These Are the First Carmakers to Offer the New-Generation CarPlay

With December almost over, everybody believed Apple would miss the deadline and push a potential announcement to early 2024.

It didn't happen, as the first vehicle announcements for CarPlay 2.0 just landed, with Porsche and Aston Martin becoming the first brands offering the new-generation experience in their models.

Both companies are projected to pioneer the adoption of CarPlay 2.0 in 2024, with further specifics to be shared in the new year. Here's everything we know so far.

The first CarPlay 2.0 adopters

Porsche and Aston Martin are the first brands confirmed to adopt CarPlay 2.0, though they aren't necessarily the first to offer the new experience.

Both confirmed they'll bring the new-generation CarPlay in their cars, but neither revealed a date, so other brands could join the bandwagon and release their models earlier.

Porsche's announcement isn't surprising. The company recently adopted Android Automotive but left the door open to the new-generation CarPlay. Its executives stated clearly that its infotainment system isn't exclusive to Google, suggesting that CarPlay 2.0 has a reserved spot on the dashboard of future Porsche models.

Porsche was also one of the first companies that offered a more integrated CarPlay experience through the My Porsche app.

Aston Martin says the upgraded CarPlay experience will be part of its latest infotainment system, which is already available in models on the road, but it's unclear if the company wants to bring it to existing vehicles. CarPlay 2.0 requires special hardware unavailable in models sporting the current version, but Aston Martin might have planned and prepared older models for the upgrade.

The experience

Compared to the current CarPlay version, the new release benefits from deeper vehicle integration, so it can read battery and range information, display details about the playing song on the dashboard, and sport integrated Apple Maps navigation.

The new CarPlay also features support for all displays on the dashboard, so it can control not only the infotainment screen but also the instrument panel. It's in charge of displaying the speedometer and other details, such as navigation instructions.

Renderings published by Porsche and Aston Martin show early CarPlay 2.0 integrations, confirming some of the most important details about the upcoming system.

First, the experience on the infotainment system will be similar to what we have today, though the interface will receive an overhaul to support various screen sizes and aspect ratios. The CarPlay Dashboard will still be present, allowing users to run multiple apps side by side on the screen, including navigation and phone calls.

Aston Martin's rendering reveals a design similar to the existing CarPlay interface, with vehicle controls on top of the UI. The Dashboard is still there, offering one-tap access to apps, navigation, music playback controls, climate options, and temperature settings.

The most important part is the CarPlay integration into the instrument cluster, with Apple's system in charge of displaying the speed, battery range, and other essential information. CarPlay will let carmakers customize the interface in order to preserve the brand identity, and these renderings from Porsche and Aston Martin confirm each company will be free to decide how the experience will look in their models.

Keep in mind these renderings are only proposed designs of the upcoming CarPlay experience, so the interface could look different once it's ready for production models.

The remaining questions

Now that Aston Martin and Porsche have confirmed they will adopt CarPlay 2.0, we finally know the names of the first brands to offer the system in 2024.

However, the announcement still leaves many questions without an answer. For example, it's unclear when Porsche and Aston Martin will release the first models to the market, as a 2024 release could mean either January or December.

I expect the list of car brands adopting CarPlay 2.0 to grow fast in 2024, and I wouldn't be surprised to see other carmakers bringing the new experience to their drivers before Porsche and Aston Martin.

The second big question concerns the availability on existing models. CarPlay 2.0 won't run in vehicles fitted with the existing version, but Aston Martin and Porsche might already have models on the road meeting the requirements for the new experience. Aston Martin says its new infotainment operating system, already available in production models, supports CarPlay 2.0, so theoretically, the carmaker could release a software update to enable it in more models.

Apple's website still claims that vehicle announcements for the new-generation CarPlay will land in late 2023, but the company will probably update the page to confirm Aston Martin and Porsche as the first names to adopt the system. Other names planning to bring CarPlay 2.0 to their models include Ford, Honda, Volvo, and Polestar. Hyundai has already confirmed it won't bring CarPlay 2.0 to its cars, sticking with the current version and a proprietary infotainment system.