Future of Apple CarPlay: why tech giant is now working with car firms

In late 2023, Apple put flesh on the bones of its intention to amplify Apple CarPlay, drawing in two premium marques - Porsche and Aston Martin. 

The announcement focused on those brands working with Apple to create customised versions of CarPlay, designed to encompass all the screens in your car, rather than just the central display.

This is a marked change from the previous situation with Apple CarPlay: it has traditionally been limited to that one central display and served up only apps and services from your iPhone, rather than offering any assimilation of car functions.

Porsche and Aston Martin have both shown off customised versions of CarPlay, with dials that are part of the CarPlay experience but reflect Porsche and Aston Martin brand cues.

From a tech point of view, this is huge, because Apple rarely lets customisation creep into its products: Hermès and Nike did so on the Apple Watch, but that's about it. There's definitely a change coming down the road in this sense.

What's in it for Porsche and Aston Martin? 

Jump into a modern car and it's radically different from one 10 years ago: the actual functions of the car haven't changed much, but the expectations around entertainment and connectivity are entirely different.

The touchscreen now dominates, dials have gone digital, and all cars are trying to replicate the smartphone experience.

In October 2023, Cyril Dorsaz, then principal product manager at Porsche Digital in the US, highlighted the downside of Apple CarPlay, telling Ars Technica: "You have to switch back and forth to control some features around media, for example, some more specific features around climate. And ultimately, we learned through customer research that this is something that our customers are not really happy with."

In July 2023, Porsche updated the My Porsche app to be CarPlay compatible, giving access to a range of car functions from within Apple CarPlay. But this was only a stepping stone towards a more complete integration that's coming with 2024 models, such as the Macan EV and the new Taycan.

With an all-encompassing Apple CarPlay experience, the aim is to deliver the customer a smoother experience when interacting with the car, without that app switching.

As customer expectation rises, delivering the experience they demand becomes more important and that's the benefit to brands like Porsche and Aston Martin. If a majority of drivers are using Apple CarPlay - which Porsche tells us is the case for its owners - then optimising for that environment should be the focus, rather than trying to replicate the experience with a native infotainment offering.

Ultimately, for a car brand, trying to compete with the likes of Apple or indeed Google (with Android Auto) can be a costly venture for little return.