Five years after the launch of CarPlay, there are still very few car manufacturers supporting Apple's in-car platform wirelessly. The main benefit of wireless ‌CarPlay‌ is a nearly seamless experience of having much of your phone's core functionality available just a fingertip or voice command away on your car's infotainment system while your phone remains in your pocket.

So far, wireless ‌CarPlay‌ support is largely limited to some premium brands, and Porsche is one of those brands that recently rolled out support for it.

For a taste of that experience, Porsche invited me down to Atlanta for a day to take a look at how wireless ‌CarPlay‌ works hand-in-hand with the native infotainment system on the 2019 Macan S crossover. I also got to spend some time behind the wheel of the Macan S on the track at the Porsche Experience Center and check out the Heritage Gallery, a frequently changing display of some of the most important and collectible vehicles in Porsche's storied history.

porsche heritage gallery 914

Porsche 914 display in Heritage Gallery

While the Macan is certainly a fun crossover to drive and I had a great time putting it through its paces on the track and the other elements in the Porsche Experience Center, the primary purpose of my trip was to check out the infotainment system and how it works with ‌CarPlay‌.

porsche macan exterior

2019 Porsche Macan S in Mamba Green Metallic

Porsche's infotainment system is known as Porsche Communication Management (PCM), and as on most cars, it's the hub for much of the technology you need to interact with on a regular basis. The Macan comes with a 10.9-inch widescreen infotainment display, which allows for terrific integration between ‌CarPlay‌ and the tile-based PCM system.

porsche macan carplay home

‌CarPlay‌ home screen integrated with PCM

When active, ‌CarPlay‌ takes over a significant portion of the display, but a top status bar, left-side shortcuts bar, and multiple right-side app tiles remain visible at all times, making it easy to manage both systems simultaneously.

porsche macan carplay waze

Waze in ‌CarPlay‌

All of the home screen tiles on PCM are configurable, so you can customize things just the way you want, and support for multiple layouts makes it easy to switch between tile sets.

porsche macan pcm customize

Customizing the PCM home screen layouts

The Macan offers a relatively clean center stack dominated by the widescreen display, with a handy set of hardware buttons and a couple of knobs thankfully making for quick access to a number of important functions merely by feel.

The simplicity of the center stack is made possible due to Porsche's decision to move the vast majority of hardware controls down to the center console clustered around the gearshift. There are over 30 buttons and switches located down on the center console, including climate control, heated/ventilated seat controls, and various driving mode options. It's an overwhelming experience when you first sit down in the cockpit, but you quickly discover that many of the important ones should become familiar to find by feel while others are used infrequently enough that their location isn't an issue for everyday driving.

porsche macan console

Macan center console

With available built-in navigation capable of taking over nearly the entire widescreen display, you certainly get an expansive view of what's around you. The display sits a little lower on the dash than I prefer for visibility, but I'd say it's about average in this regard.

porsche macan nav

Widescreen built-in navigation

The persistent top and left status/navigation bars and the hardware buttons make it easy to jump between functions even while enjoying a wide fullscreen experience. A small digital display on the driver's dashboard can also serve as a configurable supplemental screen for navigation to make it easier to see directions and other vehicle information like audio, phone, settings, and more at a glance.

porsche macan driver display

Driver display

While ‌CarPlay‌ is available on all Macan models, it is not a standard feature. ‌CarPlay‌ support is priced at $360 as a standalone option, or it's available as part of several premium packages.

The 2019 Macan doesn't offer wireless charging, but the recently launched 2020 model does include it as an option, allowing for an even more seamless experience. The wireless charger is included in an optional $690 smartphone compartment located in the center console, with the compartment also able to serve as an antenna booster for improved signal strength.

porsche macan center compartment

Center console compartment with USB-A ports

If you don't opt for the wireless charger or just want to plug in your phone, you'll have two available USB-A ports inside that center console. Two more USB-A charging ports are located on the rear of the console to serve passengers in the back.

porsche macan rear controls

Rear USB ports and controls

Wired ‌CarPlay‌ is available across the Porsche lineup, and the company is working on rolling out wireless ‌CarPlay‌ on a number of its models as the infotainment systems get refreshed, and for the 2020 model year, the Macan, Taycan Turbo/Turbo S, and all 911 Carrera variants will offer wireless ‌CarPlay‌.

One of the major points of difficulty with ‌CarPlay‌ is frequently integration with a vehicle's native infotainment system, as swapping between the two systems or seeing what's going one while using the other one can be difficult, but Porsche has done a great job making multitasking across PCM and ‌CarPlay‌ nearly seamless. The widescreen display offers plenty of room to show a traditionally sized ‌CarPlay‌ screen while still giving you access to all sorts of menus and information tiles from PCM, all visible at the same time.

To me, this is the best way to take advantage of widescreen displays with ‌CarPlay‌, rather than going to a wide fullscreen ‌CarPlay‌ interface that forces you to exit ‌CarPlay‌ in order to access native infotainment functions. On systems like this whether both ‌CarPlay‌ and the native interface are available simultaneously, you can sometimes run into conflicts where certain native functions like phone and messages are unavailable because they're currently being handled by ‌CarPlay‌, but with the extensive home screen tile customization available in PCM it's easy to configure things in just the way you like.

