'Next-gen' CarPlay coming this year; here's everything we know

Since its initial launch, Apple's CarPlay platform has become ubiquitous. The vast majority of new cars on the market today come with it, and for good reason: it's one of the most important things people look for when buying a new car.

At WWDC last June, Apple announced what it called the "next generation of CarPlay." This new CarPlay interface is set to debut in new cars as soon as later this year, and it's going to be a big change.

A new design for CarPlay

CarPlay originally launched as “iOS in the Car” as part of iOS 7 and was renamed CarPlay shortly thereafter. CarPlay's interface hasn't changed much since the name change. The biggest design change comes with iOS 13, when Apple introduced a new dashboard interface with different "cards" for apps like Maps, Music, and more.

However, the “next generation” of CarPlay will feature a complete overhaul of the CarPlay interface. While we haven't had a chance to try out the new CarPlay design yet, Apple's images from WWDC gave us a sneak peek.

The new design still relies on the app icon grid as its main user interface element, but there are many other changes surrounding the app grid. There will be a split view style interface for displaying multiple apps at the same time and a Dock at the bottom for quick access to recently used apps.

Where the new CarPlay interface really shines, however, is how it takes over a car's entire infotainment system. This includes the entire center console display, as well as any other displays behind the steering wheel.

Apple explains:

CarPlay has fundamentally changed the way people interact with their vehicles, and next-generation CarPlay goes even further with deep integration with vehicle hardware. CarPlay will be able to serve content to multiple screens in the car, creating a unified and consistent experience.

One of Apple's new design models uses a car similar in style to the Mercedes-Benz EQS, which basically has a big display Extends from behind the steering wheel to the passenger side. The interface appears to be completely modular, with different tiles and widgets for apps like Weather, HomeKit, and more.

Another mockup (at the top of this story) shows a car very similar to the Ford Mustang Mach-E, with a portrait-oriented center display and a smaller instrument panel behind the steering wheel.

In these images you can see how the CarPlay interface adjusts to different screen sizes. This is where the "modularity" of widgets and cards comes into play. But the key to this new design is that it completely replaces the automaker's software interface. Deep integration with your car

If CarPlay is going to take over your entire in-car experience, it needs to be able to access all of your car’s features and functionality. With this in mind, the "next generation" of CarPlay will be able to access a wider range of car features than before. Apple says this works by your iPhone communicating with your car's real-time system.

This includes climate control, fuel and battery charge levels, radio controls, instrument cluster data and more. "CarPlay will seamlessly present speed, fuel level, temperature and more on the dashboard," Apple said. “Deeper integration with the vehicle will allow users to control the radio or change the climate directly from CarPlay.”

Think of it this way: Everything you previously had to do using the car’s native interface Content will now be fully integrated with CarPlay itself. In an ideal implementation, this means you'll only

interact with CarPlay.

Design Customization

With all this data, the above design changes make more sense. You'll be able to personalize your driving experience by selecting different instrument cluster designs and managing the layout of the instrument cluster itself. Apple says it has crafted different instrument cluster designs, "from modern to traditional."

Apple also says there will be different layout options for another level of customization. You can also choose custom fonts, font sizes, and font colors for various aspects of your car's interface.

Meanwhile, the CarPlay widget will give you at-a-glance information from apps like Music and Weather.

Release Date

Apple says the first cars with next-generation CarPlay support will be released sometime in late 2023. We do know some details about which automakers have signed up to support this new CarPlay interface, though.

• Land Rover
• Benz
• Lincoln
• Audi
• Volvo
• Honda
• Porsche
• Nissan
• Ford
• Jaguar
• Acura
• Polestar
• Infiniti
• renault

One thing to remember, however, is that the details of the adoption and implementation of this new CarPlay are beyond Apple's control. Ultimately, it will be up to each of these automakers and their respective timelines to roll out new CarPlay designs. So far, most of these automakers have been quiet about their plans.

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