No one has any idea when Apple’s revamped CarPlay will come to new cars

Apple no longer promises a 2024 launch date for its renewed CarPlay. This is good news, considering that we are now in 2025. However, it also presents a problem for many iPhone users, who promised an updated software in the car almost three years ago.

Apple has removed the expiration date for the new CarPlay from its official landing page. The website still praises all the features to come and the car companies that have signed up to the software, but otherwise, there is no indication of when to expect. MacRumors reach out to Apple to ask what’s going on. The company responded that it works “closely with many car manufacturers, which allows them to show their unique brand and visual design philosophies in the next generation of CarPlay.” Apple also placed the expectation of an announcement on carmakers adding that each brand it works with “will share more details as they approach the announcement of their models that will support the next generation of CarPlay.”

The United States is a country dependent on car culture, so the operating system running in your vehicle is as essential as the smartphone in your hand. It’s been frustrating for iOS users waiting for Apple’s answer to Android Automotive. Brands like Volvo, Renault, Ford, GM, and BMW have all signed up to this integrated version of Google’s mobile OS in the car. It can control everything from the ventilation system to the car’s locks, keeping Google services front and center on the dash.

Apple’s renewed CarPlay, which showed in 2022, promised the same kind of intertwined experience, but for iPhone users, things like an informative dashboard that extends over the displays in the car and the radio and temperature controls. Luxury car makers like Porsche and Aston Martin have signed on, but have yet to debut anything from the collaboration.

No one knows whether Apple or carmakers are to blame for the delay. Apple could be behind because it tends to hold off on launching products until they are feasible for marketing. While they wait, car manufacturers have adopted custom software or Google to offer a similar experience to drivers.

I still think there are too many screens in the car and not enough buttons, especially if you remove the promotional photo on Apple’s website. Android Automotive works the same way in Polestar and Hyundai cars. It’s a cacophony of screens that present all the information your phone usually hides to prevent distracted driving. But not in this era. In this era, it is full steam ahead with all the information you could ever need all the time. Happy driving!