Lexus today announced that CarPlay will be a standard feature in the all-new 2019 UX crossover in the United States, marking its first confirmed vehicle with support for Apple's in-car software platform.
CarPlay and Amazon Alexa, but not Android Auto, will be available through the vehicle's Enform 2.0 system. Lexus said the CarPlay implementation will be wired, so the iPhone must be connected via USB cable, but it hasn't specified how large the touchscreen will be or provided other details about the system.
Lexus and its parent company Toyota are among the last of the major automakers to support CarPlay, after having initially chosen the open source platform SmartDeviceLink in partnership with Ford and Livio.
Toyota reversed course in January, starting with the 2019 Avalon, and CarPlay will be a standard feature in the 2019 Corolla Hatchback as well. The forthcoming 2019 Camry and 2019 Sienna will also likely feature CarPlay given the 2018 models of those vehicles are already equipped with Toyota's Entune 3.0 system.
Toyota and Lexus plan to expand CarPlay availability to several other 2019 model year vehicles. A spokesperson for Toyota told MacRumors that it doesn't have plans to support the platform in pre-2019 vehicles at this time.
Lexus is debuting the 2019 UX at the New York International Auto Show later this week. The vehicle is expected to go on sale at dealerships across the United States in December. Pricing will be announced closer to the on-sale date.
Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year.
Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital."
In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by Juli Clover
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag.
Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
Tuesday December 17, 2024 6:25 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on Monday seeded the first tvOS 18.3 beta to developers for testing. The update will likely be released in January. So far, there are only minor changes for the Apple TV, with one new feature and a few code changes discovered.
Below, we outline what is new in tvOS 18.3 so far.
Robot Vacuum Support in Home App
First, tvOS 18.3 will add robot vacuum support to the Home app on the...
Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by Juli Clover
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro.
The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie.
The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
I love what Toyota has done with the hybrid drivetrain technology and engineering in other areas, but good god their latest cars are fugly beyond belief.
I love what Toyota has done with the hybrid drivetrain technology and engineering in other areas, but good god their latest cars are fugly beyond belief.
Yup; these toyotas really got hit with an ugly stick.
I love what Toyota has done with the hybrid drivetrain technology and engineering in other areas, but good god their latest cars are fugly beyond belief.
Yup; these toyotas really got hit with an ugly stick.
Absolutely the ugliest car I've ever seen.
Yup, I agree with all of you, Lexus was actually really nice before, that grille, can't believe they actually released such a fugly car.
The upcoming Supra, on the other hand, looks stunning.
Indeed, it does. I want one.
Seems like I have a different taste. I'll take an European 'supercar' design any day over this.
Interesting that is excludes Android Auto, but includes Alexa and Car Play. Also, I do not like the ‘plastic look’ around the wheel wells either in the above model. Cheapens the appeal to Lexus.
