CarPlay Ultra has had a rough start. So far, it’s been tough to find outside of an Aston Martin priced north of $200,000, which is an odd place for a company with Apple’s scale to leave a new platform.
That may change before year’s end, according to a report from Bloomberg. CarPlay Ultra is said to be headed to at least one big new Hyundai or Kia model in the second half of this year, a move that would put the system in front of far more drivers than its current niche run.
Why the rollout has crawled
CarPlay Ultra isn’t the usual plug-and-play experience you get with standard CarPlay. It’s built as a custom interface for each automaker, which means Apple’s design team has to work with a car brand on a unique layout that matches that vehicle’s screens and overall cockpit.
That bespoke approach slows everything down. It also raises the stakes for carmakers that like owning the look and feel of their dashboards. Some brands are reluctant to hand that over to Apple, especially after Apple previously explored building its own vehicle.
What it changes for shoppers
If Hyundai or Kia brings CarPlay Ultra to a mainstream launch, it becomes the first real proof point that Apple can scale the concept beyond ultra-luxury edge cases. Ultra is meant to feel like the car’s native system, not a mirrored phone window, so its value is hard to judge when almost nobody can actually try it.
For buyers, the tradeoff is simple. You either stick with the automaker’s software experience, or you let Apple run more of the screens you use every day. Ultra’s promise is consistency across the cabin, but it only works if the car brand is willing to share that space.
What to watch next
The next update needs names and trims. If Ultra lands across a high-volume model, and not just a premium configuration, it’ll signal real commitment and could nudge other automakers to move faster. If it’s restricted to a top spec, it may stay a status feature longer than drivers want.
Tesla is another thread. Regular CarPlay, not Ultra, is still said to be in the works for Tesla, with more details teased for later. If that arrives, it’s a separate win for Apple, and a reminder that the standard CarPlay story is still moving too.