Apple CarPlay Ultra: infotainment revolution starts with Aston Martin

Apple has officially launched CarPlay Ultra, a radical new evolution of its famous in-car infotainment system. Unveiling this generational leap will be two luxury motoring icons: Porsche and Aston Martin, who will be the first brands to integrate this advanced platform into their new models.

Unlike traditional CarPlay, which merely acts as a mirrored interface on a central screen, CarPlay Ultra will be deeply integrated with the cars' electronic systems. Users will be able to control not only music, calls and navigation, but also adjust the climate control, view range and fuel consumption information, manage the seats and even configure the entire digital instrument cluster to their liking. All this with an aesthetic that is refined, fluid, and perfectly consistent with the car's design.

Specifically, Aston Martin will adopt CarPlay initially for the Aston Martin DBX, Vantage, DB12 and Vanquish sold in the US and Canada. The interior displays will have specific layouts, designed in collaboration with Apple, to reflect the visual identity of the British brand.

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n especially interesting aspect is that Apple will not limit itself to a universal design, but will allow car manufacturers to customise the GUI with colours, fonts and styles consistent with their own aesthetic philosophy. This flexibility is designed to keep each manufacturer's 'visual signature' intact while benefiting from the Apple ecosystem.