What if your car’s dashboard felt more like your iPhone than a traditional car interface? That futuristic vision is coming into reality in 2025 with the release of Apple CarPlay Ultra.
CarPlay Ultra has a chance to completely transform driving and reshape our expectations of our cars with its deeper integration, real-time vehicle data, customisable layouts, and improved app support.
To get the complete details regarding this subject, make sure you hang to this article to the end.
What Is Apple CarPlay Ultra?
CarPlay Ultra is the next-generation in-car infotainment system, debuting in 2025 with Aston Martin vehicles. It extends beyond the center console to integrate with the entire dashboard, including the instrument cluster, offering customizable displays for speed, RPM, fuel, and more. Drivers can control vehicle functions like climate and radio via touchscreen, physical buttons, or Siri. CarPlay Ultra also introduces widgets powered by iPhone for at-a-glance information. Initially available in Aston Martin models, broader adoption is expected among other automakers in the future.
Features Of New Gen Apple Carplay
Apple CarPlay is used by thousands of American drivers who prefer their phone’s apps over the built-in apps of their car’s infotainment system. Now it’s getting a major upgrade as Apple introduces CarPlay Ultra. Here are the 5 major features of Apple Carplay:
1. Multi-Display Integration
CarPlay Ultra now extends seamlessly across multiple screens in the vehicle — from the driver’s digital instrument cluster to the central infotainment display and even passenger-side screens. It allows customized layouts for each display, showing navigation, music, climate controls, and vehicle data simultaneously.
2. Deep Vehicle System Control
CarPlay Ultra offers deeper integration with core car functions. Users can now control climate settings, seat adjustments, drive modes, and more directly within the CarPlay interface — no need to exit to the carmaker’s native system.
3. Personalized Profiles with iCloud Sync
Using your Apple ID, CarPlay Ultra automatically loads your personal profile — including preferred navigation routes, music playlists, seat/mirror positions, and climate preferences — across any compatible vehicle. It even supports multiple user profiles for shared cars.
4. Enhanced Siri with Contextual Awareness
Siri in CarPlay Ultra is more intelligent and context-aware, offering proactive suggestions based on time of day, calendar events, or traffic conditions. You can ask Siri to “start my evening routine,” and it might adjust lighting, route home, and play your favorite podcast.
5. Third-Party App Expansion and Widgets
CarPlay Ultra introduces customizable widgets and expanded third-party app support, allowing developers to integrate apps like EV chargers, ride-sharing tools, and real-time parking data. The home screen is now widget-based, with glanceable info like battery levels, weather, and upcoming appointments.
Which iPhone Users Can Use Ultra Version Of Apple Carplay?
Users of iPhone models running iOS 17 or later—specifically, iPhone 14 and newer—are the only ones who can access the Ultra version of Apple CarPlay. These models are compatible with CarPlay Ultra’s improved features, which include deeper car system access, customisable gauge clusters, and multi-display integration. Next-generation CarPlay, which is being slowly added to some 2024 and later models, must also be supported by your vehicle. Make sure your car has the necessary hardware and software compatibility and ensure your iPhone is up to date in order to use CarPlay Ultra.
Why Aston Got To Go First And What Other Manufacturers Are In Line?
Aston Martin’s 2025 launch of Apple’s next-generation CarPlay Ultra was the result of a combination of technological ability, strategic alignment, and a common goal of providing high-end in-car experiences. Every new Aston Martin sold in the US will have CarPlay Ultra pre-installed. However, you can also use the older system. The new infotainment system will be available for owners who purchased Astons with it in the past few years to have installed at a dealer.
The system will be implemented globally on Aston Martins over the course of the next 12 months, and many other manufacturers, including Ford, Volvo, Renault, Porsche, and Hyundai, are expected to offer it shortly. Each manufacturer will collaborate with Apple to create a CarPlay Ultra “toolbox” application that is optimised for each specific model, as previously mentioned.
Final Words
CarPlay Ultra’s seamless integration of innovative connectivity, user-friendly controls, and an immersive interface positions it to completely transform in-car experiences. CarPlay Ultra turns cars into enhanced, customised hubs by digging deeper into key vehicle functions like climate control, navigation, and instrument clusters. This ecosystem will provide drivers with exclusive convenience, safety, and entertainment as automakers adopt it more and more. CarPlay Ultra is not just an update, but the future norm for in-car digital experiences because of Apple’s ecosystem advantage and user-friendly design.
FAQ
Q. Which cars will have CarPlay Ultra?
A. New Aston Martin models come with CarPlay Ultra, and other models that can get the software update will also have it.
Q. Which other car manufacturers will include CarPlay Ultra in future?
A. Ford, Volvo, Renault, Porsche, and Hyundai are the car manufacturers who will include CarPlay Ultra in future.
Q. How is it different from standard CarPlay?
A. CarPlay Ultra integrates with all car displays, including the instrument cluster, not just the infotainment screen.
Q. How will CarPlay Ultra “take over” my car in 2025?”
A. CarPlay Ultra will integrate directly with your car’s operating system, allowing it to replace the native infotainment system entirely. This means that when you connect your iPhone, CarPlay Ultra will become the central hub for all vehicle functions, streamlining controls and offering a consistent, personalized experience across compatible vehicles.
Q. Is CarPlay Ultra safe to use while driving?
A. Yes, safety is a priority for Apple. CarPlay Ultra is designed to minimize driver distraction with voice commands via Siri, simplified interfaces, and heads-up displays where available.
