I'd spent an hour driving a $250,000-plus Aston Martin up the Los Angeles coast when my hunger pangs became impossible to ignore, and as I've done many times before, I asked Siri (through Apple CarPlay) to find me a taco place. But then I did something no other car on the planet allows: I asked Siri to blast the AC and make the air colder. That's because the 2025 Aston Martin DBX I drove was the first vehicle to come with Apple CarPlay Ultra, the upgraded version of the company's car software.
Apple debuted CarPlay Ultra at WWDC 2025 last month, and this year's version of the Aston Martin DBX is the first vehicle to launch with it (pairing with an iPhone running iOS 18.5 or later). As I drove the luxury crossover around, I fiddled with other features that aren't available in regular CarPlay, from climate control to radio to checking the pressure on the car's tires. Ultimately, Ultra gives deeper access to more car systems, which is a good thing.
Inside the Aston Martin DBX, the display can pull up climate controls and specify temperature zones. David Lumb/CNET
That reminded me a lot of a new feature announced at Google I/O back in May: Google Built-In, which similarly lets users control more of a car's systems straight from the software interface (in that case, Android Auto). When I got a demonstration of Google Built-In, sitting in a new Volvo EX90 electric SUV, I saw what this new integration of Google software offered: climate controls, Gemini AI assistance and even warnings about car maintenance issues.
But the name is telling: Google Built-In requires automakers to incorporate Android deeper into their cars' inner workings. Comparatively, Apple CarPlay Ultra support seems like it won't require car manufacturers to do nearly as much work to prepare their vehicles, just adding a reasonably advanced multicore processor onboard that can handle an increased task load. (Aston Martin will be able to add CarPlay Ultra support to its 2023 and 2024 lineups through firmware updates because they already contain sufficiently advanced CPUs.)
Both solutions reflect Apple's and Google's different approaches to their next versions of car software. Apple's is lighter weight, seemingly requiring less commitment from the automaker to integrate CarPlay Ultra into their vehicles (so long as it has adequate processing power onboard), which will run through a paired iPhone. Google Built-In does require much more integration, but it's so self-sufficient that you can leave your Android phone at home and still get much of its functionality (aside from getting and sending messages and calls).
Note the Aston Martin brand colors and logo on the two dials (speedometer at left; RPM right), with a space in the middle for a rotating app screen (Maps, media, etc.). David Lumb/CNET
Driving with Apple CarPlay Ultra: Controlling climate, radio and more
As I drove around Los Angeles in the Aston Martin with Apple CarPlay Ultra, I could tell what new features I would be missing once I stepped back into my far more humble daily driver.
At long last, I could summon Siri and ask it to play a specific song (or just a band) and have it pulled up on Spotify. Since Apple's assistant now has access to climate controls, I asked to turn up the AC, and it went full blast. I asked to find tacos and it suggested several fast food restaurants -- well, it's not perfect, but at least it's listening.
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