Apple CarPlay is arguably one of the best device-to-car applications introduced in the history of the automobile. It offers seamless connectivity between an Apple device and a car, but one of the major drawbacks is that CarPlay does not integrate vehicle settings, which means that a user will have to backtrack to the main menu to change vehicle settings, which can be annoying and distracting.
But Porsche seems to have figured it out, and claims to be the first manufacturer to do so.
The Porsche companion app, which is available on the App Store and lets users access a car’s status and get real time data such as travel range, tyre pressure, trip data, close status of the windows and doors, among others. It also allows users to remotely turn on the air-conditioning, and even supports remote parking.
The app has obviously been useful but it has now been upgraded to make it simpler for drivers to control numerous car functions from within the CarPlay interface. A supposed first for any car maker.
The My Porsche app, which was updated on Monday, gives users access to several aspects of the car, including the battery’s level of charge, destinations for the navigation system, and air conditioning settings. These features have been added to CarPlay in an update to the app.
Drivers can now view images of their exact car model within CarPlay, as well as sound profiles, radio station controls, climate management, and ambient lighting, according to the upgrade. The various settings can be configured inside wellness modes like “relax” or “warm up,” and can be called up using Siri, using quick actions in CarPlay.
In order to enable their use through the primary vehicle interface, the My Porsche App also establishes connections between accounts with third-party services offered by Porsche Communication Management, such as Apple Music.
With intentions to shortly roll out the modifications to additional models, the new software is now available in the Porsche Cayenne only.
Porsche’s app modifications are consistent with Apple’s CarPlay ambitions. Apple presented a vision of CarPlay at The Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2022 in which it is more closely integrated with the vehicle and gives access to in-car capabilities, including real-time connections with the vehicle’s own systems.
The increased level of integration follows a similar update that Porsche released in May. In that update, Porsche made it possible to locate EV chargers in the Taycan’s built-in version of Apple Maps. Users may also examine information like the vehicle’s state of charge (SOC), anticipated traffic conditions, and average speed through Apple Maps rather than the Porsche version that comes built-in.
Porsche was on the list of automakers involved in the development of the next-generation CarPlay. However, it is certain that neither Tesla nor GM drivers will be able to use the updated CarPlay interface.
