Last November, we heard a rumor that Tesla was working with Apple to bring CarPlay support to its cars. The development is still underway, but the rollout may reportedly take longer than expected due to slow iOS 26 adoption.
As Bloomberg reports, Tesla had initially planned to add CarPlay support by the end of last year. However, during testing, the car manufacturer found compatibility issues between the map used for self-driving features and Apple’s Maps app.
Tesla then reported the issue to Apple and asked it to make engineering changes to improve compatibility between the two mapping systems. Apple agreed and rolled out updates with a later version of iOS 26.
This should have resolved Tesla’s concerns, but it didn’t. According to Bloomberg, the Elon Musk-led company wasn’t happy with iOS 26’s adoption rate. To make CarPlay available in its cars, Tesla needed a good number of its customers to switch to iOS 26, and that hadn’t happened by the end of last year.
The adoption rate seems to have improved since then, though. According to a recent Apple announcement, as of Feb. 12, around 74% of all iPhones introduced in the last four years run iOS 26, while 20% run iOS 18. More importantly, 66% of all active iPhones run iOS 26.
iOS 26 adoption rate (Credit: Apple)
While the numbers seem promising, it’s unclear which version of iOS 26 improved CarPlay’s compatibility with Tesla’s mapping system. iOS 26.1 arrived in November, iOS 26.2 in December, and iOS 26.3 just last week. Apple also released several smaller bug-fix updates in between these major versions.
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Since Apple doesn’t specify how many iPhone users are on more recent iOS 26 updates, it’s difficult to estimate Tesla’s CarPlay rollout, Bloomberg added.
Whenever it arrives, it will surely bring joy to Tesla drivers, who have demanded a better UI for the infotainment system. According to a 2024 McKinsey study, the lack of Android Auto or Apple CarPlay support in a car is a major deal breaker for 35% of potential buyers.
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Jibin is a tech news writer based out of Ahmedabad, India. Previously, he served as the editor of iGeeksBlog and is a self-proclaimed tech enthusiast who loves breaking down complex information for a broader audience.
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