BMW Shipping New Cars Temporarily Without Apple CarPlay
BMW is temporarily shipping new cars without Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality due to the automaker changing its chip supplier (via Automotive News Europe).
The new chips built into many BMWs manufactured this year require updated software to be able to run Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. BMW customers who receive a new car without CarPlay are being asked by dealerships to wait for an over-the-air update that will enable the functionality "by the end of June at the latest."
It is not clear how many BMW models are affected, but a large number of customers in the U.S., Italy, Spain, the UK, and France have posted online about their new vehicles being delivered without CarPlay. Affected models include the code "6P1" in their specification.
While some BMW owners will have to miss out on CarPlay functionality for a temporary period, BMW is switching chip suppliers to strengthen its supply chain in the long term amid the continued impact of the global chip shortage, which could reduce component shortages in the second half of the year.
BMW offers one of the most integrated experiences with Apple's ecosystem, with support for Digital Key, Ultra Wideband Digital Key Plus, and a feature-rich dual-screen wireless CarPlay experience. BMW only started offering CarPlay in 2016 and came under fire for charging a $80 per year fee for access to it, before reneging on the subscription following negative feedback.
Popular Stories
The all-new MacBook Neo has been such a hit that Apple is facing a "massive dilemma," according to Taiwan-based tech columnist and former Bloomberg reporter Tim Culpan.
In the iPhone 16 Pro models, the A18 Pro chip has a 6-core GPU. During the chip manufacturing process, however, sometimes a CPU or GPU core can turn out to be faulty. Rather than discarding the leftover A18 Pro chips with...
Apple today announced it will be permanently closing three retail stores in the U.S. in June, including Apple Trumbull in Trumbull, Connecticut, Apple North County in Escondido, California, and Apple Towson Town Center in Towson, Maryland.
Apple Towson Town Center in Maryland
Apple issued the following statement to MacRumors:At Apple, we are constantly striving to deliver exceptional service...
Apple today released a minor iOS 26.4.1 update for the iPhone 11 and newer. While the release notes for the update only mention unspecified "bug fixes," we have since learned about two specific changes that are included in it.
First, 9to5Mac spotted an Apple Developer Forums thread suggesting that iOS 26.4.1 fixes an iOS 26.4 bug that affected iCloud syncing in some apps.
Second, an...
Popular Stories
Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp was today updated with expanded support for CarPlay. CarPlay users are able to more easily call and message their friends and family members in WhatsApp directly from the car interface.
WhatsApp had CarPlay integration before, but with limited Siri-based functionality. The new app has a full native CarPlay interface with a list of recent chats and call...
Apple's CarPlay system for accessing iPhone apps on a vehicle's dashboard screen received three popular apps this week: ChatGPT, Google Meet, and Audiomack.
CarPlay Ultra in an Aston Martin
In addition, WhatsApp is beta testing a revamped CarPlay app that will improve upon the basic Siri-based functionality that was previously available.
Make sure you have the latest version of each app...
OpenAI has updated ChatGPT with support for CarPlay, which means CarPlay users can now ask ChatGPT questions and make requests directly from their vehicle dashboard.
Apple began allowing third-party voice-based conversational apps to interface with CarPlay in iOS 26.4, but apps need to implement the feature and get a special entitlement from Apple.
For the ChatGPT app and other apps...
