A next-gen version of Apple CarPlay is making waves in the automotive space at Apple’s WWDC 2022 event today. It’s far more than just a minor update to the regular, old screen projection on the infotainment display. No, today Apple proposed a system that would take over every screen in the car, instrument cluster included.
As shown, Apple software would power literally every last part of the car's user interface. By contrast, today's Apple CarPlay can take over your infotainment system’s display, but that’s where the experience ends. The gauge cluster (if it’s fully digital) and any other ancillary screens are all powered by OEM-designed software. In Apple’s example of the next-gen system, the instrument cluster essentially becomes an Apple CarPlay-powered instrument cluster, using Apple-designed gauges, widgets and more. The look you end up seeing on the cluster is highly customizable with various Apple-designed gauges, layouts and more. But, it would be a unified and consistent experience across every vehicle capable of running this version of Apple CarPlay. In theory, the gauge set of a Porsche could be made to look exactly like that of a Nissan, should both companies decide to support this level of integration.
How does this work? Apple says that “your iPhone communicates with your vehicle’s realtime systems in an on-device, privacy friendly way.” Yes, that is extremely vague, but there’s no additional information as of now. At the very least, it seems like the iPhone will continue to require the same wired or wireless connection to the car to make the system run. But again, that’s not made crystal clear here.
Skip to 40:28 in the video above to see the section on Apple CarPlay.
The integration goes deeper into the infotainment system, too. Instead of having to exit out of CarPlay to tune the radio or adjust the climate control (in cars without physical climate controls), you’d be able to do both within the Apple CarPlay software. This really would be a true Apple takeover of your everyday vital car functions. You’d be able to customize the display with widgets such as the calendar app, music app and more, allowing you to move them between the central infotainment display and gauge cluster as you wish.
So, when is it coming? And what cars will be able to run this software? Apple doesn’t have clear answers to either of these, but it did flash some brands up onto the screen and say that they’re “excited to bring this new vision of CarPlay to customers.” Those include Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Nissan, Ford, Lincoln, Audi, Jaguar, Acura, Volvo, Honda, Infiniti, Polestar and Renault.
As of now, Apple says it’s going to start to announce specific vehicles that will support it “late next year.” Basically, don’t expect this to hit cars anytime soon, as the first vehicles announced will be toward the end of 2023.
Android Auto users are in line for a fairly sizable update coming soon. Google revealed a totally new look and design for Android Auto at its Google I/O event last week, and the main takeaway is newfound flexibility.
Car makers are not exactly consistent with the various screen sizes and orientations used in vehicles. Many favor a widescreen format, while others prefer a vertically-oriented portrait format, and there are so many others in between. This was problematic for Android Auto previously, because it wasn’t designed to fill the screen perfectly with every possible screen shape. Plus, a fancy split-screen function was only supported for a small number of vehicles. Now, however, Google says it has fixed the issue. Android Auto will now conform to fit whatever size and shape your car’s screen is, be it tall and skinny or short and wide. And, a new split screen function should work on every vehicle.
Beyond the better integration, the Android Auto look itself is refreshed to bring it more in line with the latest Android software you see on phones. The fonts, shapes and general UI should now look more familiar to those with Android phones running stock Android software.
The aforementioned split-screen mode gets a new design for this version of Android Auto, too. Google says that the data it has collected on how people use Android Auto shows that folks primarily use it for navigation, media and communication. Therefore, the split-screen view now consists of three tiles for those three things. This means that you can see your nav, current media and any missed communications (texts, phone calls) all in one place at all times. Of course, you can also just enlarge any one of those if you prefer to keep the focus on one particular app, like navigation.
Google’s final announced change for this new Android Auto is better Assistant integration. The car will proactively suggest replies to text messages from friends, or allow you to quickly share an arrival time with a person of your choice. It’ll even recommend music options.
