No Apple CarPlay is a deal-breaker! Study reveals 35% of buyers won't consider a car without it

(Image credit: Future/Lloyd Coombes)

A recent survey has highlighted a huge deal-breaker for car owners — if a new vehicle doesn’t feature CarPlay, they’re happy to look elsewhere for one that does.

According to research conducted by McKinsey & Co. and shared via Carscoops, 35% of respondents would refuse to buy a combustion car that didn’t include CarPlay, Apple’s in-car operating system that can connect to your iPhone. 30% of those looking for an electric vehicle also said no CarPlay or Android Auto would be a deal-breaker.

This huge number only proves how important CarPlay is to car owners. This also highlights how out of touch General Motors is, which ditched CarPlay in 2023 in favor of its own dashboard system.

At WWDC 2024, Apple’s yearly developer conference, the next generation of CarPlay was confirmed again, featuring dynamic content for your car — such as information about tire pressure, EV charging status, and more. These improvements will likely make CarPlay more alluring to potential buyers as they look for newer cars in the future. Apple has said that this update is coming later this year to supported vehicles, although it’s yet to provide any further details. Thus far, only two manufacturers have confirmed support for next-generation CarPlay in 2024, Aston Martin and Porsche.

You can use CarPlay in your existing car right now

Are you feeling left out because your existing car doesn’t feature CarPlay? Fret not, as there are other ways to use Apple’s operating system in your car without spending thousands on a new vehicle.

‘CarPlay Monitors’ are third-party mounts that can be placed on your car’s dashboard. Once connected to your iPhone, you can use CarPlay as if it’s always been integrated with your vehicle. With Amazon’s Prime Day confirmed for July, there’s a chance that some of these will be heavily discounted once the event starts. In the meantime, here’s one example of a CarPlay Monitor you can buy right now that features a big saving.

More from iMore

Daryl is iMore's Features Editor, overseeing long-form and in-depth articles and op-eds. Daryl loves using his experience as both a journalist and Apple fan to tell stories about Apple's products and its community, from the apps we use every day to the products that have been long forgotten in the Cupertino archives.

Previously Software & Downloads Writer at TechRadar, and Deputy Editor at StealthOptional, he's also written a book, 'The Making of Tomb Raider', which tells the story of the beginnings of Lara Croft and the series' early development. His second book, '50 Years of Boss Fights', came out in June 2024, and has a monthly newsletter called 'Springboard'. He's also written for many other publications including WIRED, MacFormat, Bloody Disgusting, VGC, GamesRadar, Nintendo Life, VRV Blog, The Loop Magazine, SUPER JUMP, Gizmodo, Film Stories, TopTenReviews, Miketendo64, and Daily Star.