Apple CarPlay is everywhere now. And I mean everywhere. Just about every brand-new car sold today has it as standard, regardless of price or segment. Heck, I even retrofitted CarPlay into my 14-year-old beater autocross project car, and in that context, it makes perfect sense. Navigation, music, calls, messages. It’s genuinely useful when you’re sealed inside a metal box dealing with traffic, errands, and daily life.
Which is why Sea-Doo potentially getting Apple CarPlay feels…odd.
According to Watercraftzone, Sea-Doo is exploring the possibility of adding Apple CarPlay to future personal watercraft, particularly higher-end models with the brand’s newer 10.25-inch touchscreen. This is very much not a confirmation. Sea-Doo admits the idea is still years away, with customer demand, technical challenges, and Apple’s own approval process all needing to line up first.
From a corporate standpoint, the idea tracks. Sea-Doo sits under BRP, and BRP already offers CarPlay on certain Can-Am on-road models. Plenty of premium motorcycles also support CarPlay and Android Auto. The tech exists. The precedent exists. So why not PWCs?
Full disclosure: this is where my personal bias kicks in.
CarPlay works in cars because driving has become relatively passive. You’re supported by stability systems, insulation, and even technology that steers, brakes, and avoids obstacles for you. All in all, features like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay reduce friction. They centralize stuff you already need while driving. That’s why it feels indispensable in a car, whether it rolled off the showroom floor last week or started life in the early 1990s. Powersports are the opposite.
Riding a PWC, motorcycle, or ATV demands constant engagement. You’re balancing, reading terrain or water, reacting to movement, and staying sharp. That mental workload isn’t optional. And personally, I don’t want to spend any of that bandwidth fiddling with a touchscreen that’s basically just my phone mirrored back at me.
And to be completely honest, I’ve ridden bikes where CarPlay is standard. Bikes like the Honda Africa Twin, the CFMoto Ibex 800, and others. And I almost never use it. Not because it’s bad, but because riding, for me, is about disconnecting. The sound, the feel, the focus. That’s the point. If I want peak connectivity, I’ll take the car.
On a PWC, the argument gets even shakier. You’re dealing with glare, water spray, vibration, and constant motion. Touch accuracy becomes a challenge. Safety concerns multiply. And Apple is famously conservative about how CarPlay is deployed, especially in unfamiliar use cases like watercraft. Some riders will absolutely want this. Easy navigation, music control, and staying reachable. That’s all valid, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’re trying to solve a problem that doesn’t really exist.
All that being said, the truth is that Sea-Doo exploring CarPlay isn’t really all too surprising. Whether it actually adds value is another question entirely. Sometimes, the best feature is the one that lets you forget your phone even exists.
So I’ll throw it back to you: is there room for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on PWCs, motorcycles, and other powersports machines, or is unplugging the whole point?
Sources: Watercraftzone, BRP
