The new Apple CarPlay is here to save us from carmakers’ own software

Ever heard of a small American company called Apple? Apparently it’s pretty good at the whole tech thing, which just so happens to be an area that carmakers tend to struggle with. Seriously, when was the last time you used an in-built satnav in a modern car?

Anyway, it looks as though those carmakers might soon be able to drop the whole software development and infotainment thing, because the latest generation of Apple CarPlay is here…

Get a look at that teaser image above. Yep, your phone will soon be able to control every single screen in your car. Next-gen CarPlay will take over your dial display and show speed, revs, fuel levels, temperatures and everything else that carmakers spend many hours and millions of pounds on currently.

Will any be brave enough to ditch their own development completely? It could leave more money to spend on physical engineering which is no bad thing. And if you don’t own an iPhone? Just make one an optional extra. What’s one more box to tick on the configurator?

Apple has also announced that the new CarPlay will be able to control your car’s inbuilt radio and climate control functions, so surely carmakers will just need to find a good place to stick a telly on the dashboard and be done with it?

Looks like it’ll be highly customisable too, with endless colour and display options for your dials as well as the ability to add widgets for things like weather and music into your dash.

Apple has already confirmed that it’s working with a variety of different manufacturers including (but not limited to) JLR, Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, Volvo, Polestar, Renault, Ford, Nissan and Honda, although we’ll have to wait until late next year to hear which specific cars will be first to get the full integration. 

What do we think, folks? Does Android Auto need to follow suit?