Wireless ‌CarPlay‌ is an extra bonus that really needs to start trickling its way down beyond a small handful of luxury car manufacturers at this point. For short trips where you don't need or want to bother plugging in your phone, it's super convenient for ‌CarPlay‌ to simply pop up on the dash even with your phone still in your pocket. The growing prevalence of wireless phone charging in vehicles even lets you top off your phone without needing to worry about cables.

The one major downside with all of this is cost, and ‌CarPlay‌ doesn't exactly come cheaply on the Macan. As noted above, ‌CarPlay‌ is a $360 option on its own, or it comes as part of some other packages. And if you want wireless phone charging as well, that's another significant cash outlay since it comes bundled as with the antenna-boosting smartphone compartment. It may not make a huge amount of difference to luxury car buyers already laying out quite a bit of cash for their purchases, but the ability to have your phone's functions and data conveniently accessible on your car's dashboard is such a benefit that I can only hope we see a trend toward ‌CarPlay‌ (and Android Auto) support being included standard on an increasing number of vehicles.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Top Rated Comments

HenryFSU Avatar
53 months ago
Somebody needs to keep up with their calls/vm's/text messages.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
53 months ago
The Macan has an _obscene_ amount of Center control push buttons near the shifter. It’s almost convoluted to the point where unfamiliarity would probably be more common given that row of lengthy buttons.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WildCowboy Avatar
53 months ago

Somebody needs to keep up with their calls/vm's/text messages.
In my defense, that's a Porsche rep's phone paired to the system in that photo. :)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WildCowboy Avatar
53 months ago

I’d like to know is there any lag w wireless CarPlay? Is it slower or a degraded experience versus wired in any way?
I have it on a Pioneer system in my personal vehicle and don't notice any lag.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sidewinder3000 Avatar
53 months ago
Having all the extra Porsche stuff around the edges kinda takes away from the beautiful simplicity and cleanness of the CarPlay interface that can be seen on some of the less expensive cars that just have a single rectangular screen. I’m sure it all has functionality, and I assume Porsche has decent designers, but it just makes me jones for what an Apple car interior and control panel might look like on their own car.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Defthand Avatar
53 months ago
The cockpit controls and infotainment systems in luxury cars are UI/UX nightmares. You need a goddamn co-pilot so you can focus on driving.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 General Feature Black

New iOS Features Coming in 2024 for Messages, Apple Music, and More

Thursday December 28, 2023 7:30 am PST by
2024 is just a few days away, and there are many iOS 17 and iOS 18 features that are expected to launch throughout the year. Below, we have recapped new iOS features expected in 2024, including Stolen Device Protection, collaborative Apple Music playlists, AirPlay on hotel room TVs, app sideloading in the EU, next-generation CarPlay, roadside assistance via satellite outside of the U.S., RCS ...
iOS 17

iOS 17.3 Will Add These Two Useful Features to Your iPhone

Sunday December 24, 2023 8:59 am PST by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 17.3 earlier this month, and the upcoming software update includes two new features so far. iOS 17.3 will likely be released in January like iOS 16.3 and iOS 15.3 were, but February is also a possibility if testing is prolonged. Below, we provide additional details about the new features in iOS 17.3 so far. Stolen Device Protection Earlier this...
iPhone 17 Five Features Header

iPhone 17: Five Features Apple Plans to Save for 2025

Thursday December 28, 2023 2:00 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models concurrently, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
Mac Gaming

Apple Discusses Push Towards High-End Mac Gaming in New Interview

Thursday December 28, 2023 6:19 am PST by
Inverse's Raymond Wong today published an in-depth overview of Apple's increasing push towards high-end gaming on the Mac. The story includes commentary from Apple marketing managers Gordon Keppel and Leland Martin. One of the biggest reasons that gaming has improved on the Mac in recent years is the switch from Intel processors to Apple silicon, resulting in MacBooks providing...
Apple Watch Series 9

Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Available in Apple Stores Starting Today, Online Sales to Resume Tomorrow

Wednesday December 27, 2023 2:28 pm PST by
Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 are back in some of Apple's retail stores in the United States today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Select stores will have availability today, while all stores will have the Apple Watch models back in stock by December 30. Online sales of the devices are set to resume tomorrow by 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Apple is able to begin selling ...
iPhone 15 Blue Three Quarters Perspective Camera Closeup Feature

6 Essential iPhone Camera Tips for Taking Great Photos

Tuesday December 26, 2023 3:00 am PST by
Apple's iPhones include several headline camera features that are worth using, such as Portrait Mode and Photographic Styles. But if all you want to use is the standard photo mode, there are still several tools and settings that can improve the composition of your pictures and help you capture the perfect shot using more traditional techniques. Whether you are the owner of a new iPhone or a...
Apple Watch Series 9

Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Sales Ban Paused by US Appeals Court

Wednesday December 27, 2023 8:49 am PST by
The ban on imports of Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models has today been temporarily paused, meaning that the devices can now go back on sale for a short while longer in the United States. Apple filed an emergency request to the United States Court of Appeals following President Biden's decision to decline a veto on the sales ban, allowing it to take effect earlier this week. ...