All of these changes are slated to roll out “in the coming months,” so if you’re an Android Auto user, keep a lookout for a new look and new features hitting your car’s infotainment system this summer.
The 2023 Ram ProMaster is here, and it’s sporting a bunch of great upgrades over the outgoing model.
Starting on the design front, Ram gave the ProMaster a new (thoughtful) front end. The headlights are positioned out of the collision zone in a direct frontal crash now to save them in the event of an accident. Plus, the bumper has an integrated step that allows you to step up and either clean the windshield or swap wiper blades far easier. The headlights themselves are also improved. Standard halogen lights provide 15% more range of light, and optional LED headlights provide 50% more range.
The popularity of black appearance packages has made it into the van world now, too, as this ProMaster is available with exactly that, blacking out grille, badges and wheels. Lastly on the appearance side of things, Ram introduced two new colors: Ceramic Gray and Spitfire Orange. Ram says these colors were designed specifically with its #vanlife customers in mind. Unfortunately, no images of these colors were available upon this story’s publishing.
A new extra-high roof option is available for 2023, adding 10 inches over top of the previous high-roof option. Additionally, Ram is offering a new roll-up door in case that would fit a customer’s lifestyle better than a traditional rear door. It’s made of anodized aluminum to be easier to use.
There are 19 configurations available in total for the 2023 ProMaster including three roof heights, three wheelbases and four vehicle lengths. Every single one of them will come equipped with the Pentastar V6 (just like before) that makes 276 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. All of the vans are also front-wheel drive only. And lest you forget, Ram is still planning on releasing its electric ProMaster in 2023 — Amazon will be taking delivery of thousands of those electric vans next year.
Interior and tech upgrades are aplenty for the 2023 ProMaster. For example, the ProMaster uses the latest Uconnect 5 infotainment system. The standard display is a 7-inch screen, but you can tack on an optional 10-inch screen. That means it has wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto. You can spec a wireless phone charger, and the interior features both USB-A and USB-C ports.
Safety and convenience features are made readily available. Standard safety equipment includes collision warning, crosswind assist, drowsiness detection and traffic sign recognition. You can tack on nice extras like an auto-park feature, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, lane-centering, auto high-beams, front parking sensors, cornering lights and rain-sensing wipers.
One excellent feature that is available on any trim of ProMaster is a new digital rearview camera mirror. Flip it into digital mode, and you’ll get a total unobstructed view rearwards. Many vehicles offer this sort of mirror these days, but it’s great to see it in such a visibility-challenged vehicle.
Ram says its updated ProMaster will be available to buy in the third quarter of 2022, but it didn’t provide pricing for any of the models.
The Spotify Car Thing is officially on sale for the masses. Its limited-release trial periods are over, and now anyone can buy it for $89.99.
The little music player’s premise remains the same. It’s meant to bring deep Spotify access to older cars that don’t have today’s convenient Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity features. It features a touchscreen, a dial, preset buttons and voice control. The interface is a car-friendly copy of the Spotify app on your phone with big icons meant to make inputs easier than what you might get tapping away on your smartphone.
Some updates for Car Thing are coming based on Spotify’s learnings in the year-long trial period it’s gone through. For example, it’s developing a Night Mode for the screen, and an “Add to Queue” command is also coming. The latter is key if you and your friends are trying to build a playlist via voice command for a long road trip. We’re a little surprised it didn’t have a night mode to begin, but at least Spotify is integrating it now.
If you want a Car Thing, make sure you have the proper hardware to make it work — you’ll also need to be a Spotify Premium user. It requires a power source (12V outlet or USB outlet), and you also need to be able to connect your phone to the car’s audio system by way of Bluetooth, USB cable or aux cable, since the Car Thing doesn’t hook up to the audio system. If your car is old enough that it doesn’t have any of those, then you’re out of luck — of course, you can always install a newer head unit to gain access to a number of those connectivity options, but that costs even more money.
Plus, we hit the latest news from this week and talk about what cars we've been driving
