardware, software, and market-specific availability. |
Apple’s WWDC developer presentation shows how the product evolved from a preview into a much broader vehicle-integration effort.
Why CarPlay Ultra is different from standard CarPlay
Today’s standard CarPlay primarily projects selected iPhone functions onto the vehicle’s center display. It provides access to navigation, calls, messages, music, and compatible apps while the car continues to operate its own instrument cluster and vehicle controls.
CarPlay Ultra is designed to extend across much more of the vehicle:
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- the center infotainment display;
- the instrument cluster;
- the head-up display, where supported;
- speedometer and tachometer themes;
- fuel, battery, and temperature information;
- climate and other vehicle controls; and
- automaker-specific branding, layouts, and visual themes.
Apple describes the experience as wireless. It also says CarPlay Ultra relies on the driver’s iPhone while driving features remain powered by the vehicle’s built-in system. That means Ultra is not a replacement operating system that can simply take over any car with a compatible touchscreen.
The deeper integration is also why automaker participation matters. The vehicle manufacturer must provide access to data and controls, support the relevant displays and hardware, and approve how the interface interacts with safety-critical systems. Apple’s CarPlay developer documentation describes the automaker’s continuing role.
Which automakers support CarPlay Ultra?
Available at launch: Aston Martin
Apple began rolling out CarPlay Ultra with Aston Martin on May 15, 2025, initially for new vehicle orders in the United States and Canada. Aston Martin and Apple both identified the marque as the first production partner.
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Some existing Aston Martin vehicles may be eligible for a dealer-installed software update, but only if they have the required next-generation infotainment system. A vehicle’s ability to run standard CarPlay is not enough. Details are available from Aston Martin and in the company’s launch announcement.
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Publicly committed: Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis
Apple named Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis as additional brands working to bring CarPlay Ultra to drivers. That is a meaningful commitment, but it is not the same as confirming that every vehicle, trim, market, or model year is available now.
Apple did not publish a comprehensive model-by-model rollout schedule in its launch announcement. Buyers should therefore verify the exact vehicle with the automaker rather than rely on a brand-level statement.
Previously associated brands
Porsche and other manufacturers were associated with the original next-generation CarPlay announcement and promotional material. That historical association should not be treated as proof that a particular 2026 Porsche—or any other current model—has CarPlay Ultra.
Automaker announcements can describe a preview, a planned partnership, a future commitment, or production availability. Those are different stages. A 2026 overview of automaker status is useful historical context, but Apple or the manufacturer remains the stronger source for a purchase decision.
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Can an existing CarPlay car be upgraded?
Not generally. Apple’s standard CarPlay list covers more than 800 vehicle models, but that list concerns ordinary CarPlay and does not establish CarPlay Ultra support. You can check the standard list at Apple’s vehicle-compatibility page.
CarPlay Ultra depends on compatible vehicle displays, instrument-cluster hardware, infotainment architecture, vehicle data, software integration, and automaker authorization. A software update cannot add all of those capabilities to every existing car.
Apple does say that some vehicles can gain standard CarPlay through an aftermarket system. That may be a useful upgrade for an older vehicle, but an aftermarket head unit should not be presented as a way to reproduce CarPlay Ultra’s factory-level cluster and vehicle-control integration.
iPhone and software requirements
For the May 2025 launch, Apple specified:
- an iPhone 12 or later;
- iOS 18.5 or later; and
- a compatible Aston Martin vehicle with the required infotainment system.
Those were Apple’s published launch requirements, not necessarily permanent requirements for every future vehicle. A newer iPhone alone cannot make an incompatible car support CarPlay Ultra; the vehicle remains the primary compatibility constraint.
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What buyers should verify before purchasing
If CarPlay Ultra is a deciding factor in a vehicle purchase, check all of the following:
- Exact model and trim: Confirm support for the specific vehicle, not just the manufacturer.
- Factory or update: Determine whether Ultra is factory-installed, available through a later update, or merely planned.
- Display coverage: Ask whether it reaches the instrument cluster and head-up display or only the center screen.
- Market: Confirm availability in your country. The initial launch covered the United States and Canada.
- Infotainment generation: Some update paths require particular hardware already installed.
- Source of the promise: Prefer a written statement from Apple or the automaker over a dealer’s generic “CarPlay compatible” description.
- Phone dependence: Understand how the car behaves when the iPhone is absent. CarPlay Ultra depends on the phone, while the vehicle’s underlying system remains responsible for core driving functions.
Ask the dealer to identify CarPlay Ultra by name on the vehicle’s specification sheet or have the automaker confirm it in writing. “Wireless CarPlay,” “CarPlay-ready,” and “CarPlay compatible” can all refer only to the standard system.
Why the rollout has been slow
Apple has not publicly identified a specific cause for the delay. It would therefore be inaccurate to say that automaker resistance, technical problems, or any other single factor definitively caused it.
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What is clear is that CarPlay Ultra is substantially more complicated than phone projection. It must coordinate Apple’s interface with multiple vehicle displays, live vehicle data, climate controls, instrument-cluster behavior, safety requirements, and each automaker’s design and engineering systems. Automakers also retain responsibility for the built-in vehicle system and core driving features.
That creates a trade-off: drivers may receive a more consistent Apple experience across the dashboard, while manufacturers must share more of the in-car interface and integration layer. Apple’s launch announcement says automakers can retain brand-specific visual design, so Ultra is not identical in every vehicle.
What the January 2025 announcement really meant
Apple’s January statement answered only part of the question. It established that the 2024 promise had been missed and that work continued with several automakers. It did not establish a new date, a complete partner list, a model list, or worldwide availability.
The May 2025 launch answered the larger question: the project survived and shipped under the CarPlay Ultra name. But the first launch did not turn it into a feature that every existing CarPlay vehicle could receive, nor did it guarantee immediate availability across all previously named partners.
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