Despite only being 33 years old, I’m a bit of an old man when it comes to in-car tech. I love technology, I’ve been building computers since I was 12. But when it comes to car tech, I like things old-school. However, there’s one piece of modern car tech that I absolutely love—Apple CarPlay. The brilliance of essentially turning a car’s infotainment system into the world’s greatest touchscreen UI is something I can’t live without in modern cars. And for 2023, it’s better than ever. So far, a few automakers have committed to implementing the new Apple CarPlay: Acura, Audi, Ford, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Volvo and others. But no word yet from BMW on future implementations of the new CarPlay.
For 2023, Apple CarPlay features greater integration than ever before and it boasts features that could make life much easier for customers. So let’s check out some of its new features.
Image provided for media use by Apple.com
This one is huge for me. So many brands, including BMW, now have touchscreen based climate controls and they can be problamtic. None of them work well enough to replace regular buttons, yet automakers continue to be buffoons and use them anyway. Apple’s climate controls will also be touchscreen but if anyone’s going to nail the UI (user interface) and make it as simple as possible, it’s Apple. Say what you want about Apple’s walled garden approach to its products or its business practices but Apple is probably the best in the business at making easy-to-use UIs. So I’m confident in Apple’s ability to upgrade brands’ touch-based UI.
As of right now, there’s only one screen for Apple CarPlay and that’s the main infotainment screen. However, Apple will be integrating CarPlay into the car’s main digital gauge cluster. That means compatible cars will get Apple-designed digital gauges which will likely feature more personalization than they currently do. It will be also to see if more gauge designs will be available, just as more digital faces are available for the Apple Watch.
Being able to have Apple CarPlay on both the infotainment system and the digital gauges at the same time is going to be incredibly helpful. You’ll be able to display certain info on each screen, allowing for…
