App update gives Porsche owners a small taste of next-gen CarPlay

 Cayenne owners can control air conditioning, radio stations, and more without leaving Apple's interface.

The first vehicles equipped to support next-gen CarPlay won’t be announced until later this year, but Porsche owners can get a preview of some of the features right now. A new update to the My Porsche app lets users control various aspects of the car, including air conditioning, radio stations, and seat controls without leaving the CarPlay interface.

It’s a clever use of the My Porsche app that makes us wonder why more car makers haven’t thought of it. Instead of using the car controls on the dash or leaving CarPlay to access them, Porsche has built them right into the app, so you just need to launch it to see a new set of vehicle functions, including “sound profiles, changing radio stations, adjusting settings for climate control and ambient lighting.” Porsche owners can also use Siri to control vehicle functions. The update also links existing accounts with Apple Music for use directly in the Porsche Communication Management system independent of CarPlay.

Porsche says it is “the first automotive manufacturer to allow for easier access of vehicle functions within CarPlay.” Apple announced that the next-generation of CarPlay will be coming after iOS 17 launches later this year, with the first cars arriving in 2024. The interface is far more immersive and will be able to control all car functions and display all car information like speed and gas mileage.

The My Porsche update is only available for the new Cayenne, but Porsche says the functionality “will be rolled out to other model lines.” Owners of that model can activate the new experience by updating to the latest version 8.0 of the app and scanning a QR code displayed in their car’s PCM.