CarPlay marquee feature of new Honda Insight & Lexus UX luxury models

Honda and Lexus today formally revealed new CarPlay-ready vehicles for the New York International Auto Show, including the former's 2019 Insight hybrid sedan and a completely new Lexus line, the UX compact crossover.

The latest Insight will be available sometime in the early summer, and support both CarPlay and Android Auto via an "available" 8-inch touchscreen interface, Honda said. The car's gas/electric engine should allow it to hit up to 55 miles per gallon in city driving.

The UX will come with CarPlay standard, and also natively support Amazon's Alexa, letting drivers ask questions and play audio, and/or control smarthome accessories assuming their house or apartment is properly connected.

Unusually, the vehicle will be available not just through a purchase or lease but a new "subscription" option. Lexus hasn't elaborated on how that will differentiate from a lease, but details should be announced closer to the UX's December launch date.

CarPlay has become increasingly common on new vehicles, reflecting the popularity of the iPhone and smartphones in general. Last week Lexus' parent company Toyota revealed compatibility for the 2019 Corolla. The Japanese giant was a long-time holdout from the platform.

For Apple, the greatest obstacle to CarPlay adoption has been a lack of support among cheaper cars. Automakers have typically reserved the technology for upgrade packages or mid- to high-end models. BMW is even planning to charge owners $80 per year, abandoning the idea of a one-time payment.

Some other CarPlay-compatible vehicles announced this year include the Acura MDX Sport Hybrid and the 2019 Subaru Ascent. Both are SUVs.

11 Comments

proline 223 comments · 11 Years

About 6 years ago

Pretty much every car has CarPlay now. Wake me up when they support wireless CarPlay (in conjunction with a wireless charging pad so you just throw your phone on the pad and it charges while CarPlay does its thing).

Soli 9981 comments · 9 Years

proline said:

Pretty much every car has CarPlay now. Wake me up when they support wireless CarPlay (in conjunction with a wireless charging pad so you just throw your phone on the pad and it charges while CarPlay does its thing).

I don't know why tech writers are so oblivious that they don't thinking noting whether CarPlay is wired or wireless is important. If not the title, the article.

Mike Wuerthele 6901 comments · 8 Years

Soli said:

proline said:

Pretty much every car has CarPlay now. Wake me up when they support wireless CarPlay (in conjunction with a wireless charging pad so you just throw your phone on the pad and it charges while CarPlay does its thing).

I don't know why tech writers are so oblivious that they don't thinking noting whether CarPlay is wired or wireless is important. If not the title, the article.

Wouldn't it be great if we got all the information on that in advance? Sure would.

Mike Wuerthele said:

Soli said:

proline said:

Pretty much every car has CarPlay now. Wake me up when they support wireless CarPlay (in conjunction with a wireless charging pad so you just throw your phone on the pad and it charges while CarPlay does its thing).

I don't know why tech writers are so oblivious that they don't thinking noting whether CarPlay is wired or wireless is important. If not the title, the article.

Wouldn't it be great if we got all the information on that in advance? Sure would.

There is always that, but you linked to the Honda website. I went through the data and I'd say that it's absolutely wired CarPlay, but I'm just a reader; as a writer, tech authors could state "it appears to only be wired CarPlay."

dws-2 277 comments · 22 Years

Mike Wuerthele said:

Soli said:

proline said:

Pretty much every car has CarPlay now. Wake me up when they support wireless CarPlay (in conjunction with a wireless charging pad so you just throw your phone on the pad and it charges while CarPlay does its thing).

I don't know why tech writers are so oblivious that they don't thinking noting whether CarPlay is wired or wireless is important. If not the title, the article.

Wouldn't it be great if we got all the information on that in advance? Sure would.

Ideally, a reporter would ask that question of the manufacturer and report back on the result. If they don't reply, the reporter can write that it is unknown, and attempt to follow up. I realize that time is limited, but good reporting would improve your site, at least for me.