Apple’s next-gen Carplay to allow gauge cluster, infotainment system customization

The next-generation Apple Carplay is set to allow car manufacturers the ability to customize how their instrument clusters and infotainment screens will look like with the app activated.

According to the American multinational corporation and technology company, the next-generation Apple Carplay will allow automakers to tailor the app to best represent their brand and express their own visual design philosophy within Carplay.

In doing so, they can create a look and feel that best suits their marque as well as their vehicles and their unique functions.

“The result won’t just look like Apple, and it also won’t just look like a copy of the built-in system. It’s designed to be a unique celebration of both brands,” Apple Human Interface Designer Ben Crick noted.

Based on Apple’s video presentation — which you can watch here — automotive firms can customize fully digital instrument clusters and tinker with details from number fonts, gauge designs, and colors to the type of information displayed on the screens like the speed, fuel level, and engine temperature (for conventional internal combustion engine-equipped vehicles) and battery level and estimated range (for fully electric cars).

The content displayed on the screens of next-generation Apple Carplay-equipped vehicles will also be dynamic. Per the California-headquartered tech firm, various information can be added to the screens, which include widgets like maps, music, time, weather, tire pressure, and more.

No date was mentioned as to when the next-generation Apple Carplay will roll out. But when it does, it is expected that big names in the auto industry will be the ones to first adopt the technology.

Screenshots from Apple's official Youtube channel

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