CarPlay is coming to Hyundai's Sonata in 2016

Hyundai has, according to a recent report, confirmed that its Sonata is set at long last to receive support for Apple’s CarPlay from early 2016 onwards.

It’s about time

The move comes more than a year after Hyundai promised CarPlay support for the model; originally, the car-maker had said that the 2015 Sonata model would receive support for Apple’s protocol. In a report from the Detroit Free Press, however, it’s also said that Sonata customers will “need to buy an SD card with new software to get the system,” and this indeed goes against Hyundai’s initial assurance that the CarPlay software would be a free download for owners of supported models.

In a statement issued to the Detroit Free Press, Hyundai said:

Hyundai and Apple are committed to delivering drivers the best possible experience while using CarPlay in their vehicles. We are currently working together to complete CarPlay integration.

CarPlay was announced by Apple in 2014, and it’s compatible with the iPhone 5 onwards. The software allows iPhone owners to access iOS features on their in-car display; all major vehicle manufacturers are, according to Apple, partnering with CarPlay, though supported models vary from company to company.

Countless developers have added support for CarPlay, too: TuneIn Radio, Audio Books, Deezer Music, and Audible are among the most recent to gain optimization for the in-car software.

Hyundai’s implementation of CarPlay has left a sour taste in the mouths of its customers: as noted, not only was the software supposed to launch in the 2015 Sonata, but it was also supposed to be available for free, rather than for a price.

So far, we’re unsure how much the CarPlay-enabling SD card is going to cost 2016 Sonata customers, though we’ll let you know when we find out.

Via: MacRumors