Everything we learned from a week with Apple CarPlay Ultra

Summary

Running around Los Angeles, I never found a spot with zero reception (I run e-sims, both Verizon and AT&T simultaneously, for this very reason), but I did purposefully enter airplane mode. This time, Ultra stayed active, and regardless, Apple assured me that essential functions, including navigation, can pre-load offline data for planned route guidance. But at the very worst, as with the phone turning off or battery dying, Ultra can simply revert to the onboard navigation. Using Ultra regularly seemed to deplete my iPhone's battery slightly more quickly than normal, and I noticed some warming of the iPhone—though without a controlled experiment, I can't say with certainty whether these two symptoms happened quicker than simply running traditional CarPlay or Bluetooth. And in reality, most cars running Ultra (for Aston and beyond) should come equipped with wireless charge pads and plenty of USB-C ports anyhow to keep those batteries topped up. On hot summer days in LA, though, my iPhone seemed to get warmest while using inductive charging and Ultra simultaneously, to my admittedly unscientific touch. Apple Maps is the only map that is allowed to go here in CarPlay Ultra. Michael Teo Van Runkle Apple Maps is the only map that is allowed to go here in CarPlay Ultra. Michael Teo Van Runkle That's a glitch. Michael Teo Van Runkle That's a glitch. Michael Teo Van Runkle What happens if I turn this off? Michael Teo Van Runkle What happens if I turn this off? Michael Teo Van Runkle That's a glitch. Michael Teo Van Runkle What happens if I turn this off? Michael Teo Van Runkle It's off now. Michael Teo Van Runkle An error occurred. Michael Teo Van Runkle This is Aston Martin's own UI, when CarPlay Ultra is not active. Michael Teo Van Runkle Bluetooth settings. Michael Teo Van Runkle CarPlay options on the phone Michael Teo Van Runkle Turn off WiFi, and CarPlay can't connect. Michael Teo Van Runkle For commuters who brave traffic using Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS...