Sea-Doo could bring Apple CarPlay to the water, but Apple seems to be resisting the concept.
While there is mixed support for CarPlay among automakers, Apple’s infotainment platform may have an unlikely place in the future. One that doesn’t involve wheels at all.
Sea-Doo, a maker of personal watercraft and pontoons, could one day use CarPlay on its personal watercraft. That would mean you’d be able to connect to your iPhone with CarPlay while you’re picking up waves and trying not to drown.
According to Vessel Zone during a visit to the Sea-Doo factory, Global Product Strategy Manager Christian Comtois confirmed that the company was considering hiring him.
CarPlay is already used on some three-wheelers under Can-Am, BRP Powersports’ sister brand to Sea-Doo, with a 10.25-inch touchscreen. Since Sea-Doo uses the same display and system, it wouldn’t be too difficult for the company to port it over.
An uplifting idea
Bringing CarPlay to a personal watercraft isn’t a terrible idea if you look at what Sea-Doo already uses for its 2026 models. The existing infotainment system includes basic speed and fuel stats needed to pilot the craft, as well as many other features.
Marine navigation is available, complete with support for BRP Go! applications as well as support for media playback from a connected smartphone. In some cases, there is even Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support.
For all intents and purposes, what Sea-Doo already has is essentially an in-car entertainment system, albeit designed to work more for water travel.
This is something that Comtois mentions because it’s a system that “works well when you’re on the go.” Navigation will be less than ideal when using CarPlay on the water, regardless of whether they are using Apple Maps or Google Maps.
The biggest advantage would be access to music apps, he adds, but that would require further development.
And the ocean or lake is an excellent RF propagation surface for 5G. No trees, no hills and no buildings as a general rule means longer RF range. But maybe avoid the big waves on the ocean.
A swinging apple
As for whether customers would care, Comtois says people want Apple CarPlay, calling it “sexy” and something people already know how to use in cars. However, the company still needs to determine if it really needs to do the work to add this support.
There’s one other place where this idea could take off, and that’s at Apple itself. Comtois explains that it’s “very difficult” to get Apple to accept an off-road or powersports application because it needs both approval and engineering for the dashboard.
That said, it’s a certainty that it could get the go-ahead from Apple at some point. There are some other requirements like adding a microphone, but it’s a doable project for the future.
In the end, it all comes down to whether Sea-Doo customers sail the boat. With enough feedback, CarPlay could be made like a ship for life at sea.