Apple CarKey and Carplay Ultra

[chun]

Hey guys, I have the 2025 Taycan 4 loaner at the moment. Starting today, I am seeing the apple car play’s google map directions on the heads up display. Is that related to Ultra? I’m confused because I drove yesterday too and heads up display didn’t show this navigation data from CarPlay!

No, not related.

PCM version 4360+ brings the "new feature" of allowing navigation data from 3rd party maps, such as google maps or apple maps, to be sent to the turn by turn navigation instrument cluster.

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[Freeewilly]

No, not related.

PCM version 4360+ brings the "new feature" of allowing navigation data from 3rd party maps, such as google maps or apple maps, to be sent to the turn by turn navigation instrument cluster.

No love for Waze

 

[TonyR]

No, not related.

PCM version 4360+ brings the "new feature" of allowing navigation data from 3rd party maps, such as google maps or apple maps, to be sent to the turn by turn navigation instrument cluster.

Pity they don’t allow the mapping in the central display in place of the Porsche one too.

 

[chun]

Both events came and went, and nothing about either topic.

Case closed I guess

 

[prj]

Of course there is nothing, because MY26 cars have already been delivered to customers for the past few months.
Model year on Porsche changes in the middle of the year, not calendar year.

 

[Rbwalters]

The power button is there on my Taycan but I rarely use it as the car starts up as soon as I get in with the key. I only use it to shut the car down at the end.

Same. Though I have had to press the button on rare occasions. Always, to turn it off.

 

[courbcyr]

Just heard an Apple rumor that they intend to announce at the September 9 iPhone event that Porsche will support Apple CarKey and CarPlay ultra at the time of release of MY 2026. No mention was made of support for earlier years. take this with a grain of salt most apple one off rumors are false.

Check with your dealer. I asked mine about Apple CarKey who just replied:

“Looks like good news! My Porsche Pro has said it’s due to be rolled out in the coming months and should be compatible with all Macan EV via an over the air update!



Porsche seem to think it will be roughly 8-10 weeks’ time, so watch this space!”

 

[Alib]

The fact that Porsche will implement support for Apple CarKey is not a surprise. Porsche said as much in their press releases in February and August. What is new is that implementation will happen by way of an over the air update for MY2026 (presumably across the Make). I continue to hear sporadic Apple rumors of the same timeline for implementation of CarPlay Ultra, however, even though Porsche has pleadged support for Ultra and has acknowledged that its engineers have been working with Apple in building new widgets since at least 2024, these are rumors rather than leaks with no actual insight as to what supports them. Until someone reports “My Porsche Pro” says it is coming, these rumors must be considered false.

 

[B61]

Of course there is nothing, because MY26 cars have already been delivered to customers for the past few months.
Model year on Porsche changes in the middle of the year, not calendar year.

Afaik, model year change after summer holidays in August.

 

[Alib]

the new model year usually starts in September, following the annual factory retooling period in August with deliveries occurring in fall. The Taycan historically has been delivered mid to late November. 8 to 10 weeks would be in line with the introduction of the MY2026 especially since functionality only requires an over the air upgrade. The fact that Porsche announced Porsche Digital Key support as part of advanced Confhort Access for the Macan first does not mean that it will be the only Porsche to support it along with Trained Parking and Reversing Assist and Advanced Charging Planner which are all software upgrades which should come to all J1.2 Porsches in MY2026.

Porsche Digital Key does not require an Ultra Wide Band chip. Android does not have the chip, nor do many iPhones that support CarKey. It is in Aple’s specification to increase security. Digital Key really only requires Bluetooth and Wifi in addition to NFC which all Taycans already have. UWB helps to identify the location of the iphone so that the door handles can present themselves better when an iPhone approaches but this function will still work with Androids that don't support a UWB chip. What is not known .is whether NFC will will be static or dynamic. If it is static, it will use a NFC signal to confirm authorization to enter and unlock the door much ike the NFC chip in the key fob when its battery dies. If this method is used, like BMWs and Teslas, you should be able to purchase a key card to act as a vallet key with limited use of the car and geogrncing. If Digital Key uses a dynamic signal, it would act more like Apple Pay, which should return a unique signal to the inquiry, resulting in greater security that cannot be hacked.

Volkswagen announced that it would implement Android Aoutomotive Operating System which the Macan currently uses accross the brand sometime during the MY2026. Is there sny reason to believe that Taycans will not see a similar upgrade? Presumably, any over the air upgrade would focus on being available for Android Automobille OS systems first.

