Porsche and Honda today each announced new sports cars that will be compatible with Apple's CarPlay infotainment system. In its unveiling, Porsche detailed the all-new 2018 911 GT3 street-legal sports car with a 4.0 liter flat-six engine that produces up to 500 horsepower -- an engine based on the one used in all of Porsche's 911 race cars.
Other than CarPlay, the Porsche 911 GT3 has a navigation system that can detail real-time traffic information, and the vehicle's diagnostics can connect to the Porsche Track Precision App [Direct Link]. On a connected smartphone, drivers can analyze and record various pieces of data, like steering angle and braking pressure.
The 2017 Honda Civic Type R, which the company referred to as "one of the most anticipated models in its history," has a similar sports car build and marks the first Type R Honda model to be sold in the United States. The new Type R shares the style of the automaker's 5-door hatchback with a boost in performance, including a 4-cylinder engine with peak ratings of 306 horsepower.
"The fastest, most powerful Honda ever sold in America, the Type R caps off the incredible success story of our 10th generation Civic lineup," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president & general manager of the Honda Division, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "We're happy to inform our U.S. enthusiasts that the long wait for the forbidden fruit of Honda Type R performance is nearly over!"
The 2017 Civic Type R will come with a 7-inch Display Audio touchscreen that has Honda Navigation embedded in it, along with compatibility for both CarPlay and Android Auto. Honda also mentioned that the included 540-watt, 12-speaker audio system will be able to drown out the vehicle's engine.
In terms of pricing and availability, the 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 is scheduled to debut at U.S. dealerships in fall 2017 at a base MSRP of $143,600. The Honda Civic Type R is launching sometime in late spring 2017 with an MSRP in the mid-$30,000 range. Both suggested retail prices exclude the usual $1,050 delivery, processing, and handling fee.
Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps.
More features and changes will follow in future ...
Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by Juli Clover
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass.
The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings.
iOS 26.4 will...
Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions.
iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet.
The update will likely be released by the end of next week.
Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more.
With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by Juli Clover
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
Monday October 20, 2025 1:02 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below.
Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle
Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...
Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year.
The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Monday October 20, 2025 1:42 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Kohler is expanding its line of bathroom products with Dekoda, an iPhone-connected device that's designed to be attached to a toilet rim (via The Verge). The device's included "sensors" point into the toilet bowl, allowing it to analyze what goes on in the bathroom.
According to Kohler, Dekoda is a health tracker that can monitor gut health and hydration, as well as detect the presence of...
Call my tastes juvenile but I really want that Civic.
I am not typically a Honda Fan, besides the NSX and S2000, I find the rest to be somewhat boring. But, considering the Type R Civic is coming to the US, it is hard not to be curious about it.
I am happy that Honda is starting to embrace turbochargers, hopefully more of their future line up will offer turbos.
I wouldn't call the Civic a sports car. Maybe to a 16 year old boy. :rolleyes:
Some might say the same about the car in my avatar photo. I have never been a fan of the Civic, but it is hard to dismiss the Type R with the things I have been reading about it.
Correct me if I'm wrong but 306 HP on the front wheels, no thanks. As for Carplay... good for them. Moving on with my day.
This part kind of sucks, as I would of rather have AWD, or RWD, but I would the RWD would ever happen on the Civic.
306 HP on a small, light weight car like the Civic would be very fun, FWD or not.
Also, the Type R only comes in manual trans. With so many car companies dropping the manuals, or reducing it to the just the base model, this is something to be happy about.
