Volvo XC90 gains Apple CarPlay connectivity, Android Auto to follow – UPDATE
Update: Australian availability and price confirmed, article updated.
The new Volvo XC90 is the latest model to climb aboard the Apple CarPlay wagon, with the popular mobile connectivity platform added to the big SUV’s infotainment system this week.
The addition forms part of a wider infotainment software update rolling out across the world now, with CarPlay confirmed for the new XC90 back when Apple’s new mobile phone connectivity platform was first announced in early 2014.
Volvo’s new infotainment system was in fact one of the first aspects of the new XC90 to be revealed, and its decision to integrate CarPlay made it one of the first carmakers to confirm support for the platform.
The portrait-oriented proportions of the XC90’s display, and the vehicle’s digital-first approach to controlling vehicle functions, means that its support for CarPlay necessitated a unique approach.
Instead of the landscape-oriented CarPlay filling the screen, it uses only the lower half, while the top half remains available to necessary functions that can’t be accommodated by the more universal communication, media and navigation options presented in the iPhone-like CarPlay space.
Available in Australia now, the upgrade to CarPlay means a trip to the dealer for a software update, which will also add TuneIn online radio, Local Search, Send to Car and weather updates.
A Volvo Australia spokesperson told CarAdvice today that all but the CarPlay features are a no-cost update.
Adding CarPlay, however, will cost $650 plus 'fitting'. That cost has not been defined, nor has the extent of work involved in adding CarPlay.
Android Auto, Google’s rival to the CarPlay platform, is likewise expected to be offered for the XC90 in the coming year.
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