Joining several other luxury branded auto makers, BMW went from a neutral position to a “hard pass” no on CarPlay Ultra. CarPlay Ultra is a far more comprehensive implementation of CarPlay (which offers integration with some iPhone functions via the cars built-in entertainment system) since Ultra also encompasses the dashboard system (things like your speedometer, odometer, fuel/charge gauges, turn signals, etc.
In this case, I do actually believe it is the prudent decision for automobile companies (especially those luxury brands) to not cede full control of that design and functionality to a sole company (the same goes for Android Automotive). With Apple, this can often turn into a “my way or the highway” approach when it comes to design choices (I know this aspect quite intimately) even if initially, there is that “automotive companies will have free reign for layouts/designs” premise being offered. The dash cluster is often times a large part of the branding experience for car makers (especially true during those times not very long ago when this cluster was primarily with mechanical gauges).
Myself, I’m not a fan of complete digital dashboards especially if the speedometer and tachometer (for non-EV) display is just numbers. Only a few digital dash clusters bother providing alternative classic designs depicting an analog gauge (a compromise I would find at least satisfactory). I know that in the past, Mercedes-Benz was one of the few that offered a selection of designs (not sure how things are now as I haven’t really looked into that at this time).
As for standard CarPlay, most car makers will continue offering that connectivity alongside Android Auto (not to be confused with the more comprehensive Android Automotive).
I acknowledge that CarPlay Ultra and Android Automotive may end up having better graphical user interface designs (car and electronics makers have often times created the worst UX atrocities in the digital era). I just don’t like the idea of any big tech company being this deeply embedded into your vehicle (more so with Google given their constant desire to harvest every bit of data they can about you).
