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

Popular Stories

Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature

Apple Announces Special Event in New York, London, and Shanghai on March 4

Monday February 16, 2026 6:05 am PST by
Apple today announced a "special Apple Experience" in New York, London, and Shanghai, taking place on March 4, 2026 at 9:00am ET. Apple invited select members of the media to the event in three major cities around the world. It is simply described as a "special Apple Experience," and there is no further information about what it may entail. The invitation features a 3D Apple logo design...
Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Apple Event on March 4: Here's What to Expect

Tuesday February 17, 2026 8:08 am PST by
Apple on Monday invited selected journalists and content creators to a "special Apple Experience" on Wednesday, March 4 in New York, London, and Shanghai. At an Apple Experience, attendees are typically given the opportunity to try out Apple's latest hardware or software. Following the launch of Apple Creator Studio last month, for example, some content creators attended an Apple Experience...
Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Rumor: Apple to Announce Multiple New Products in First Week of March

Tuesday February 17, 2026 6:35 pm PST by
Apple on Monday invited selected journalists and content creators to a "special Apple Experience" on Wednesday, March 4 in New York, London, and Shanghai. And now, rumors are surfacing about Apple's broader plans for that week. Daring Fireball's John Gruber today guessed that Apple will announce new products on a day-by-day basis from Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 4:What strikes...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

Gurman: iPhone 18 Pro Could Be Underwhelming

Monday February 16, 2026 4:24 am PST by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models "won't be a big update," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the iPhone 18 Pro models will "represent minor tweaks from last year's iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max." He compared the upgrade to Apple's past practice of appending the letter "S" to its more minor...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

iOS 26.4's New CarPlay Video Feature Shown in Action

Wednesday February 18, 2026 9:29 am PST by
Back at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that it was planning to allow CarPlay users to watch video via AirPlay in their vehicles while they are not driving, and the first beta of iOS 26.4 suggests the feature may be nearing availability. There are several new references to CarPlay video streaming functionality within the iOS 26.4 beta's source code. The feature is not yet visible to users, but...

Top Rated Comments

24 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)
24 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)
24 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
24 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)
24 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)
24 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)