BMW Confirms: No Plans for Apple's CarPlay Ultra
Apple’s next-generation CarPlay Ultra may have launched with high expectations, but momentum is continuing to wane as yet another automaker steps away from supporting it. This time, it’s BMW, one of the originally rumored partners, reaffirming it has no interest in integrating the upgraded system.
BMW Confirms: No CarPlay Ultra Coming
In a statement shared with BMW Blog this week, a company spokesperson stated clearly:
“BMW currently has no plans to integrate Apple CarPlay Ultra.”
This solidifies BMW's position as a holdout, despite earlier indications that the company might adopt the feature once it became available. Instead, BMW is doubling down on its proprietary infotainment platform, iDrive, which received a major update earlier this year.
A Focus on iDrive Over Apple Integration
The latest version of BMW’s iDrive was unveiled at CES 2025 and will debut in the upcoming iX3, followed by a broader rollout across all Neue Klasse models. While these vehicles will still support standard CarPlay, BMW is actually pulling back, limiting Apple’s interface to the center display only, instead of extending it to panoramic or heads-up displays.
This scaled-back approach contrasts sharply with Apple’s vision for CarPlay Ultra, which is designed to span multiple screens and provide deep integration into the vehicle's controls and UI.
CarPlay Ultra Loses More Ground
When Apple first showcased CarPlay Ultra at WWDC 2022, the company claimed to have support from major automakers lined up. But since then, the feature’s adoption has been rocky. BMW now joins a growing list of companies either skipping the upgrade or staying silent about it. That list includes Fiat, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, and Volkswagen.
With more automakers investing heavily in their own systems, and some wary of ceding interface control to Apple, the future of CarPlay Ultra remains uncertain, at least outside of Apple-loyal brands like Porsche or select models from Ford and Volvo.
Stay tuned as we continue to track automaker responses and adoption of Apple’s latest in-car platform.