Something that Apple initially demoed in 2022 has finally made its way in 2025, and I think it looks really cool. The biggest question I had about this next-gen CarPlay in 2022 was whether the carmakers would be on board. Will they want another third party (even one as great as Apple) to come in and essentially take over the UI on the car? This wasn’t as simple as taking over the UI on the secondary screen or the centre console on the car, but the whole UI including the clusters on the dashboard.

I just watched this almost 20-minute video from TopGear, and the CarPlay Ultra UI unapologetically looks like something that came out of Apple. There’s no denying it. But I love the subtle Aston Martin essence that’s spread across the UI. For instance, the tachometer says “Handbuilt in Great Britain,” which is a nice little touch. It gives the UI an analogue feel in a digital world.

On a side note, I still think good old analogue meters look better than the digital dashboards we find in modern cars, but modern cars are all about digital displays, and I think the CarPlay Ultra dashboard looks absolutely brilliant. It’s reminiscent of how Apple Watch faces imitate traditional analogue watch faces.

Apple has always excelled at designing user interfaces, something most car manufacturers have struggled with. Apple hasn’t made a car (yet?), and perhaps never will, but this feels like the best of both worlds, at least for now. Now that Aston Martin is on board, we’re expected to see Kia, Honda, and Porsche coming along for the ride. Excuse the pun.

P.S.: I took some screengrabs from the video above if you don’t want to watch the whole thing.