Next Vehicle With CarPlay Ultra Named in Report as Rollout Continues

Hyundai's upcoming IONIQ 3 electric vehicle will support Apple's CarPlay Ultra system, according to the BBC publication Top Gear.

CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls
Here is what Top Gear's Paul Horrell reported last week:

The Ioniq 3 will be digital-forward. For a start it can run Apple's CarPlay Ultra if the driver wants. Even without the Apple skin, the interface allows more configuration of the design, and links to new synthesised EV sound effects.

The mention of CarPlay Ultra in the report was spotted by French blog MacGeneration.

Hyundai plans to showcase a conceptual version of the IONIQ 3 at the IAA Mobility auto show, which begins on September 9 in Munich, Germany. The report described the vehicle as a smaller and more affordable EV that will offer up to 365 miles of range per full charge. The vehicle is expected to launch in the first half of 2026.

Launched in May, CarPlay Ultra is the long-awaited next-generation version of CarPlay that was previewed in 2022. CarPlay Ultra is currently limited to newer Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, but Apple said that many other automakers around the world are working to offer it over the next year and beyond, including Hyundai and its Kia and Genesis brands. So, it would make sense if the all-new IONIQ 3 supports CarPlay Ultra.

CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can choose from various preset design options. The connected iPhone provides app-related data, while the vehicle provides driving data like current speed, and other info like tire pressure.

Some other automakers like Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have said they have no plans to offer CarPlay Ultra, but decisions can always change over time.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

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Top Rated Comments

neuropsychguy Avatar
3 weeks ago

This will be very helpful in a Hyundai. When you’re on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck it’s something to pass the time.
Some of the Hyundai EVs have had that issue but overall Hyundai and Kia’s EV efforts are generally widely regarded as efficient and reliable. Many reviewers consider them the best EVs available in the United States.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisA Avatar
3 weeks ago

Everyone likes to take a crap on Hyundai/Kia, but my wife drove a 2013 Hyundai Sonata for well over 100k miles with no major issues. She’s currently driving a 2020 Kia Soul that is about to hit 90k and the experience has been the same. Basic maintenance goes a long way on most modern cars.
This is an EV. "Basic maintenance" means filling the windshield wiper fluid, replacing the cabin air filter, and replacing the tires. That's about it. Brake pads are likely good for over 300K miles
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ceddy Avatar
3 weeks ago
I’ve have multiple phones and 4-5 cars with CarPlay and it’s always been buggy at times. Not sure I want Apple to take over more of the cars systems.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Olde Dave Avatar
3 weeks ago

This will be very helpful in a Hyundai. When you’re on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck it’s something to pass the time.
Everyone likes to take a crap on Hyundai/Kia, but my wife drove a 2013 Hyundai Sonata for well over 100k miles with no major issues. She’s currently driving a 2020 Kia Soul that is about to hit 90k and the experience has been the same. Basic maintenance goes a long way on most modern cars.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zalusky Avatar
3 weeks ago
I don’t see why people are complaining. You don’t have to use CarPlay/Android. I like having a choice and I like not having to pay for a connectivity subscription.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
neuropsychguy Avatar
3 weeks ago

No, I would never own a Hyundai or Kia to have these problems. I know many people that own ICE Hyundai and Kia vehicles and the engines are absolute trash. If you don’t add at least 2 quarts of oil between oil changes, you’ll be buying a new engine.

I personally don’t know anyone who owns a Hyundai EV, but I’ve seen lots of reports of them failing as well. They just don’t make reliable cars. Any mechanic will tell you that. To be fair, they’re not at the Range Rover/ Land Rover level of unreliability, but they are nowhere near Toyota, Honda, Mazda or even Ford.

This being said they sell really well because compared to Toyota for instance, you can get a much more modern looking interior with larger screens for less money.
You're basing your opinion off older cars or a highly biased sample. Even Consumer Reports has a highly biased convenience sample of self-report data to rank reliability (which is a huge problem from a statistical standpoint).

Here's an example of the methodological issues with Consumer Reports ratings.

Let's look at Tesla for an example. They have Tesla with a predicted reliability of 36, which is one of the worst at 17/22. However, Consumer Reports Tesla as having the lowest predicted maintenance and repair costs of any manufacturer over 10 years: https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cost-of-car-ownership-a1854979198/

Some of the difference is simply the cost and nature of maintenance (no oil changes in a Tesla; luxury cars will typically have high maintenance costs even if reliable), but the inconsistency shows that something is off with their ratings of reliability. A car can have problems but be fixed under warranty for free, but the problem is that when they ask people to self-report problems they end up with one reliability rating. Then when they look at what people actually spend to maintain and fix their cars over time, they sometimes get a very different set of data.

Again, Consumer Reports ratings say Tesla cars are both unreliable and highly reliable, on average.

Back to Hyundai and Kia. For new cars with their reliability ratings, they put Kia and Hyundai on the high end of the middle (9 and 10 out of 22), however, Consumer Reports predicts Hyundai will have one of the lowest maintenance and repair costs with Kia in the middle over 10 years. That means their rating of Hyundai reliability is off but Kia matches up. Their ratings of Toyota also match up, but many other cars do not.

You can go on not liking Hyundai and Kia and not buying them but recognize that the reality of their reliability is much different than your anecdotal evidence. This is likely to be particularly true with EVs.

The good thing is that we have many options for cars to buy. I tend to stick with Toyota (my Prius has been great) for various reasons.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)