Aston Martin has just been given a special honor by Apple. The British luxury car brand—known as James Bond’s car of choice—will be the first company worldwide to employ Apple CarPlay Ultra, the next-generation system that supports iPhone 12 or later models running iOS 18.54 and later. The DBX and popular sports car models like the Vantage, DB12, and Vanquish will be the first to use Ultra.
According to Apple, CarPlay Ultra will gradually roll out to other automakers globally, such as Kia, Hyundai, and Genesis. Starting on May 15, 2025, the deployment will be a standard feature on new Aston Martins in the US and Canada, and a global rollout is planned within the next 12 months.
In the upcoming weeks, the Aston Martin dealer network will update existing Aston Martin cars with the company’s in-house built next-generation infotainment system—which made its debut on the Aston Martin DB12 in 2023—to include Apple CarPlay Ultra.
CarPlay Ultra, which builds upon the already-existing Apple CarPlay, connects with Aston Martin’s infotainment system. The brand’s headquarters in Gaydon, UK, collaborated extensively with Apple to make sure the interface adheres to the company’s design ethos.
Apple suggests that the look and feel of the system will be specific to each brand by stating that CarPlay Ultra enables automakers to convey their own design philosophy with the look and feel their customers expect.
The digital instrument cluster will also support Apple CarPlay Ultra, enabling customers to personalise their tachometer and speedometer dials with different patterns, colours, and backgrounds.
Additionally, the system enables the incorporation of iPhone-powered widgets that smoothly match the digital gauge cluster or Aston Martin’s 10.25-inch infotainment display. Drivers can design their own preferred layout over multiple screens, and it offers full-screen display options for media and maps in addition to fast information.
With the incorporation of Apple CarPlay Ultra, the system joins Google’s Android Automotive OS to provide smartphone-like functions and features on a car’s infotainment displays.
How Apple CarPlay Ultra will work with cars that currently have infotainment systems driven by Google’s Android Automotive OS, such as those systems in Porsche and Volvo models, is still up in the air.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
We can’t wait to hear how quickly Apple plan to roll out Ultra on brands other than Aston Martin, especially given the low sales volume. Although Android Auto frequently comes with basic Apple CarPlay, the addition of CarPlay Ultra may present a different scenario. Will these companies use Apple’s new system alongside their current Android Automotive-based configurations, or will a more substantial change to their infotainment architecture be necessary?