It's 2025. Where's Next-Gen Apple CarPlay?

It was supposed to launch on select cars last year, but Apple doesn't even want to talk about it now.

By: Christopher Smith

Jan 9, 2025 at 1:00pm ET

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Flashback to June 2022. During Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, the tech giant showed a plethora of automotive screens running a new generation of CarPlay. Two years later, we got another teaser during the annual conference with a promise that it would launch in some vehicles by the end of 2024.

We're now a week into 2025, and the next-gen tech is nowhere to be seen. Moreover, it seems Apple doesn't even want to acknowledge it exists. There's still a blurb about it on the official CarPlay website, but it's labeled as coming in 2024. The image on the site is from the 2022 announcement. Clearly this page hasn't been updated in quite some time.

Gallery: New Apple CarPlay Screenshots

We reached out to Apple to see what's up. Emails to the media department and individual contacts weren't returned. A phone call to the company's media line is just a recording, instructing you to email them. A call to the main customer line ended with instructions to email the media group. It's complete radio silence—not a good sign for the tech's future.

To refresh your memory, the next-gen system promises to be an all-encompassing, customizable experience that can span multiple screens. That includes digital driver displays with different kinds of readouts for speed and vital vehicle information. Last June, we also learned the next-gen system would be capable of integrating various vehicle control settings. Features like adjusting the temperature or changing the gap distance on adaptive cruise control would work seamlessly through the Apple interface.

Of course, going that deep requires considerable collaboration with automakers. In some cases—notably General Motors—there's a pushback to using any third-party system. Apple mentioned Porsche and Aston Martin by name as brands using the new CarPlay, but neither company had anything to say when we asked for an update. Just more radio silence.

What do you think?

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Does this mean Apple is abandoning its ambitious system? The folks at 9to5Mac don't think so. In a recent report, they claim to have found multiple references to "CarPlayHybridInstrument" in the code of iOS 18.3 beta 2, which was released to developers on January 7. This could reference the multi-screen functionality Apple described for the new CarPlay, suggesting work is still ongoing. Or, it could be a new feature for the existing system. Until Apple speaks up, nobody knows.

As soon as we hear something, you'll hear from us. Stay tuned.