The Apple Carplay Era | Is Automotive UX Losing Identity?

There was a time when stepping inside a luxury car meant entering a space meticulously crafted to reflect a brand’s identity. The materials, the shapes, even the instrumentation spoke to decades of heritage and design intent. But that experience is starting to shift.

As CarPlay and other mobile ecosystems expand their reach, the question arises: are cars slowly losing their individuality? Are we heading toward a future where every dashboard feels like an iPhone, regardless of what badge is on the bonnet?

The Apple Carplay Takeover

CarPlay isn’t just a feature anymore… it’s quietly becoming the standard. That familiar Apple interface now takes centre stage in vehicles that once prided themselves on delivering a totally unique in-car experience.

Many luxury car brands have integrated Apple CarPlay into their vehicles. Porsche is no exception. It has been offering full screen CarPlay across models like the 911, Taycan and Cayenne for many years. and has also confirmed plans to adopt Apple’s next generation CarPlay Ultra in future models. It works beautifully, sure. But you have to wonder: if the interface looks and feels just like your phone, where does the car brand go?

That’s the dilemma… Familiarity is powerful, it lowers the cognitive load. It pleases users, but it also comes at the cost of character. You might get consistency, but you lose distinction. And once drivers come to expect that Apple-like UI in every car, opting out isn’t really an option.

You either offer it, or you’re behind the curve.

It starts to feel like a design trade-off no one wants to admit is happening. Because once Apple is integrated across all dashboards, it’s no longer a feature… it’s the experience.

And when every car shares the same experience, they all start to feel a little more the same.

Losing the Brand in the UI

There’s a growing pattern in automotive design where digital interfaces lean heavily on physical references – carbon fibre textures, stitched leather effects, chrome gradients. The intention is to echo the premium feel of the car’s physical cabin, but more often than not, it just reinforces the gap between screen and substance.

The real risk isn’t in using old design cues. It’s in letting them get in the way of progress. Great digital design doesn’t need to mimic physical materials to feel premium. It needs to reflect a brand’s attitude. Its clarity, confidence and purpose.

But even if we disagree with the design choices some automakers make in their digital interfaces, atleast they’re completely unique. When an external player like Apple defines those qualities instead, something gets lost.

Speed Gaps and Control Loss

The pace difference between consumer tech and automotive development is stark. Car development takes many years. Apple releases a new OS every twelve months. That means by the time your shiny new in-car system hits the road, it might already be behind.

And this lag creates an understandable temptation: just hand over the interface to Apple. They know what they’re doing. They move fast. The customer likes it. Done.

But let’s be honest. It’s a short-term fix that creates a long-term brand problem.

When Apple’s system is the UX layer, your brand’s role gets reduced. You become the hardware. The shell. You’re no longer shaping the experience, you’re facilitating someone else’s.

What Happens Next?

This isn’t a purist argument against Apple. Their UX works. It’s elegant, intuitive, and helps users feel at home instantly. But car brands need to ask themselves a tough question: are we okay becoming invisible? Because if every interface feels like an iPhone, what truly separates a Bentley from a BMW or an Audi from a Kia?

This is about experience ownership. Making sure the brand still has a voice inside the vehicle. That means finding the confidence to build interfaces that aren’t just functional, but expressive. That reflect who the brand is. That carry forward the same principles of craftsmanship, restraint, and storytelling that define the rest of the car.

A UI that feels modern and rooted in its own logic, not someone else's.

When you hand over the interface, you risk handing over everything. And for brands built on heritage, emotion and craftsmanship, that’s a future worth resisting.

At Conjure, we help brands take back control of the in-car experience. Through bespoke HMI design and strategic interface consultancy, we ensure the digital layer doesn’t dilute your brand. It enhances it. From concept to Tier 1 handover, our team designs experiences that feel unmistakably yours, not borrowed from Silicon Valley.