While it hasn’t necessarily always been true, for the last several decades, Aston Martin has leaned on gorgeous designs to sell cars. Sure, some might have driven like heavy, expensive Mustangs, but it was hard to care when they looked so darn good. These days, Aston Martins are arguably the best they’ve ever been, but that’s largely been thanks to borrowing Mercedes tech. Aston Martin’s latest move, however, immediately establishes it as a tech leader, even if it’s only temporary. That’s because, if you want the latest evolution of Apple CarPlay, you have to buy an Aston Martin.
As of today, Aston Martin is officially the first automaker in the world to get Apple CarPlay Ultra in its cars. Does the name bring to mind “MKUltra?” Of course, but maybe that’s just a Jalopnik-writers’-brains-being-broken thing. Regardless of what you think of the CarPlay Ultra name, this is a big deal simply because Apple CarPlay is a big deal, especially in the U.S. where the iPhone dominates phone sales. Almost as soon as it was introduced, CarPlay became one of the most sought-after new car features for normal buyers, and you’d expect a bigger company such as Honda would be the first to get the next-generation system. Instead, that distinction went to little old Aston.
Odds are, CarPlay Ultra won’t revolutionize the industry in the same way the original CarPlay did, but at the same time, it gives wealthy buyers who just want their in-car tech to work a big reason to buy a DB12 over, say, a Ferrari Roma.
Apple CarPlay Ultra
So what’s the big deal about CarPlay Ultra? Well, it’s new, and to a certain subset of wealthy buyers, new is all that matters. After all, you wouldn’t want to look like one of those poors who still has the old thing, would you? That said, there’s more to CarPlay Ultra than just a new name. It allows CarPlay to integrate with the driver display as well as the center screen. Want CarPlay navigation right in front of you and your podcast on the center screen? You can do that now, at least if you order a new Aston Martin.
CarPlay Ultra is also now more than a mirror for your phone that sits on top of the automaker’s native system. It’s been integrated into the car itself, allowing you to control actual vehicle functions such as the radio or the climate system, as well as configure audio and performance settings. Plus, Aston Martin worked with Apple to customize CarPlay Ultra’s appearance to better fit the Aston aesthetic. iPhone users will also be able to add various widgets that do… something. But while the press releases were short on examples, Apple’s did promise those widgets will “perfectly fit the car’s screen or gauge cluster to provide information at a glance.”
Aston Martin
While it’s only available on Aston Martins for now, Apple’s version of the press release also specifically mentioned Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, so expect those automakers to be the next ones to get CarPlay Ultra. Which will be nice for those of us who weren’t raised using “summer” as a verb.
As previously mentioned, CarPlay Ultra’s in-car integration probably isn’t such a game-changer that people will feel like they have to rush out to get it as soon as possible, but at the same time, having your car play better with CarPlay will probably be a nice improvement over the current system. At least for iPhone users.