Hyundai Launching CarPlay in Sonata in First Quarter of 2016

2016-Hyundai-Sonata-CarPlayHyundai has confirmed that CarPlay will launch in the 2016 Sonata in the first quarter of next year, per the Detroit Free Press. The carmaker will reportedly sell an SD card with new software to get the system for an undisclosed price.

The report does not specify if CarPlay will be available in 2016 Sonata models sold outside of the United States, or if Apple's in-dash software will be backwards compatible with the 2015 Sonata. The carmaker has not yet outlined plans to bring CarPlay to the rest of its vehicle lineup.

In April 2014, Hyundai announced that CarPlay would be available in the Sonata beginning in the 2015 model year, but it failed to deliver on that promise. CarPlay is only now beginning to experience wider U.S. adoption in 2016 vehicles from General Motors, Volkswagen, Honda and other automakers, as either a standard feature or entertainment package upgrade.

CarPlay provides hands-free or eyes-free access to Maps, Phone, Messages, Music, Podcasts and third-party apps including Spotify, Rdio, iHeartRadio, CBS Radio and MLB At Bat. The platform uses Siri and interfaces with your vehicle's knobs, dials and buttons for safer access to common iPhone features. The software is compatible with iPhone 5 or later running iOS 8 or above.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
macbook pro blue green

When Will Apple Release the M5 MacBook Pro?

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall. Design There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Apple Lumon Terminal Pro

Apple's Mac Site Features Fictional 'Lumon Terminal Pro'

Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site. The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Supports 8K Video Recording, Suggests Leaker [Updated]

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:06 am PDT by
Update 7:25 pm: Based on comments from our forums, it appears the original Weibo post may have been mistranslated and "8K" actually refers to the high price of the device rather than 8K video recording capabilities. The iPhone 16 Pro currently starts at 7,999 yuan in China. Our original article follows below. Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are capable of shooting 8K video, up...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

'iPhone Fold' to Feature Metallic Glass Hinge That Resists Deformation

Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device. According...
iOS 18 4 Ambient Music Control Center

How to Use iOS 18.4's New Ambient Music Feature in Control Center

Thursday March 27, 2025 7:45 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works. iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week. To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

Gurman: Jon Prosser's iOS 19 Mockups 'Aren't Representative' of Redesign

Tuesday March 25, 2025 4:47 pm PDT by
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media. According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June." Gurman made the same comment ...

Top Rated Comments

solipsism Avatar
121 months ago
Even with a cheap car like a Hyundai that's good to see they are being implemented with CarPlay rather than upscale quality cars only.
Cheap? The Hyundai Equus starts at $61,500 USD, and the Sonata starts over $20k and goes up considerably after that. It's inexpensive for the amount of car and features you get compared to German automakers, but these aren't cheap, budget vehicles. If you mean

* https://www.hyundaiusa.com/equus/
* https://www.hyundaiusa.com/sonata/
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
121 months ago
Cheap? The Hyundai Equus starts at $61,500 USD, and the Sonata starts over $20k and goes up considerably after that. It's inexpensive for the amount of car and features you get compared to German automakers, but these aren't cheap, budget vehicles. If you mean


* https://www.hyundaiusa.com/equus/
* https://www.hyundaiusa.com/sonata/

I think Henry meant cheap as in inexpensive. To that end, Hyundai does sell 4 vehicles from $15K-$18K. That's cheap. Using the Equus as a retort is sort of like using a Toureg as an example of VW not selling cheap cars when the Jetta is right there.


Even with a cheap car like a Hyundai that's good to see they are being implemented with CarPlay rather than upscale quality cars only.
Agreed. Offering it throughout model and manufacturer lineups increases the chances of adoption.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
solipsism Avatar
121 months ago
I think Henry meant cheap as in inexpensive. To that end, Hyundai does sell 4 vehicles from $15K-$18K. That's cheap. Using the Equus as a retort is sort of like using a Toureg as an example of VW not selling cheap cars when the Jetta is right there.
For their class, they are inexpensive, but Hyundai the brand, which is how he framed it, isn't some inexpensive brand. I also noted the Sonata. If that's Henry's measure, then all major automotive makers have inexpensive cars.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bstpierre Avatar
121 months ago
Even a conversation with someone in the car reduces your reaction time. If one pays attention, they will notice that they will look at the front seat passenger in which the are talking to from time to time. With hands-free there is nothing but the road and instrument panel that needs to be looked at it, so one could argue that talking to someone in a car is potentially slightly more dangerous.

But even those that take personal precautions, also need to be aware of how others might reaction around them. I can't wait until autonomous driving removes a most of the major accidents on the road.
One advantage of having the conversation in the car versus over the phone is that you have another set of eyes on the road and the other person in the conversation can tell when it is a good time to stop talking so the driver can complete a more demanding maneuver.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Iconoclysm Avatar
121 months ago
I've tested several vehicles and aftermarket infotainment head units with varying results. A couple of the earlier ones were just so slow respond that even as an iOS user I would have rather used their default system and control my iPhone the old fashion way.

I've never tried testing via the wireless option, but except for very short drives where taking your iPhone out of your pocket to charge whilst driving is too much of an inconvenience, I don't see that getting often, which makes it a back-burner concern.

PS: Are there any automobiles that are yet using capacitance, IPS panels on their head units?
The Volvo XC90 has a capacitive and infrared panel, the infrared allows the screen to work with gloves on.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HenryDJP Avatar
121 months ago



As shown, they have a wide range of prices and vehicles, like most other major car manufacturers, despite your opinion that they only sell "affordable" cars.
Regardless of the "wide range of prices" Hyundai offers, what I stated was fact and not an opinion. Hyundai is generally known as an affordable car from a Korean manufacturer and they are not plastered in people's heads as being in the same league as most other high-end cars. And please learn to read posts because I never said, "Hyundai ONLY SELLS affordable cars".
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)