Apple reveals more of its new highly customisable software, but some car brands are already going their own way.
Apple has shown more info on the next generation of its CarPlay multimedia interface set to make its debut later in 2024, with Aston Martin and Porsche to be the first brands to offer it in showrooms.
Apple CarPlay was first introduced in 2014 and has become commonplace – along with rival Android Auto – in almost every new car on sale in Australia.
The Californian company announced the latest generation back in 2022, but delays have seen its introduction pushed back to later in 2024.
At its annual online Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) held between 10 June and 14 June 2024, Apple made a play for end users – new car buyers – as well as pitching directly to automotive designers.
While previously limited to a car’s infotainment screen, central to the new generation of Apple CarPlay is its expansion to include the instrument cluster – and all screens in a vehicle.
The cluster itself is highly customisable – from layouts, typeface fonts, the information shown, and even wallpapers – and is where Apple is targeting car designers to join Aston Martin and Porsche in picking up the new software.
“Cars have changed a lot since CarPlay first launched – screens are becoming larger and we’re seeing more of them,” said Ben Crick, Human Interface Designer from Apple in the WWDC presentation.
The new generation CarPlay is “Designed to adapt to any vehicle drivetrain feature set and configuration. One screen or many, big screens or small, and any screen in between … to look beautifully on-brand for your brand,” said Crick.
What’s also different – from a technical point of view – is the software’s ability to take on more displays and process/render more data to achieve smooth, uninterrupted graphics, audio and data across screens.
Apple says this capability means it is fast to start – it has to function immediately in the event of driving off quickly, for example, with effectively zero ‘latency’ – the term used for slow-responding software lag.
It also needs to achieve this with a wireless connection, as the new generation will not need to be connected to the vehicle even for audio or video playback.
Although compatibility with CarPlay is expected to be widespread – as it is on current cars – going forward, Porsche and Aston Martin are the only brands Apple has won over in terms of collaborating with the tech giant, so far.
General Motors (GM) – whose brands include Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC – is one of the car makers who have decided to develop its own in-house software for its vehicles.
It announced in 2023 it would ditch both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone compatibility software for future vehicles.
For its new electric vehicles – the Cadillac Lyric SUV expected to be the first in Australia with a planned arrival in the second half of 2024 – GM will use its new Ultifi software.
GM said the integration of safety technology and autonomous driving systems is better suited to its specific software rather than Apple’s new CarPlay system.
In early 2024, Apple axed its own in-house autonomous car project – codenamed ‘Project Titan’ – and has since been rumoured to be looking to collaborate with car makers in developing its autonomous tech.
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