GoKawiilBack in 2022, Apple teased an ambitious expansion for CarPlay: instead of being limited to a single screen, CarPlay would now be across all the screens in your car. That's what CarPlay Ultra is all about. Beyond showing apps, it also handles key aspects of your car such as the speedometer and fuel gauge. It even lets you customize them, just like in a racing video game.
Vehicle controls such as the air conditioning and radio are also integrated with CarPlay Ultra, so you never have to leave the interface. It really feels like you're using a car system designed entirely by Apple.
It sounds too good to be true, but there's a catch. While CarPlay is available in more than 800 vehicle models, CarPlay Ultra is a different story. You can only find it in luxury Aston Martins right now, and only in the US and Canada. Porsche also teased support for CarPlay Ultra, but that day never came. It's unclear exactly what happened, but perhaps car manufacturers were afraid to hand over full control to Apple. You'll need an iPhone 12 or later to take advantage of the new CarPlay experience, and it only works wirelessly.
Apple has mentioned that CarPlay Ultra will eventually be available in more cars. But based on what we've seen, it seems that this expansion will take even longer to happen.