What Is Apple CarPlay?
Apple CarPlay is a feature in cars (and some aftermarket car stereos) that allows you to view and control certain Apple-based apps through the dashboard’s media system, including moving-map navigation functionality.
Related: What Is Android Auto?
What Kind of Apps Can You Use With Apple CarPlay?
One could argue that the mirroring of navigation apps on the car’s dashboard display is CarPlay’s most important feature because any car stereo equipped with Bluetooth can play phone-based audio if you control it through the phone itself. CarPlay can provide in-dash turn-by-turn navigation using maps that are always up to date and supplemented with the latest traffic data, unlike “native” navigation traditionally built into cars, whose maps and data feeds may require a subscription or manual update. Though Apple CarPlay made its debut in 2014, iOS users worldwide really cheered in September 2018 when the feature began to support Google Maps and Waze rather than just Apple Maps. Now, Apple CarPlay supports a wide variety of apps and is standard in almost every new car.
CarPlay also enables hands-free telephone calls and uses voice-to-text functionality, and vice versa, so you can hear text messages read aloud over the car stereo and respond to them without taking your hands off the steering wheel or eyes off the road. Because police in some jurisdictions consider touching one’s smartphone while driving a violation, this removes some of the risk (though not necessarily the mental distraction) and the legal jeopardy associated with texting or talking on the phone while driving.
How Does Apple CarPlay Work?
In the early days of Apple CarPlay, the overwhelming majority of its integrations required you to connect your iOS device to the car with a cable, which activates an icon on the car’s display. Today, wireless Apple CarPlay is becoming the norm.
The stated goal of CarPlay is to make it safer to use your device while driving, so it relocates control to the car’s display. This works best when it’s a touchscreen, though cars with separate controls that operate a touchless display also support CarPlay. You can also control the system using Siri voice-activation by pressing a designated button on the steering wheel.
Which Cars Offer Apple CarPlay?
After several years, the simpler question might be which vehicles don’t offer CarPlay or its Google counterpart, Android Auto.
Can I Add CarPlay to My Current Vehicle?
Unless you buy an aftermarket stereo, your chances of adding CarPlay to your car are very, very slim. Once or twice when automakers have promised the feature would arrive later in a model year, they’ve told us earlier buyers could eventually get their cars upgraded, but this is rare. If Apple’s list says your make, model and year was eligible but it doesn’t seem to be present, check with a car dealer to see if your car is one of the exceptions. Bear in mind that eligibility doesn’t guarantee that your car was equipped with CarPlay, as explained below.
How Much Does Apple CarPlay Cost?
When CarPlay was first introduced, it usually came as a stand-alone option or was only available on higher trim levels. Now, CarPlay comes as a standard feature even on the base trims of most 2025 models.
CarPlay itself doesn’t use data, per se, so if you’re playing music stored on your iPhone, data usage should be negligible. But if you’re using a streaming-audio or navigation app, it will use as much data as it would if the phone were sitting in a cradle serving the same purpose without being connected to CarPlay.
How Well Does It Work?
For many car shoppers, both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are seen as essential, and it can be frustrating when a vehicle lacks the feature. Native navigation originally had a significant edge because of a vehicle’s rooftop GPS antenna, but that advantage has all but disappeared.
While CarPlay’s reliability has improved overall, there are still glitches from time to time. However, if the CarPlay system, as well as your mobile device, is up to date, reliability is stable.
In 2025, Apple announced that it’s significantly updating CarPlay with the release of CarPlay Ultra. The changes are aimed to make the feature more visually appealing, user-friendly and even customizable for automakers. This includes making widgets available, as well as adding a light and dark mode, which can be changed in the vehicle’s settings.
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