Apple’s more immersive CarPlay is dividing the auto industry

Apple’s next-generation CarPlay is splitting the auto world down the middle. Several automakers are eagerly lining up to adopt the newly immersive CarPlay Ultra, which takes over more screens and includes embedded vehicle features like speedometers, heating and cooling, and radio functions. Others are flatly refusing to allow it, while the rest are taking a wait-and-see approach.

All this comes courtesy of a report in the Financial Times, which previews Apple’s rough road ahead as it pushes adoption for its splashy, more demanding phone projection system. As The Verge reported back in 2022, when Apple first revealed its more expansive CarPlay, most automakers were hesitant to commit to letting CarPlay gobble up all the screens in their cars. And unsurprisingly many are still wary of handing over too much real estate to the tech giant.

Here’s where each of the automakers currently stands on CarPlay Ultra:

We’re still missing some big ones, like Volkswagen and Toyota, two of the biggest automakers in the world. I’ve reached out to both and will update this post if I hear back.

CarPlay Ultra is a huge challenge for the auto industry. Multiple surveys show that customers love it, frequently use it over their car’s embedded systems, and would be less likely to buy a future vehicle that didn’t allow CarPlay. But automakers are spending huge sums of money on developing next-generation software systems that allow over-the-air updates and address their customers’ appetite for more digital services. And they’re reluctant to just let Apple slap their own software on top of that.

Sources tell the Financial Times that automakers are eager to set clear standards about data sharing with Apple before agreeing to allow CarPlay Ultra.