With nearly every car manufacturer committed to Apple’s CarPlay platform, there has been a few that have been hesitant in going all in. Mazda has been one of those manufactures, frustrating many customs over social media. There is good news however, as last month Mazda announced that they will soon be rolling out CarPlay functionality in older models through software, and possibly hardware updates also.
During the launch of their 2017 CX-5 model (dash above), Mazda confirmed that vehicles using its Mazda Connect in-dash system will be able to update its system, that will in-turn support Apple’s CarPlay platform. Mazda Connect has been in vehicles as old as 2014, so there are plenty of owners that may benefit from this future update. Some vehicles may require a ‘minimal hardware addition’, and I am sure this will not be a free upgrade either!
“Mazda has been a CarPlay and Android Auto partner since 2014, so it is no secret that we are developing both systems to interface with our Mazda Connect infotainment system. Both software systems should be retroactively upgradable onto all Mazda Connect systems with a potentially minimal hardware addition needed. Mazda does not yet have an official timeline for when these should be available or at what cost, however.”
If you are a Mazda owner waiting to have CarPlay in your vehicle, then this is good news. Toyota is the last major player to implement Apple’s in-car platform, so will pressure force their decision to boycott Apple CarPlay?
