Nearly three years after its initial announcement, Apple has finally launched CarPlay Ultra—a deeply integrated, next-generation version of CarPlay—with ultra-luxury automaker Aston Martin. Despite claims of broad industry interest, only Hyundai Motor Group brands have committed so far.

Considering an iPhone 16? Toyota RAV4 owners beware: Bluetooth compatibility issues may force you to rely on CarPlay rather than using simple wireless connections for audio and phone calls.

GM says that its future electric cars will trade phone-based infotainment systems for a built-in system. Because that worked so well before CarPlay and Android Auto.

Adam Engst recently took a trip from upstate New York to Vancouver, British Columbia. As always, technology made the trip significantly easier than in the past, though he found that some bits (CarPlay in rental cars and North American T-Mobile connectivity) were vastly more helpful than others (an App Clip for buying gas and Apple Maps encouraging illegal U-turns).

Although there’s much to look forward to in macOS 13 Ventura, iOS 16, and iPadOS 16, there are also some features that had us scratching our heads, wondering what had gotten into the Cupertino drinking water. 

iOS 14 promises a tight package of new features, many of which have existed in Google’s Android for years, while iPadOS 14 takes those features and mixes in a bit of Newton handwriting recognition. Egg freckles, anyone?