Apple CarPlay now available on over 400 different car models

It was back in 2015 when Apple first confirmed the existence of its CarPlay offering. Fast forwarding to three years later, the tech giant is now celebrating the fact that CarPlay connectivity is now made available in over 400 different cars. According to MacRumors, the latest vehicle to join in on the party is the 2019 Subaru WRX, which not only comes with standard support for CarPlay, but for Google's Android Auto as well. 

For the record, the first vehicle to ever take full advantage of Apple’s CarPlay was the Ferrari FF. Scores of other cars of various makes and models have since began to have support for CarPlay in the following years, including more recent additions like Mazda’s 2018 6 sedan. 

For those who want to know which other cars have CarPlay, they should head to Apple’s official website, where they can find the full list of supported models. Still, Apple deserves lots of kudus for getting this far. One can argue that CarPlay has pretty much covered every big name in the automobile manufacturing industry. Even more amazing is the fact that the list mentioned earlier in this paragraph only includes those vehicles that have CarPlay connectivity built in straight from the factory. For sure, there are other older cars that make full use of aftermarket devices in order to be able to upgrade to CarPlay.

Who wouldn’t want to, really? With Apple CarPlay, owners of vehicles can basically transform their car’s infotainment display into a handy extension (or even a mirror) of their own smartphone’s interface. This set up is already inherently cool, but taking full advantage of the abilities of CarPlay may have a far more dramatic benefit -- it helps discourage people behind the wheel from always picking up their mobile devices while they are driving. It goes without saying that distracted driving is becoming an increasing concern in the digital age, but Apple is attempting to leverage the latest in mobile technology to encourage safety for users while on the road.

While it is true that CarPlay steadily gaining some traction among auto makers and drivers is something to be celebrated, it is not entirely a bed of roses for Apple. For instance, BMW (the twelfth biggest automobile manufacturer in the world as of 2015) has hinted that it might begin charging a yearly subscription charge for its customers who use CarPlay. This is a bit of a bummer for drivers of BMW cars, but for other car owners, here’s hoping CarPlay will remain free for them.