Apple CarPlay Ultra is being expanded to these brands this year
Published on Feb 08, 2026 at 4:04 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Feb 04, 2026 at 9:26 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Apple CarPlay Ultra will be coming to more brands this year, with at least one new car set to launch with the new technology.
Apple announced its CarPlay Ultra last year, as part of an exclusive deal with Aston Martin.
The next-generation infotainment system was hailed as ’the best of iPhone and the best of the car’.
For now, Aston Martin is still the only carmaker to offer CarPlay Ultra, but that’s all set to change this year.
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Apple CarPlay Ultra is coming to ‘at least’ one new car this year
Announced in May last year, CarPlay Ultra is Apple’s most advanced in-car software ever.
It’s a lot more than just a beefed-up version of the standard CarPlay.
The smart system is designed to seamlessly take over everything from the instrument cluster to the center display and will allow motorists more flexibility when it comes to designing how their car’s dash will look.
Important information, such as navigation and speed, will be available in real time, and on-screen widgets mean users can check out the weather, media playback, or trip data, without having to use the app.
Although introduced as an Aston Martin exclusive, Apple confirmed that Ultra would be coming to other brands.
At its launch back in May, Apple revealed it would be working directly with carmakers’ design teams to create ‘experiences that feel tailor-made for each vehicle’.
“With CarPlay Ultra, together with automakers, we are reimagining the in-car experience… making it even more unified and consistent,” Apple’s VP of Worldwide Product Marketing Bob Borchers said.
Speaking at the time, Apple said CarPlay Ultra would be heading to Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis at a later date.
Now, Bloomberg has reported that Ultra ‘will come to at least one major new Hyundai/Kia model in the second half of this year’.
As yet, it’s not clear what model it will be, but it has been rumored that the upcoming IONIQ 3 will arrive with Apple CarPlay Ultra.
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Some carmakers have said ‘thanks, but no thanks’ to Ultra
The launch of CarPlay Ultra has been a bit of a mixed bag.
Several marques have announced plans to support Ultra at some point in the future, including Ford and Land Rover.
However, Ford CEO Jim Farley admitted on the Decoded podcast that it was still a long way from being accepted into its upcoming vehicles.
“We don’t like the execution in round one of Ultra,” he said.
Nonetheless, he added that the company was ‘very committed to Apple’.
But other carmakers appear to be less keen, and have already said ‘thanks, but no thanks’ to the new tech.
Audi, Volvo, Polestar, Rivian, and Renault have all said they have no plans to add CarPlay Ultra to their vehicles.
BMW, which is working on its own similar immersive in-car system, has also said it won’t be bringing CarPlay Ultra to its cars.
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With a background in both local and national press in the UK, Claire moved to New Zealand before joining the editorial team at Supercar Blondie in May 2024. As a Senior Content Writer working on New Zealand Standard Time (NZST), Claire was the first writer on the team to make the site’s output a slick 24/7 operation covering the latest in automotive news.
