New Vehicle Owners Largely Satisfied With Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

New vehicle owners who have purchased a car that's equipped with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto are satisfied with the system and are increasingly relying on it for all in-car tasks, according to a new report released today by Strategy Analytics.

In a survey querying new vehicle owners that have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto installed in their vehicles, Strategy Analytics found that 34 percent of CarPlay owners rely on CarPlay for all of their audio infotainment needs, while 27 percent of Android Auto users use the Android platform exclusively for audio infotainment.

strategyanalyticscarplayusage
32 percent of CarPlay users and 33 percent of Android Auto users rely on those systems for all of their navigation needs, with CarPlay's slightly lower number here likely attributable to customers who continued to be unsatisfied with Apple Maps compared to other mapping apps like Google Maps or Waze.

Speech recognition usage is said to be "strong" across both sets of users, with CarPlay owners taking advantage of Siri for hands-free tasks while driving.

Overall, more than 85 percent of CarPlay and Android Auto users are "somewhat or very satisfied" with their system, and more than 90 percent are likely to recommend those systems to others.

In a similar report from October, Strategy Analytics learned that CarPlay is becoming an increasingly important feature that consumers look for when purchasing a vehicle.

In the United States, for example, 23 percent of respondents said that CarPlay was a "must have" feature for a new car, while another 56 percent said they were "interested" in vehicles equipped with CarPlay.

While CarPlay has been available since 2015, car manufacturers did not begin widely adopting the feature until mid-2016. CarPlay is now included in many new vehicles from a wide range of manufacturers, with more than 200 vehicles on the market offering CarPlay support.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Available Next Month With These 8 New Features

Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
m1 chip slide

Five Years of Apple Silicon: M1 to M5 Performance Comparison

Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
iphone pocket%402x

Apple Debuts iPhone Pocket, a Limited Edition iPod Sock-Style Accessory

Tuesday November 11, 2025 1:23 am PST by
Apple has teamed up with Japanese fashion house ISSEY MIYAKE to launch iPhone Pocket, a 3D-knitted limited edition accessory designed to carry an iPhone, AirPods, and other everyday items. The accessory is like a stretchy pocket, not unlike an iPod Sock, but elongated to form a strap made of a ribbed, elastic textile that fully encloses an iPhone yet allows you to glimpse the display...
homepod mini colors

New HomePod Mini Coming Soon With These Features

Tuesday November 11, 2025 7:30 am PST by
Apple is expected to announce a new HomePod mini imminently, headlining with new chips. Here are all of the new features we're expecting. The second-generation HomePod mini is highly likely to contain a more up-to-date chip for more advanced computational audio and improved responsiveness. The current HomePod mini is equipped with the Apple Watch Series 5's S5 chip from 2019. Apple is likely ...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Announces Launch of U.S. Passport Feature in iPhone's Wallet App

Wednesday November 12, 2025 9:15 am PST by
Apple today announced that iPhone users can now create a Digital ID in the Apple Wallet app based on information from their U.S. passport. To create and present a Digital ID based on a U.S. passport, you need: An iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26.1 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 6 or later running watchOS 26.1 or later Face ID or Touch ID and Bluetooth turned on An Apple Account ...
homepod mini thumb feature

New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and AirTag Were Expected This Year — Where Are They?

Wednesday November 12, 2025 11:42 am PST by
While it was rumored that Apple planned to release new versions of the HomePod mini, Apple TV, and AirTag this year, it is no longer clear if that will still happen. Back in January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple planned to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year," while he at one point expected a new AirTag to launch "around the middle of 2025." Yet,...
Tesla Charging

Tesla Working to Add Apple CarPlay Support to Vehicles

Thursday November 13, 2025 8:31 am PST by
Tesla is working to add support for Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Tesla vehicles rely on its own infotainment software system, which integrates vehicle functions, navigation, music, web browsing, and more. The automaker has been an outlier in foregoing support for Apple CarPlay, which has otherwise become an industry standard feature, allowing users to...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
iphone air thinness

iPhone Air Sales Are So Bad That Apple's Delaying the Next-Generation Version

Monday November 10, 2025 11:41 am PST by
The thin, light iPhone Air sold so poorly that Apple has decided to delay the launch of the next-generation iPhone Air that was scheduled to come out alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, reports The Information. Apple initially planned to release a new iPhone Air in fall 2026, but now that's not going to happen. Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales...

Top Rated Comments

Mac 128 Avatar
99 months ago
Rented a 2018 Dodge Durango with CarPlay. Can't say I was very impressed. It was kind of a mess, unless I just wanted to listen to Apple apps. A few times it almost caused me to lose control of the vehicle, just trying to do something simple I could do on the iPhone directly with no issues at all.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleMad98004 Avatar
99 months ago
CarPlay is awesome. I just bought a 2018 Lincoln Navigator and love it. I agree Google maps is better but Apple isn't to bad and the convenience of it all tied into my Apple ecosystem, messages, music, audiobooks, at bat for baseball, contacts, maps, phone etc. is worth it. HomeKit integration would be awesome.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Menopause Avatar
99 months ago
"Siri", "recognition" and "strong" in the same sentence. I need to buy a car with CarPlay to see how that Siri works.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
99 months ago
Carplay is oberrated already. The system should be this:

- airplay screen, doubling your phone screen
- touch sensitive

No separate OS, let the mobile device do the processor work, as a car lives longer than a phone. Latest phone with my concept? Then you have the latest experience.

These mobile processors are getting so powerful, that there is a lot of sense in my vision no? The most sense is made in the fact that at the longest extend, apps will need to be allowed or not allowed to be mirrored. I mean, the point being it should not replace a phone, but have the maximum available car relevant functionality, most of all: allowing us to use Waze or other nav apps.

Moreover, The driver integrity is guaranteed in thus way, which will more and more be a matter pf concern like the previous poster is alluding.
With car sharing becoming the future, CarPlay already is too old fashioned for my taste.
I think you may be misunderstanding what CarPlay is. The mobile processor does all the work. CarPlay is an overlay running from your mobile device.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
radiology Avatar
99 months ago
Got my wife a XC-90 which comes with CarPlay and I’m super jealous. CarPlay is awesome and a must have for my next car.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Peace Avatar
99 months ago
I'm pretty satisfied with Carplay in my Honda.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)