- Apple’s next-generation CarPlay environment arrives in 2024.
- The company previewed the Aston Martin and Porsche’s CarPlay interfaces.
- The next-gen CarPlay interface features brand-distinct design touches.
Apple is collaborating with automakers to bring brand-distinct design details to the CarPlay environment. The first brands to openly take advantage of this capability are Porsche and Aston Martin, with both high-end performance vehicle manufacturers previewing the bespoke CarPlay interface that’ll feature in upcoming models.
This next-generation CarPlay builds upon previous versions by integrating into all of the displays of a given vehicle and not just the central infotainment screen. Though the familiar CarPlay experience remains, multiple template options and special details ensure the interface reflects the ethos of a given brand.
For instance, the preview of Porsche’s CarPlay interface shows that it features a trio of circular gauges in the cluster and a background wallpaper that mimics the brand’s distinct houndstooth (or Pepita in Porsche-speak) seat pattern.
Aston Martin, on the other hand, goes a slightly different route. Its cluster includes a central information screen bookended by a circular speedometer and tachometer, the latter of which integrates “Handbuilt in Great Britain” wraparound text.
Although Apple’s next-generation CarPlay requires an iPhone to share app-related information, the system relies on its host vehicle to provide driving-specific data. Apple’s keen to note that connected iPhones neither store nor track this vehicle-sourced information.
This connection to the vehicle also means this new generation of CarPlay can cohesively display information from the vehicle’s native infotainment system (think tire-pressure information and the like), as well.
While Porsche gave no timing specifics regarding the launch of this latest CarPlay in its models, Aston Martin shared that Apple’s next-gen setup is compatible with its latest infotainment system that launches in 2024 in vehicles such as the DB12 coupe and DB12 convertible (or as Aston calls it, Volante).
Given Porsche’s relation to the Volkswagen Group and Aston’s to Lucid and Mercedes, we wager it’s only a matter of time until those companies integrate this tech into other vehicles within their respective portfolios.
Despite their shared last name, Greg Fink is not related to Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s infamous Rat Fink. Both Finks, however, are known for their love of cars, car culture, and—strangely—monogrammed one-piece bathing suits. Greg’s career in the media industry goes back more than a decade. His previous experience includes stints as an editor at publications such as U.S. News & World Report, The Huffington Post, Motor1.com, and MotorTrend.