CarPlay

We’re less than 60 days out from the start of the 2025 NFL regular season, and football fans have something new to get ready for kickoff. Many NFL team iPhone apps are coming to Apple CarPlay, starting with three team apps that are already live.

When Apple moved the iPhone to USB-C with the iPhone 15, it left behind more than just the Lightning port. While each new iPhone comes with a USB-C charging cable, many cars and vehicles still use USB-A ports to enable wired CarPlay. That’s created an annoying gap for drivers: no first-party cable to connect a USB-C iPhone to a USB-A car. Apple’s first official workaround is a $29 USB-C to Lightning adapter. Since then, Beats has stepped in with the cable Apple never made. And since Beats is an Apple brand, this USB-A to USB-C cable is effectively the official solution for using CarPlay with USB-C iPhones.

Audi and Mercedes–Benz are among the car makers to reject CarPlay Ultra, despite Apple listing them as future partners, and they are not alone.

Aston–Martin was the first to adopt it, and Porsche has said that it will be doing so – but others previously named by Apple have either changed their minds, or are keeping suspiciously quiet …

Over the last several years, CarPlay’s new features have been rare and few. But between CarPlay Ultra’s launch and everything new coming in iOS 26 for standard CarPlay, things have quickly changed. Here’s what’s coming this fall in iOS 26, CarPlay’s biggest update in years.

It’s turning out to be a huge year for CarPlay, surprising many of us after years of middling updates. Among the host of new CarPlay features coming in iOS 26, there’s a key fix for what’s long been the most annoying Messages issue for me: the lack of tapbacks support.

CarPlay’s evolution has in several ways been a disappointment since the “next generation” of CarPlay was first previewed in 2022. But all of a sudden, in the span of a mere month, CarPlay’s future looks brighter than it has in years—in part because of a redefinition of what that future will be.

iOS 26 is crammed full of upgrades for CarPlay users, including a refreshed Liquid Glass design, support for widgets, and more. There’s even support for a new “AirPlay video in the car” feature that developers and automakers can adopt if they so choose.

Apple is making a major U-turn with CarPlay after a decade of not allowing video playback. Starting with iOS 26, Apple will allow apps to display video through the CarPlay screen while parked.

Turns out you don’t need an Aston Martin to have a new CarPlay experience in 2025. That’s because iOS 26 brings a fresh coat of paint and some new features to CarPlay for everyone.

iOS 26 will pack a lot of changes and new features. But the new software won’t just improve the experience of using your iPhone. There are new features coming to CarPlay too, powered by the latest iOS 26 update. Here are three new CarPlay features on the way soon.

After years of anticipation, CarPlay Ultra officially launched earlier this month. Many automakers have committed to working with Apple to support CarPlay Ultra in their vehicles. But what about those who haven’t? Here’s a list of major brands that are choosing not to support CarPlay Ultra.

After three years of anticipation, Apple officially launched next-generation CarPlay this week, dubbed CarPlay Ultra. CarPlay Ultra packs countless new features, updates, and more compared to normal CarPlay.

Here’s everything you need to know about CarPlay Ultra, including whether your favorite automaker will support the platform.

Apple’s long-brewing next generation of CarPlay is finally here. CarPlay Ultra officially launched this morning. And while anyone not driving an Aston Martin may be disappointed, Apple’s announcement actually brought good news for all CarPlay users.

It’s taken a very long time, and it’s so far only being offered by a single, niche car-maker, but next-gen CarPlay – which Apple has branded CarPlay Ultra – is finally here.

It’s currently limited to Aston Martin, and is available with new orders, alongside a software update being made available to owners of existing (recent) models …

After months of delays, Apple officially announced the launch of next-gen CarPlay, now with a new brand name of ‘CarPlay Ultra’. From today, CarPlay Ultra is available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the United States and Canada, and a software update will also bring the technology to existing vehicles. Apple also said Hyundai, Kia and Genesis are working on adding CarPlay Ultra to their cars, but did not disclose a timeframe.

CarPlay Ultra integrates vehicle controls with the CarPlay experience, including taking over display of the instrument cluster and gauges, toggles for air conditioning and driver assistance systems, advanced media controls and more.

Security vulnerabilities discovered in Apple’s AirPlay SDK mean that millions of devices could be hacked by attackers. The flaw has been dubbed AirBorne.

Related vulnerabilities would also have allowed hackers to attack Apple devices too, but the iPhone maker says it has issued fixes for these in the past few months. CarPlay devices are also vulnerable, though the real-life risks there are very low …

Even as CarPlay 2 work keeps chugging along, Apple has been slowly adding new features to the existing CarPlay too. Last fall CarPlay got some Apple Intelligence enhancements, and recently Ford EV owners gained NACS routing. Now, with iOS 18.4, there are three more new CarPlay features that just arrived.

While the world awaits next-gen CarPlay, Land Rover has made a retrofit CarPlay solution for Range Rovers from a previous decade.

With the exception of wireless support, the CarPlay hardware appears to be pretty basic, and that’s the point.

Sidecar’s CarPlay web browser/video player is going away after briefly arriving on the App Store. The company behind the app is removing the browser feature at the request of Apple.

CarPlay users often request web browsers and video apps for use while parked, but Apple limits CarPlay apps to a handful of categories. Adapters that run Android apps and display CarPlay exist as a workaround.

However, there’s now an app on the App Store that includes a browser feature for playing video. The CarPlay app loads URLs from the web to play video while parked.