Mazda Preparing Apple CarPlay, Android Auto Support For Infotainment System

Japanese automaker Mazda is in the process of finally bringing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to its vehicles’ infotainment systems. The carmaker itself announced at the start of this week that consumers can expect to see Mazda vehicles with support for said software in the near future.

Despite announcing that its lineup of cars and SUVs will soon have the capability to pair up with iOS and Android devices and launch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on their infotainment screens, the company did not indicate the timeline of this project. Mazda did not state which models are launching new iterations with the smartphone mirroring technology as well, as per Cars.com.

What’s good though is Mazda wants to bring the in-car technology to existing vehicles. Mazda spokesperson Jacob Brown said, both the Apple CarPlay and the Android Auto “should be retroactively upgradeable onto all Mazda Connect systems with a potentially minimal hardware addition needed.”

According to Apple Insider, Brown’s statement means Mazda cars released as far back as 2014 will have the chance to have this retroactive upgrade to support the mirroring technology. This is definitely good news to many Mazda car owners, because other automakers only started rolling out support for the mirroring technology in their 2016 releases. Even Audi, BMW and Ford are a bit behind, for they are only rolling out support in their 2017 and 2018 vehicles.

“Mazda has been a CarPlay and Android Auto partner since 2014, so it is no secret that we are developing both systems to interface with our Mazda Connect infotainment system,” a statement from the Japanese company read. “Mazda does not yet have an official timeline for when these should be available or at what cost, however.”

Apple CarPlay is already available in over 200 vehicles from various brands, including Chevrolet, Chrysler, Honda, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Kia, as pointed out by MacRumors. The only global company that has yet to integrate the smart mirroring technology to its cars is Toyota.