Hyundai has confirmed that CarPlay will launch in the 2016 Sonata in the first quarter of next year, per the Detroit Free Press. The carmaker will reportedly sell an SD card with new software to get the system for an undisclosed price.
The report does not specify if CarPlay will be available in 2016 Sonata models sold outside of the United States, or if Apple’s in-dash software will be backwards compatible with the 2015 Sonata. The carmaker has not yet outlined plans to bring CarPlay to the rest of its vehicle lineup.
In April 2014, Hyundai announced that CarPlay would be available in the Sonata beginning in the 2015 model year, but it failed to deliver on that promise. CarPlay is only now beginning to experience wider U.S. adoption in 2016 vehicles from General Motors, Volkswagen, Honda and other automakers, as either a standard feature or entertainment package upgrade.
CarPlay provides hands-free or eyes-free access to Maps, Phone, Messages, Music, Podcasts and third-party apps including Spotify, Rdio, iHeartRadio, CBS Radio and MLB At Bat. The platform uses Siri and interfaces with your vehicle’s knobs, dials and buttons for safer access to common iPhone features. The software is compatible with iPhone 5 or later running iOS 8 or above.
