Honda makes CarPlay a standard feature of the 2021 Passport SUV
Honda has added support for Apple CarPlay to its 2021 range of Passport SUVs, with most models featuring a new Display Audio system that uses Apple's smartphone-car connectivity platform.
![CarPlay in the Honda 2021 Passport infotainment system.](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/37621-70719-honda-2021-passport-carplay-l.jpg)
CarPlay in the Honda 2021 Passport infotainment system.
The Honda 2021 Passport has started to ship to dealerships in the United States, prompting the car manufacturer to alert potential buyers to one of its infotainment updates at the same time as its price list and models. The latest version of the SUV will include a new Display Audio system as standard on every second-tier or higher model in the range, which includes support for both CarPlay and Android Auto.
Though CarPlay is a standard feature, not all connectivity elements will be offered across the range. Wireless smartphone charging is available, but only on models with Elite trim.
![2021 Honda Passport](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/37621-70720-2021-honda-passport-l.jpg)
2021 Honda Passport
The Honda 2021 Passport range with Carplay includes the:
The range starts from $32,590 for the Sport, while the EX-L starts at $36,610, Touring at $39,480, and Elite starts from $43,980.
Honda has previously included CarPlay support to its vehicles, including its luxury Insight model.
![CarPlay in the Honda 2021 Passport infotainment system.](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/37621-70719-honda-2021-passport-carplay-l.jpg)
CarPlay in the Honda 2021 Passport infotainment system.
The Honda 2021 Passport has started to ship to dealerships in the United States, prompting the car manufacturer to alert potential buyers to one of its infotainment updates at the same time as its price list and models. The latest version of the SUV will include a new Display Audio system as standard on every second-tier or higher model in the range, which includes support for both CarPlay and Android Auto.
Though CarPlay is a standard feature, not all connectivity elements will be offered across the range. Wireless smartphone charging is available, but only on models with Elite trim.
![2021 Honda Passport](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/37621-70720-2021-honda-passport-l.jpg)
2021 Honda Passport
The Honda 2021 Passport range with Carplay includes the:
- Passport EX-L (2WD)
- Passport EX-L (AWD)
- Passport Touring (2WD)
- Passport Touring (AWD)
- Passport Elite (AWD)
The range starts from $32,590 for the Sport, while the EX-L starts at $36,610, Touring at $39,480, and Elite starts from $43,980.
Honda has previously included CarPlay support to its vehicles, including its luxury Insight model.
Comments
Also, the general quality of this article is terrible - AI should be embarrassed.
"PassPort"? "2ED"? The Insight is not a "luxury" model.
Wow. It's almost as if they want to make CarPlay look bad so you have to use their crappy in-house system. 🤔
I do wish that I didn't have to use a cable and could do everything wirelessly, but Honda's bluetooth implementation seems to be a little "weak" to say the least, so requiring a cable is probably a lesser inconvenience than fiddling endlessly with bluetooth pairing issues. It does bug me that the bluetooth id beacon used for pairing with the vehicle isn't unique at all, so if you have multiple Honda vehicles they are all identified in your iPhone's bluetooth setting with exactly the same identifier.
I'm thoroughly convinced that Apple is the only company that knows how to do bluetooth properly - but only because the were able to inject a shim known as the W1 into the comm stack to overcome most of bluetooth's inherent weaknesses. I hope later revisions of the bluetooth spec follow Apple's lead in some way, just to make the pairing process more robust, reliable, and less fiddly. As a true PAN protocol, bluetooth is not fully baked.
In my opinion, CarOS will be a desperately needed product, much like ApplePay was, in hindsight, a brilliant idea. How did we ever get along without it?