Porsche Is Racing Ahead In New Apple CarPlay Features

Porsche owners may find it easier to use vehicle controls with the My Porsche App starting today, as its functionality is being integrated into Apple CarPlay. This makes Porsche the first automaker to expand its own proprietary app's capabilities to work directly within Apple CarPlay, and should make for a more streamlined experience for its customers. 

Many brands want to retain ownership of the systems that control digital management of modern vehicles, primarily to keep direct access to drivers' data. However, larger tech companies like Apple and Google are more popular with drivers when it comes to their vehicles' infotainment platforms, and have more familiar UIs thanks to their years of experience with smartphones and other tech interfaces. By integrating the My Porsche App into the larger CarPlay system, Porsche seems to be aiming for the best of both worlds.

No stranger to bringing the latest in automotive technology to its vehicles, Porsche is also making sure to do the same for the digital components of modern driving. Calling the move a "truly enhanced customer experience," Mattias Ulbrich, CEO of Porsche Digital and CIO Porsche AG, said in a statement that "technology and digitization are crucial factors for the enduring fascination of our brand — now and in the next 75 years."

Currently, the My Porsche App can be integrated into Apple CarPlay for just one model: the Porsche Cayenne. Porsche plans to roll out the functionality to other lines in the future.

Porsche owners can activate the new functionality by scanning a QR Code off their car's central Porsche Communication Management (PCM) touchscreen. The My Porsche App provides digital management of certain vehicle functions, as well as providing basic information like the vehicle's battery life. 

With the app, drivers can also do things like control the air conditioning and input destinations for the PCM's navigation system. Now that it can work within Apple CarPlay, Porsche owners will be able to control certain functions hands-free while driving by using Siri.

With the My Porsche App integrated into Apple's infotainment system, drivers can now use it to control CarPlay features like changing radio stations and audio settings, as well as controlling ambient lighting, air conditioning, and heat. To save time and simplify things, Porsche owners can also create "wellness modes" that combine these functions into overall presets, such as "relax," "refresh," "and warm up."

Porsche also plans for additional CarPlay features to be added to the My Porsche App with regular updates. What remains to be seen is how this will affect plans for a next-generation Apple CarPlay, first announced in 2022, that will more directly control vehicle features without the need of additional proprietary apps, such as the My Porsche App. Manufacturers like Porsche seem hesitant to give up total control to Apple, and would rather work alongside them, as this latest integration suggests.