Apple CarPlay Ultra has 3 great features – but one major downfall

Apple CarPlay Ultra is the next generation of car infotainment. Not only does it allow you to access a wide range of popular apps on your car’s central display – from maps to music and even video – but it can now integrate vehicle dynamics and take over the driver display.

While multiple firms have expressed interest in using CarPlay Ultra, only one has so far launched the integration, and that is Aston Martin. Currently available on the DBX, DB12, Vantage, Vanquish and new DB12 S, the system provides a full takeover of the central and driver displays, giving full customisation options and the ability to control all the driving features without leaving the system.

I had the chance to play with the CarPlay Ultra system on the Aston Martin DB12 S and found it extremely impressive. Many manufacturers, I believe, are reticent to allow the full Apple takeover, as they want to not only keep a sense of identity to the brand through the infotainment, but also not hand over the data to an external company, which would presumably be the case to allow CarPlay to display speed, revs, etc.

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It’s not all perfect, though, and there are some ways in which the Apple CarPlay Ultra doesn’t match up to the likes of the Android Automotive platform used in the Polestar cars, for instance. Here’s what I liked, and what I didn’t.

1. Consistent menus

The worst part for me about using Apple CarPlay (or Android Auto) is that you end up using two separate systems. While the CarPlay OS takes over the screen, giving you access to your mapping, music and phone options, to switch to the radio or to adjust any of the vehicle features, you need to come out of that and work your way through the manufacturer’s own OS. This adds an extra step in the process, making it all the more awkward.

With CarPlay Ultra, all of those vehicle functions are right there in CarPlay. You can access the radio, change the climate settings, you can even customise your drive modes, or even set the driver assistance preferences. It’s a seamless operation – even though a couple of these options are still disguised Aston Martin pages on the DB12 S, but it most cases you wouldn’t know. It’s as if the CarPlay Ultra system is native to the car.

2. Customisable driver display

The big difference with CarPlay Ultra is it controls the driver’s display, and in doing so, offers a huge amount of customisation. By default, the display on the DB12 S looks like it's an OEM screen, as it features the Aston Martin badge and uses the brand colours. However, you can switch to a range of other options.

The colours of these dials can be changed through a series of options on the menu. There are also alternative dials with a cleaner design (without the numbers around the edge) that also come in a sea of colours. Between the dials, the central area can display your playing media, the mapping, driving assistance or tyre pressures.

There’s also a version that uses horizontal lines instead of the dials for speed and power, with secondary lines for fuel and temperature, and a full-screen map display, which moved the speed, fuel and power bars to the bottom.

3. Range in mapping

As the CarPlay Ultra system provides all of the driving dynamics, including how much is left in the tank and your fuel economy, this information can be shown alongside your mapping. While this is the case on ICE vehicles like the DB12 S, it will be especially useful when we see CarPlay Ultra in an electric vehicle.

This can already be done manually for Apple Maps using iOS 24 CarPlay, but CarPlay Ultra has the potential to work in the same way as an OEM mapping system – telling you the charge you will have on arrival, and where to charge along the way.

Remember your iPhone

The one downside of the Apple CarPlay system is that, despite the appearance, it all still runs from your iPhone. After the initial setup, the car will automatically load up into the CarPlay Ultra mode every time, but the start-up is not as quick as a built-in system would be. And it means, if you don’t have an iPhone, or you leave it at home, the system defaults back to an Aston Martin operating system.

I was slightly surprised that CarPlay Ultra still works on a mirrored basis. It would have made more sense to have an Apple chip inside the car, so it could run independently, much like Android Automotive does, basically placing an iPad inside the car.

It also means that it will require data from your phone to keep services like the maps and any streaming connected. For an Aston Martin customer, this is unlikely to be a problem. You could even leave a spare iPhone plugged into the car, but it doesn’t feel like the perfect setup. Maybe we will see a fully integrated CarPlay system in the future. However, for now, it’s definitely one of the best options out there.