Nissan Adds Apple CarPlay, Android Auto for 2018

Nissan is quietly rolling out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto across its vehicle lineup for 2018.

The first hint of the big infotainment change was hidden in yesterday's announcement that the 2018 Rogue would add Nissan's ProPilot Assist autonomous assist technology. Nissan said that all trims of the Rogue would get Nissan's NissanConnectSM infotainment system. And that the newest version would add Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

But a Nissan spokesperson has confirmed that those new connectivity features weren't going to be exclusive to the Rogue. Nissan is gradually rolling out CarPlay and Auto to the entire Nissan lineup this year.

Nissan was one of the last holdouts for the off the shelf smartphone connectivity solutions, along with Toyota. Nissan quietly added them to the Maxima for 2017, following through with the rest of their cars and SUVs this year.

Nissan's ProPilot Assist can handle acceleration, braking, and steering duties in certain situations, lowering driver effort. If the car can see lane markers, it will notify the driver and can engage steering assist. It will even handle start-stop in a traffic jam. The system requires the driver to still stay alert and pay attention, as it can only handle certain driving conditions. It will be optional on Rogue SL starting early next year.