 

[chun]

the new model year usually starts in September, following the annual factory retooling period in August with deliveries occurring in fall. The Taycan historically has been delivered mid to late November. 8 to 10 weeks would be in line with the introduction of the MY2026 especially since functionality only requires an over the air upgrade. The fact that Porsche announced Porsche Digital Key support as part of advanced Confhort Access for the Macan first does not mean that it will be the only Porsche to support it along with Trained Parking and Reversing Assist and Advanced Charging Planner which are all software upgrades which should come to all J1.2 Porsches in MY2026.

Macan is the only Porsche running different hardware and software stuck, based on android, compared to all other porsches running PCM6.

Caynne EV will be the next one to run this new android stack likely.

It's a silly comparision to compare Macan to Taycan, in terms of computing, as they run different hardware and different software.

Just because macan gets something, doesn't mean taycan will, as it would require completely separate development for the different hardware & software stack that PCM6 is.

As thing stand right now, it doesn't even look like Porsche is planning to update Taycan j1.2 MY25 running PCM6 4360, to version 4578 like the one run on MY26. So what makes you thing they will develop new features when they can't be bothered even installing already existing software?

 

[Jasper4S]

Macan is the only Porsche running different hardware and software stuck, based on android, compared to all other porsches running PCM6.

Caynne EV will be the next one to run this new android stack likely.

It's a silly comparision to compare Macan to Taycan, in terms of computing, as they run different hardware and different software.

Just because macan gets something, doesn't mean taycan will, as it would require completely separate development for the different hardware & software stack that PCM6 is.

As thing stand right now, it doesn't even look like Porsche is planning to update Taycan j1.2 MY25 running PCM6 4360, to version 4578 like the one run on MY26. So what makes you thing they will develop new features when they can't be bothered even installing already existing software?

I'm curious whether the next-generation Cayenne will finally get the Android stack. I’ve had a few trips in the new Macan, and honestly, the PCM is just as bad. It’s responsive, but the UX is poorly designed and it has more bugs than our Taycans. The Macan EV, in particular, suffers from the same navigation issues we experience as J1.1 Taycan owners: losing the route, the end destination creeping further away, and poor arrival time calculations—sometimes adding hours.

The latest 911 Turbo S (revealed last week) still runs PCM 6, as do the Panamera (released around the same time as the Macan EV) and the current Cayenne, which is also relatively new. It doesn’t look like Porsche is in any hurry to migrate these models to the new PCM. Possibly because they still need to finalize Macan’s PCM and, well… software has never been their strong suit (makes me think of VW and the ID3 fiasco). The Macan appears to use a simpler MMI-based setup rather than a full PCM 6 stack, likely sharing hardware with its Audi counterpart and maybe saving costs on software as well.

That said, Porsche has clearly invested a lot in the J1.2 software, so battery management and related systems should be more than capable for a Cayenne, whether EV or ICE.

And yes, I’ve read about the new PCM on Porsche Newsroom—but if the articles on there are software-related, I don't take them too seriously. There’s just too much marketing spin and German bla bla.

 

[figure1a]

I think that you would be gambling to trust an Apple car key. Think of how many glitches there are in the Taycan. Think of how many glitches happen on the iPhone. Now drive 100 miles from your house and be confident that you will be able to use an Apple car key to get home. Most of the time, sure, no problem. But that one time, it's going to ask for you to relogin to your account or sorry the server is busy. If you use Apple car key, you will still need to always carry your physical key with you.

 

[Alib]

It’s not much of a gamble as you can always use the unlock function in the My Porsche app. Actually if you look at it, CarKey is a back up for My Porsche app as it is much more likely not to work if cell reception is bad. I would always have the fob turned off stored securly in the car just in case either keyless method begins to fail. With use commes trust as I have never heard drivers with other Makes have a problem with CarKey.

 

[whitex]

What is not known .is whether NFC will will be static or dynamic. If it is static, it will use a NFC signal to confirm authorization to enter and unlock the door much ike the NFC chip in the key fob when its battery dies. If this method is used, like BMWs and Teslas, you should be able to purchase a key card to act as a pellet key with limited use of the car and geogrncing. If Digital Key uses a dynamic signal, it would act more like Apple Pay, which should return a unique signal to the inquiry, resulting in greater security that cannot be hacked

Apple Pay tap uses the same protocol as would your credit card tap, even though the credit card is just an "NFC chip" as you call it (no battery onboard). Both technically return different bytes each time the NFC is read (cryptographic authentication and encryption, similar at a high level to your web browser talking to your bank), so they cannot be hacked by just replaying the communications. I think you might be confusing "smart chip" NFC with "dynamic", but both can be implemented on a credit card (or keychain) or a full featured phone (like an iPhone).

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