It has been about a year and a half since Apple announced a major revamp of CarPlay. However, since the 2022 WWDC, there has been silence from Apple and no official announcement as to when it would actually be announced. Thankfully, that has now changed.

The next generation of CarPlay is expected to arrive in 2024, and Porsche and Aston Martin have previewed how the new interface will be implemented in their upcoming cars. But don't expect both versions of CarPlay to look exactly the same.

The idea behind the new CarPlay is that it will link directly to the car, rather than simply appearing on a central display. Not only would this mean that the CarPlay app could be shown on all the digital displays in the dashboard, but it should also be possible to control the in-car systems with your cell phone and access information such as speed and fuel (or battery level) from the car's computer.

The new software relies on Apple partnering with manufacturers, and those automakers will have the ability to customize the interface to fit their brand and style. according to Car and Driver, Porsche is working with the new CarPlay, and the driver display will show three circular gauges and custom wallpaper that matches the automaker's Pepita seat pattern.

Aston Martin, on the other hand, has a circular speedometer and tachometer on either side of a central information display. Both cars have the familiar CarPlay screen on the central display, but the layout appears to be slightly different to maximize the available screen space.

Drivers can also personalize the apps and widgets that appear on the screen, similar to the iPhone. In terms of privacy, Apple has stated that all data about the car stays in the car and is not stored or tracked on the iPhone.

Porsche has not revealed exactly when the new CarPlay support will appear, but Aston Martin plans to include it in vehicles to be launched in 2024, including the DB12 Coupe and DB12 Volante. It is unclear when other automakers will respond, but Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo (including Polestar), Ford, and Lincoln have confirmed plans to include the new software in the near future.

Given that Porsche is part of the Volkswagen Group, which owns brands such as Audi, Bentley, Skoda, and VW, it is quite likely that these cars will follow Porsche's example. But we will just have to be patient and see how these things develop. But at least new software is finally on the way.