Apple Confirms ‘CarPlay 2.0’ Still in the Works, But When It’s Coming Is Anyone’s Guess

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After missing its 2024 deadline for a CarPlay 2.0 rollout, Apple has updated its CarPlay page to remove the promise that the first models would arrive in 2024. However, the company hasn’t replaced it with anything, making its timeline even more vague.
Apple announced the next generation of CarPlay two and a half years ago during its 2022 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). While it never promised the new tech would be right around the corner, it did predict that we’d see the first new vehicles to get the new “CarPlay 2.0” integration announced by the end of 2023.
It also said it was working at least 14 carmakers to build the tech, from Acura to Volvo. However, when the end of 2023 arrived, only two had committed to implementing it: Aston Martin and Porsche.
Those may be well-known brands, but they’re not exactly mainstream. Meanwhile, the household names Apple had bandied about, such as Ford, Nissan, and Honda, were nowhere to be seen.
When asked about the next-gen CarPlay after Apple’s announcement in 2022, most of these automakers had nothing to say about the new tech, and they’ve been dead quiet ever since. Even Aston Martin and Porsche have done little more than show off what the tech could look like. Their 2025 model vehicles have a deeper integration of standard CarPlay that allows for control of in-vehicle systems like climate control, ambient lighting, and the radio, but that’s only a small part of what CarPlay 2.0 promises.
In its own words, Apple’s vision for the next chapter in CarPlay is to “provide content for all the driver’s screens including the instrument cluster” for a “cohesive design experience.” To do this, Apple promised that it would be working with automakers to create bespoke designs that “express your vehicle’s character and brand.”

That’s a tall order, and it probably explains why we haven’t seen much from Apple. This isn’t something that Apple can show off if each interface is going to be unique. In fact, even if Apple had already designed something for a carmaker like, say, Porsche, the responsibility of announcing it and demonstrating it would fall on Porsche.
As for the others, Apple may have jumped the gun in announcing its relationships earlier than it should have, or it may just be taking longer to work with them. We haven’t heard a peep out of any others; of the full list, only BMW, Volvo, Polestar, and Mercedes-Benz have said they’re considering the new tech. The pedigree of those brands and their relationship with Apple suggests they’re probably still working on something. Still, the others may have taken a closer look at CarPlay 2.0 and given it a pass after discovering what it would do to their dashboards.

Nevertheless, there’s plenty of evidence that Apple is still working on it with at least some of these carmakers. Code in the iOS 18.3 beta shows options for displaying Apple Maps information in the vehicle instrument cluster and controlling the environmental systems in more vehicles. This is new code that wasn’t there before, so someone in Apple’s software engineering team added it recently.
Now, Apple has removed the tag on its CarPlay page that previously said the “First models arrive in 2024” and it’s replaced it with… nothing. That suggests the company isn’t confident enough to promise a new timeline. However, the fact that the “Next generation of CarPlay” graphic and description remains means it hasn’t abandoned the platform.
For greater certainty, Apple also issued a statement to 9to5Mac and other outlets to confirm that everything is still on track with “several automakers.” However, it declined to provide any specifics on who or when.
The next generation of CarPlay builds on years of success and insights gained from CarPlay, delivering the best of Apple and the automaker in a deeply integrated and customizable experience. We continue to work closely with several automakers, enabling them to showcase their unique brand and visual design philosophies in the next generation of CarPlay. Each car brand will share more details as they near the announcements of their models that will support the next generation of CarPlay.
There’s no doubt that CarPlay 2.0 is an exciting concept, but it’s also looking more and more like it will be limited to only a handful of higher-end elite vehicles. The good news is that Apple won’t be abandoning the standard CarPlay platform — it said in the same statement that it remains committed to that, which is now available in over 98% of new cars sold in the US in recent years. However, with much of its energy seemingly focused on CarPlay 2.0, it’s hard to say whether we’ll see any meaningful improvements to the version that’s available to the majority of iPhone users.