Mazda Still Planning to Implement Support for CarPlay

Mazda is planning to add CarPlay and Android Auto support to its lineup of cars and SUVs according to an announcement made at a launch for its upcoming 2017 CX-5 (via Cars.com).

There's no word on when CarPlay will be added to Mazda vehicles, nor is there info on which vehicles will be the first to support CarPlay, but Mazda spokesperson Jacob Brown said the feature "should be retroactively upgradeable onto all Mazda Connect systems with a potentially minimal hardware addition needed."

Mazda Connect has been available in Mazda vehicles since 2014, which, coincidentally, is the year that Mazda first pledged support for CarPlay. Mazda has been listed as a CarPlay partner since shortly after CarPlay first debuted, but it has yet to release a CarPlay-compatible vehicle.

For a couple of years after CarPlay was announced, availability was highly limited as it required the cooperation of both automobile makers and third-party hardware companies, but as of late 2015, CarPlay availability has expanded rapidly.

Apple's CarPlay platform is now available in more than 200 2016 and 2017 vehicles from a range of manufacturers including Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and more.