Apple is extending CarPlay onto boat helms through a partnership with pontoon builders. It has also separately agreed to allow Windows users to copy and paste to and from an iPhone, adding another example of how platform features are being pushed beyond their original device categories under regulatory and market pressure.

CarPlay spreads from cars to pontoon boats

The boating rollout involves two pontoon brands owned by MasterCraft Boat Holdings: Crest and Balise. Both brands will make CarPlay and Android Auto standard features.

The system will be included on all new Balise models and on the Crest Conquest and Caribbean lines starting with the 2027 model year. Apple used the marine navigation app Savvy Navvy for the on-water software demonstration, with charts delivered directly to the helm display. The features are designed for boaters who plan their trips before leaving the dock.

Savvy Navvy founder and CEO Jelte Liebrand said boaters “have been asking for a modern infotainment system for years,” adding that a route mapped at home appears at the helm once the user boards.

Through CarPlay, the display can show day, night or satellite charts, 2D or 3D views, live ETA and speed, marina and anchorage search, saved markers, nearby vessel traffic and shared locations of friends on the water. That makes the feature relevant not just as a convenience layer, but as part of the growing push to bring familiar phone-based interfaces into specialized vehicles and equipment.

The first compatible boats will be available next month, and dealers tested the setup during on-water demos at Crest Marine’s annual dealer meeting.

In November 2025, Cryptopolitan reported that Tesla, after years of resistance from CEO Elon Musk, had begun internal testing of standard CarPlay. A 2024 McKinsey study found that about one-third of buyers consider the absence of CarPlay a dealbreaker.

The same report also noted General Motors moving to remove CarPlay, while Audi and Mercedes-Benz pulled back from the premium CarPlay Ultra.

Microsoft’s EU request opens iPhone clipboard access

Apple has agreed to make it possible for iPhone users to copy content on their phone and paste it onto a Windows PC, and vice versa, narrowing one of the more visible gaps between Apple and Windows workflows.

Microsoft filed an interoperability request under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act on March 25, 2026. Apple’s own Universal Clipboard already syncs copied content across Apple devices, but Microsoft wanted continuous, low-friction syncing between iPhone and Windows.

Apple replied on April 27 that it was moving the request to the next phase, while cautioning that a workable solution might not be feasible or appropriate, especially if it compromised the integrity of the operating system or Apple’s intellectual property.

On June 26, Apple reversed that position, confirming it would develop a solution and outlining how it would work.

The clipboard change and Apple’s careful wording are tied to Article 6(7) of the DMA, which gives developers in the EU the ability to request access to iOS hardware and software features.

Apple’s developer documentation says the process includes an eligibility check within 20 working days, followed by a project plan and then development. That structure suggests the clipboard feature could remain more limited to the EU than for worldwide release.

On the technical side, Apple said the clipboard tool will use the same patterns as its Accessory Notifications and Accessory Live Activities frameworks from iOS 26.5, and that Microsoft will route through AccessorySetupKit, the pairing framework Meta objected to in its own EU request.

Users would consent once per device. Apple described the work as a “significant engineering effort” and said it hopes to finish development by the fall of 2027, followed by a developer beta.