CarPlay

Many new cars have a screen in the center console. Apple's CarPlay ensures that a simplified interface of the iPhone appears on this screen. You connect the phone to the car either by cable or wirelessly, and then large icons for maps, music, and phone appear. The apps keep running on the phone, while the car only provides the screen, speakers, microphone, and the buttons on the steering wheel. This means the driver no longer has to tap around on the phone in hand. The counterpart for phones running the Android operating system is called Android Auto and works on the same principle.

Why carmakers are fighting over it

The screen in the car is valuable real estate. Whoever controls it decides which navigation, which music service, and which ads appear there. That is exactly why CarPlay is a sensitive topic for the car industry. Apple suddenly finds itself sitting between the manufacturer and the customer.

For buyers, however, the benefit is clear. The software of many carmakers looks old-fashioned next to a phone’s interface and is rarely updated. A car stays in use for ten years or more, while a phone gets replaced every two to three years. Through CarPlay, even an older car gets access to the current map and traffic data.

Some manufacturers are therefore trying to push their own systems. General Motors has dropped CarPlay from its new electric vehicles and is relying on its own interface with Google services. Such decisions regularly annoy customers and are widely discussed in tech news. Other brands are going the opposite way and integrating CarPlay more deeply than before.

What happens between the iPhone and the dashboard

Technically, CarPlay is primarily a video transmission with a return channel. The iPhone calculates the display and sends it to the car as a video stream. Conversely, the car reports back to the phone every touch of the screen, every turn of a dial, and every voice command. In the wireless variant this runs over Wi-Fi, with the initial connection made via Bluetooth.

Apple gives developers fixed templates for the user interface. A maps app, for example, may only use certain building blocks, such as lists with few lines and large buttons. This is not red tape but a safety measure: the eyes should only leave the traffic for a brief moment. That’s why CarPlay does not allow playing videos or browsing the internet freely.

The newer version is called CarPlay Ultra and goes further. It also takes over the instrument cluster behind the steering wheel, meaning the speedometer and tachometer. For this, the manufacturer must release data from the vehicle, such as speed or climate control. This requires closer cooperation and so far exists only with a few brands, first with Aston Martin.

CarPlay in everyday life and when buying a car

You most often encounter CarPlay in rental cars and in cars belonging to friends or parents. You plug in the cable, and Apple Maps or Google Maps appear large on the screen. Messages are read aloud by the voice assistant Siri, and you reply by voice. Spotify, podcast apps, and WhatsApp calls also work this way.

When buying a car, CarPlay appears on almost every equipment list. Two details are worth checking: whether the wireless variant is included, and whether it is compatible with your own phone. CarPlay can often be retrofitted with a new radio from an aftermarket dealer. For older cars, this is the cheapest way to get modern navigation.

A common misconception: CarPlay does not control the car. It has nothing to do with autonomous driving, driver-assistance systems, or the engine. It is purely entertainment and information, strictly separate from the vehicle’s technology. The earlier idea of a dedicated Apple car also had nothing to do with it; that project was shut down in 2024.