Ouch

Tesla rival Polestar 2 will not get CarPlay until mid-2021

It will be made available by way of an OTA update.
Stephen Warwick

PolestarSource: Polestar

What you need to know

  • Polestar says its new EV will not get CarPlay until 2021.
  • In a series of tweets, they confirmed it would eventually be made available by way of an OTA update.
  • Android Automotive OS will, however, be supported from launch.

EV maker Polestar has confirmed via Twitter, that it's new Polestar 2 will not support Apple CarPlay until "the middle of 2021".

Polestar revealed its new Polestar 2 in February of 2019, its first fully electric car and first volume model. By self-admission, it's designed to compete with the Tesla Model 3. In terms of infotainment, Polestar 2 will be one of the first cars in the world to feature an embedded system based on Android Automotive OS, an announcement that left some iOS users scratching their heads.

Now, in a series of tweets responding to one user querying this, Polestar has confirmed that Apple CarPlay will arrive as an OTA update in... the middle next year.

One user asked Polestar:

Hi @PolestarCars please tell me it's not true that, despite dozens of press releases saying the opposite, the Polestar 2 will not have Apple CarPlay until the middle of next year?

In response Polestar stated:

Apple CarPlay will be available via an OTA update towards the middle of 2021. However, the lack of Apple CarPlay does not restrict any functionality with your iPhone in Polestar 2, with the exception of being able to use Siri, Apple Music, and other iPhone-based functionality.

Yes, you read that correctly. The lack of CarPlay does not restrict functionality with the exception of Siri, Apple Music, and other iPhone-based functionality. So it restricts literally all of the functionality.

Polestar noted that you will still be able to connect your iPhone to the Polestar 2 for calls, contacts and audio streaming via Bluetooth, and said that left out functions like Siri, Apple Music and Apple Maps are technically covered by Polestar 2's own advanced voice control, audio streaming, and navigation.

PolestarSource: Polestar

The Polestar 2 is currently in production, and deliveries of the first orders are expected to take place in summer 2020 (COVID-19 disruption pending of course). If the Polestar 2 is released on schedule, it will mean that iOS users may have to wait more than a year before CarPlay gets support. This seems like a glaring oversight in a car built in 2020 that's set to cost nearly $60,000 before federal and state incentives. Furthermore, if the hardware is already available for Apple CarPlay, it begs the question of why it would take Polestar a whole year to bring CarPlay support by way of an update. Sad times.