Image this: You are driving by way of someplace like West Texas. The closest gasoline station is round 40 miles away. Cell service is spotty, however since you pre-mapped your route, you are probably not sweating it. Then, impulsively, Apple CarPlay decides that it is time to take a look at for the following 20 minutes of your drive. You look over within the passenger seat, and your companion is visibly involved. You even begin to sweat just a little, too, while you understand that your gasoline gauge is hovering properly round 1/4 tank.
That is no fiction, expensive reader. As an alternative, it is the truth of the latest trip my fiancé determined to undertake. We made it to our vacation spot high quality, however that wasn’t the one time CarPlay determined that its job was accomplished mid-drive, solely to clock again in later after I had moved a number of miles, shut my automotive off, and rebooted the connectivity. In truth, this can be a fairly widespread prevalence, and one most individuals can sympathize with. The massive query I’ve now, although, is that in 2026, what different points will nonetheless plague probably the most fashionable infotainment platforms in the marketplace?
The king of mid-drive disconnections
Elevate your hand in the event you’ve been victimized by Apple CarPlay connectivity
The most important gripe of all of them stays connectivity points, particularly with wi-fi CarPlay, which I depend on in my 2025 VW Atlas. Do not get me fallacious, I do nonetheless love my Atlas infotainment alternatives, however the random disconnections appear to be a standard thread, regardless of the automobile. It occurred once more only a few days in the past, as we tried to succeed in an unfamiliar location for engagement images.
Wired connections are actually extra steady, however cords appear to fail extra shortly than ever. If a automobile gives wi-fi connectivity, it ought to a minimum of be dependable most often. That is the most important problem going through Apple CarPlay, however let’s not act prefer it’s the one one.
Siri is an extremely weak hyperlink
Apple places an excessive amount of religion in considered one of its greatest promoting factors
It is no secret that Siri has been behind the remainder of its opponents for fairly a while now, however that is extra evident in CarPlay than anything. CarPlay leans closely on Siri’s skill to listen to you and perceive instructions, and when Siri does not just do that (or simply decides that it might probably’t work at that second), the complete CarPlay expertise falls aside.
Voice dictation errors abound, instructions nonetheless get missed, and when Siri does hear you accurately, typically the lag in between the command and the precise motion is much too prolonged. If the complete level of CarPlay is to be as hands-free as potential, the mark is persistently missed with Siri, as a result of I might reasonably enter the instructions myself than pay attention to what’s supposedly the savior of CarPlay fumble by way of my voice instructions. We thought iOS 26 would repair CarPlay, however in actuality, it simply put the previous points in some liquid-glass clothes.
App performance stays a sticking level
Android Auto has CarPlay beat on this class, and never by just a little
Many apps nowadays provide Apple CarPlay compatibility, however simply because one thing is appropriate does not imply it is any good. Apple retains a good leash on what builders can accomplish inside the CarPlay interface, and consequently, apps are usually watered down, with far fewer options than their cell counterparts. Even when parked, there aren’t any video apps, and messaging management is extremely restricted, forcing utilization of Siri (see earlier level for a way that is going).
Third-party apps endure from this greater than anything, although. There are even apps developed solely for CarPlay and Android Auto, and in practically each one, the Android Auto model gives significantly better performance than its counterpart. The sticking level is evident, and it is a main purpose some automakers are shifting away from CarPlay completely in favor of an Android-powered OS.
No two CarPlays are made the identical
Automobile integration plagues the platform’s UI
Some automobiles deal with the CarPlay UI properly, and a few don’t. For example, my mom drove a 2021 Nissan Armada for a number of years, and that was the only most hideous CarPlay adaptation I’ve ever seen. CarPlay solely took up about 2/3 of the display, and the remaining was a Nissan interface that appeared high quality by itself however appeared horrible when stacked up subsequent to the CarPlay UI.
Why not simply make it stretch the complete display? It will get worse, although, like within the new Mazda CX-70 and CX-90s, the place the complete display capabilities through a wheel by the motive force, aside from when CarPlay is engaged. Then it turns into a touchscreen, and a display designed to be used from a distance forces drivers to crane their necks ahead to alter any setting. It is the only purpose I did not simply purchase one, actually.
You may have a look at these and say that they are all minor inconveniences, however the problem is that we have all handled them, and we’re all utilizing the identical platform. With points like these, it is no surprise CarPlay is combating for its life with big-time producers within the automotive house.
