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Infiniti will offer free wireless Apple CarPlay upgrades for 2020-2021 cars

Owners of 2020-2021 Infiniti products with Apple CarPlay should be happy to hear this news. Infiniti just announced that owners of those vehicles are now eligible for a free upgrade to wireless Apple CarPlay. The list of eligible models includes 2020-2021 Q50, Q60, QX50 and QX80. All of those vehicles already have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but they operate via a wired connection only. This upgrade will make it such that you no longer have to plug into your Lightning cable to have Apple CarPlay splashed across the screen. If you own any of the above vehicles, we’d recommend getting a service appointment to have the upgrade installed — the update is said to take less than an hour. Infiniti says the complimentary software update will be available from now until March 31, 2022. Basically, get it while you can. WeÂ’ve asked Infiniti if a similar upgrade was coming for Android users, as many other manufacturers offer wireless Android Auto in addition to wireless Apple CarPlay. All a spokesperson would say is that "Infiniti is looking at Android Auto for future vehicle integration." The lack of wireless Android Auto will be affecting about 20% of Infiniti owners, as even Infiniti approximates that 20% of its luxury buyers are not Apple users. At the very least, those owners will still have wired Android Auto. Related video:  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2023 Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 Black Opal steals Midnight Purple thunder

The Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 gets a special wardrobe option for 2023, a Black Opal iridescent paint job that shifts from black to blue to green to purple depending on the light and viewing angle. The paint is matched with satin black badging and an exposed carbon fiber decklid spoiler, accessories certain to suit any of the color-shifted hues. Grouped into a Black Opal Edition Package, the styling upgrade adds $2,200 to the price of the Q50 Red Sport 400 that starts at $59,575 before options. The inclusion of the word "Edition" is the clue to this being sold in limited numbers. Infiniti didn't say how many would be offered for our market, but based on the historical connections Infiniti is making with this, we expect it won't be more than a few hundred. Black Opal on the Q50 wants to trace its lineage to the now legendary Midnight Purple II, a color introduced on the R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R in 1998. Quick history lesson: There was a Midnight Purple that first appeared on the R33 GT-R, known as Midnight Purple I or by its paint code LP2, but it was solid metallic purple. Nissan introduced the iridescence with Midnight Purple II (LV4) with a blue-green color shift on the R34 GT-R, then did it again with Midnight Purple III (LX0) that shimmered blue-orange. All three were limited editions, and all three get huge money at auction now. Nissan let loose an R35 GT-R with a Midnight Opal paint job for the 2014 model year, restricted to 100 units worldwide. The redux came for the 2022 model year with the GT-R T-spec that could be had in Midnight Purple, also limited.    That's where the Black Opal Edition Q50 Red Sport 400 gets its mojo from. The 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 with 400 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque doesn't hurt, either.

Infiniti brand will finally make its debut in Japan, but not the name

Nissan left the automotive media scratching its collective head when it announced that its Infiniti luxury brand would be renaming all of its vehicles, with cars wearing the Q designation and CUVs/SUVs wearing the QX badge. So the G Sedan became the Q50, and the G Coupe became the Q60. The QX56, meanwhile, became the QX80, and the FX crossover became the QX70. It is still thoroughly confusing nearly a year later.
Not content to confuse its US customers alone, Nissan will be fiddling with the name of one of its most revered Japanese-market models - the Skyline. Rebadged for the US as the Q50, and before that as the G Sedan/Coupe, the new Skyline will wear an Infiniti badge. What makes this truly confusing, though, is that the car won't be called the Infiniti Skyline, despite its badging. It won't even be called the Nissan Skyline, anymore. It's now just the Skyline. Apparently, Nissan thinks it can capitalize on the Skyline's link to the Japanese royal family (the Skyline was originally a product of Prince Motors, which provided vehicles for the Emperor and his family), by ditching any brand names and referring to it as its own model, according to Automotive News.
Now, confusion aside, there are things about Infiniti badging in Japan that make sense. Badging all the Nissans that eventually become Infinitis as Infinitis in the first place goes a long way to make the brand seem separate and distinct from its parent company. Speaking to AN, Infiniti's executive vice president of global product planning, Andy Palmer, puts it this way, "We have to treat Infiniti, if you will, in the same [way] that Volkswagen treats Audi. It's not a Nissan-plus. Infiniti has to stand head-to-head with any of those German competitors."