Want to control Spotify, Maps and your climate settings without touching 16 different screens or accidentally ejecting your passenger seat? Enter CarPlay Ultra – Apple’s next-gen in-car interface, which is making its global debut in some suitably swish surroundings: Aston Martin’s DBX and sportscar range.
Wait, What Even is Apple CarPlay Again?
For the uninitiated (hi, Dad), Apple CarPlay is the system that mirrors key apps from your iPhone – like Maps, Music, Podcasts and Messages – onto your car’s infotainment screen. It means less faffing, more driving, and Siri acting as your polite yet mildly passive-aggressive co-pilot.
You plug your phone in (or connect wirelessly), and boom – the car’s screen becomes a friendlier, more familiar place. Handy when you’re trying to find your Airbnb without melting down in a multi-storey.
So, What Makes CarPlay ‘Ultra’?
Glad you asked. CarPlay Ultra isn’t just a shinier version of the same thing. It’s a full-blown rewire of the experience, blending Apple’s slick UI with the soul of the actual car. That means stuff like fuel level, tyre pressure, your rev counter and your speed – all now wrapped in Apple’s signature minimalism and flowing across all your in-car displays, even the instrument cluster behind the wheel.
It’s also got clever extras like:
• Punch-through UI (not a boxing move): Lets the car’s built-in bits – like reversing cameras – peek through into Apple’s domain.
• Motion Sickness Reduction: Tones down screen animations for passengers who go green in the bends.
• Sound Recognition: Shows alerts if there’s a siren or honk nearby. Great if you’ve got AirPods in. (Please don’t.)
• Siri-powered car controls: No more fiddling to turn on the AC or change the radio station – just ask nicely.
Why is Aston Martin First in Line?
Because of course it is. If anyone’s going to combine handcrafted leather, a snarling V8 and next-level tech, it’s the Brits in Gaydon. Aston Martin is the first carmaker in the world to roll out CarPlay Ultra – launching first in the DBX707 and the marque’s latest sportscars.
They’ve even collaborated with Apple to make bespoke Aston-themed visuals, so your tachometer looks as refined as your brogues. Want blue stripes? Thick red bars? A dashboard to match your wallpaper? Done.
Is it Standard?
With new Aston Martins, yes, and there’s a software update coming for those who already have one. It’s destined to appear with across other brands in due course – Hyundai, Kia and Genesis are next in the queue. Aftermarket screens and head units are sure to also feature it in due course.
Do I Need to Pay For it?
Not directly. CarPlay Ultra comes free, but obviously you’ll still be burning through your iPhone data streaming seven hours of BBC Sounds on your road trip to Snowdonia. Oh, and you’ll need an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or above.
