We Tested Apple CarPlay Ultra. It's Great—But There's a Catch

Motor 1

2 days ago

"Does it have CarPlay?" It's one of the first questions anyone—driver, passenger, or buyer—asks about a new car. The frustrating menus, clunky user interfaces, and overall poor experience surrounding modern car infotainment systems have driven the majority of people to
Apple CarPlay
(or Android Auto, Google's native equivalent), which effectively mirrors your phone on the infotainment display.
Since CarPlay's introduction in 2014, it's been almost exclusively for the center display. Now, though, with the arrival of CarPlay Ultra, the entire gauge cluster and dashboard turn into an Apple-mimicking iPhone projection. But of course, it's not without a bit of controversy.
Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1
Fourteen automakers originally signed on for CarPlay Ultra when Apple announced it back in 2022. But some, like Audi, Ford, and Mercedes-Benz, have since
backed away from the deal
, while General Motors continues its assault on CarPlay entirely. Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Porsche, and Aston Martin, though, still welcome the new technology.
On the surface, it's a debate between the popularity of CarPlay and the automaker's ability to tightly control its user experience. Beneath the many consumer layers, automakers are worried about handing over user data to Apple—data that the automakers find extremely valuable.
If they aren't selling your data to insurance companies, they're selling it to advertisers or aggregators looking for valuable details on consumer habits. Cluing Apple into that data isn't something automakers will do readily.
In the case of Aston Martin, it recognized the popularity of CarPlay and made the decision "for [its] customers." As a small-volume luxury carmaker, Aston stands to lose if it doesn't get with the times. For much larger brands, this isn't as much of an issue.
Nonetheless, I got to sample and stress-test CarPlay Ultra for a few hours in a 2025 DBX and lightly grill Aston about how Ultra integrates into existing systems.
First and most importantly, CarPlay Ultra only works with an iPhone 12 or newer running iOS 18.5. Upon first connection, the phone uploads 50 MB of data to the car, basically a folder full of graphical assets specific to each vehicle. Ultra runs alongside the automaker's infotainment system as a sort of plug-in program, interfacing with the onboard systems for advanced driver assistance, air conditioning, radio, and drive modes so that most functions can be controlled through CarPlay.
CarPlay Ultra does not deeply interface with the vehicle network. Instead, the onboard systems offer the relevant information to CarPlay and nothing more, at least according to Aston Martin. In nerd speak, CarPlay doesn't even communicate on the controller area network bus (CAN bus) of the DBX.
Effectively, it's Apple graphics and UI over Aston's systems. It does run as a small operating system within the DBX, but it's not an entirely new infotainment system, and it still operates as a phone projection.
Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1
Effectively, it's Apple graphics and UI over Aston's systems.
Curiously, Aston did not have to pay a licensing fee either. All the automaker had to do was foot the development costs on integration, and Apple simply provided support. As Aston tells it, integration was relatively painless, with Apple listening to feedback from Aston and vice versa. But customers beware: As the old saying goes, 'If the product is free, you are the product.'
Still, the user interface is classic Apple: Easy and intuitive. All major functions were easy to find under the new "Vehicle" menu, with specific push notifications while using physical controls. For example, clicking the ADAS off button on the center console prompted a CarPlay notification confirming the system's deactivation.
Even drive mode selections were displayed when switching from Sport to Sport+, and specific drive mode settings were available deeper within CarPlay, allowing adjustments to things like the dampers, steering, and engine tuning, among others.
The controversial piece, the gauge cluster, was also a highlight. It ran faster and looked slicker than Aston's native stuff, though that's more of an Aston issue than a CarPlay improvement.
Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1
Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1
The ability to customize colors and backgrounds on a variety of layouts was lovely, and Aston's collaborative gauge cluster was crisp, with the Apple-specific stuff existing between the speedometer and tachometer. A full-screen Apple Maps projection also exists in the gauge cluster with turn-by-turn navigation.
It's all undeniably Apple, but extremely nice to look at and use.
There were a few caveats, though. Ultra is wireless only, which is difficult enough for standard CarPlay at times. Using Aston's provided iPhone 15, it ran smoothly for the two hours I tested it. Yet, using it with my personal iPhone 13 Pro Max running iOS 18.5 was excruciatingly laggy and slow. I attempted to use it for 15 minutes, but it never smoothed out, so I reverted back to the iPhone 15. That said, it's still in the early stages, so there are probably some bugs that need ironing out, and there's a new switching menu to smoothly choose between paired phones.
At any rate, CarPlay Ultra is here—and it's very good. While the DBX does lose a little bit of Aston Martin charm, it still has a reasonable amount of brand identity beneath the Apple onslaught. But even Aston's new infotainment system, for as good as it is, benefits from legibility improvements and additional ease of use. That makes CarPlay Ultra an easy win.
But what happens once Ultra goes up against Hyundai and Porsche's excellent systems? With automakers dropping out of Ultra and dragging their feet on integration, we will have to wait and see.
More On Apple CarPlay
Chevy's Infotainment System Is Excellent—Especially With CarPlay: Review
GM Swears Ditching Apple CarPlay Was Still the Right Move
Stop Trying to Reinvent the Infotainment System
Apple CarPlay iOS 18: All the Updates You Should Care About
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