Apple CarPlay Contributes to Higher Vehicle Satisfaction in Latest Survey

A new survey released last week by J.D. Power shows that U.S. consumers continue to prefer vehicles with support for Apple CarPlay.

Apple CarPlay Dash
The market research firm's annual U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout (APEAL) Study found overall satisfaction with in-vehicle infotainment systems to average 805 on a 1,000-point scale. However, satisfaction was higher among owners who use Android Auto (832), and even higher for those who use CarPlay (840).

The study is based on responses from 99,144 owners of new 2024 model-year vehicles in the U.S. who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership, according to J.D. Power. The study was conducted from July 2023 through May 2024.

CarPlay has routinely fared well in vehicle satisfaction studies since launching in 2014, so this latest one is no surprise. However, it comes after General Motors last year controversially decided to stop offering CarPlay and Android Auto in its new electric vehicles, in favor of its own software system. Electric vehicle maker Rivian also prefers its own software over CarPlay. J.D. Power's study reinforces that these automakers are betting against a consumer preference, and it remains to be seen if they will ever reverse course.

The next-generation version of CarPlay that Apple announced in 2022 has yet to become available in any vehicles, but Apple's website says the rollout will begin this year. Next-generation CarPlay will be more deeply integrated across multiple screens in a vehicle, offer a built-in FM radio app and climate controls, and more. It will also be highly customizable, allowing automakers to tailor the design of the system to uniquely match their vehicles.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
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...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
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...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
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...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
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...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
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...
Apple TV 4K hero 221018 feature

Here is Everything New for the Apple TV in the tvOS 18.3 Update So Far

Tuesday December 17, 2024 6:25 am PST by
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...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
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...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
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...

Top Rated Comments

Wolf Puppy Avatar
20 weeks ago
I will not consider a vehicle if it lacks CarPlay. I’m sure many agree.
Score: 99 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocMultimedia Avatar
20 weeks ago

Carplay is whatever. If you've ever been in a car with a good infotainment system like a Tesla, or Polestar. Carplay is a luxury. Of course if you drive crap cars you'd want it
I will never get another Tesla. Miserable experience by itself, and even worse without CarPlay. Even though my Tesla is only three years old I've started looking at other cars (usually my cars last me 15 years or more). CarPlay is now a requirement for me.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Goodeye Avatar
20 weeks ago
And yet GM wants to remove it for their own in-house crap which I don’t care if they are working with Google on it, their attempts thus far on their infotainment systems have been utter trash.

Then you have Rivian and others who say: “we’re not going to add it even when our customers ask for it”.

Good luck if people keep pushing for it then maybe there is a reason. I need something seamless not your inferior systems trying to make sense of what’s on my phone so I can access it.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orev Avatar
20 weeks ago
People want CarPlay because car makers just don't have the right mentality for supporting a software app platform. They think about cars as hardware that you sell and then they don't want to think about it except for getting maintenance fees from you. Software makers know that you need a team of people dedicated to supporting the software, releasing updates, etc.

That's why a phone will always be better than the built-in interface. You upgrade your phone every few years. Cars you upgrade maybe once a decade (if you're being financially smart). People also don't want to pay for another data subscription for their car to be connected to 5G when the phone they have with them already has a data connection.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mousse Avatar
20 weeks ago
People like consistency. Who wants to learn a new UI every time they get in a new car? Besides, the home grown infotainment system of auto manufacturers is rubbish.

Personally, I'd do away with infotainment systems all together. I'm OG; just give me buttons and knobs for climate control. I don't need radios or other distractions.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
con2apple Avatar
20 weeks ago
No surprise.
Competition from Apple has made the media systems in cars better.
But let's be honest, it's still a disaster in comparison.

I still don't understand why an iPhone SE 1G can display a smooth map view via CarPlay, but the computer in a Mercedes S-Class fails to do so.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)