2021+ CX-5 Infotainment (10.25-inch System)
For the 2021 model year, the North American CX-5 moved to a 10.25-inch widescreen and the newer Mazda Connect platform, on every trim. It is a different generation of computer from the 7-inch Gen 6 system in the 2016–2020 cars: different SoC, different OS, different firmware format. Nothing crosses over in either direction. This page covers what changed at 2021, what changed again inside the 2021+ run, and exactly which Gen 6 material does and doesn’t apply.
If your CX-5 has a 7-inch or 8-inch touchscreen, you’re on the older platform; see 2016–2020 CX-5 infotainment.
What changed at 2021
Section titled “What changed at 2021”- Screen grew to 10.25 inches on all trims, mounted higher on the dash in a wide letterbox aspect, with crisper text and wider viewing angles than the Gen 6 panels.
- Touch input was dropped. The display is non-touch; you drive the whole UI from the Commander rotary knob on the console. Mazda’s stated reason was reducing eyes-off-road glance time. The 2016–2020 cars were touch-while-parked plus Commander.
- CarPlay and Android Auto became standard on every trim, wired over USB, with no firmware floor to hit, no hub kit, no dealer visit. On the 2016–2018 cars the same feature was a retrofit.
- The UI flattened: rounded cards and shallower menus instead of Gen 6’s grid of square tiles.
- Firmware became model-specific. Gen 6 ships one image across the whole lineup; the newer platform uses
.kwipackages keyed per model (NA03covers the CX-5/CX-9 family). A build for one model won’t load on another.
If you’re cross-shopping a 2020 against a 2021, the touch-to-knob change is the one owners notice first. The full generational side-by-side is Gen 6 vs Gen 7.
Which system is in my car?
Section titled “Which system is in my car?”| 2016–2020 CX-5 | 2021–2023 CX-5 | 2024–2025 CX-5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 7-inch touch (8-inch on 2020 GTR/Signature) | 10.25-inch, non-touch | 10.25-inch, touch in CarPlay/Android Auto only |
| Input | Touch (parked) + Commander | Commander knob only | Commander; touch inside phone projection |
| CarPlay / Android Auto | Factory on 2019+ Touring and up; retrofit earlier | Standard, wired | Standard; wireless available |
| USB | USB-A | USB-A | USB-C |
| Platform | Gen 6 (this site’s focus) | Newer Mazda Connect | Newer Mazda Connect |
The decisive check is Settings > System > About: a Gen 6 unit reports a version like v74.00.324A; the 2021+ unit uses a different format. See Mazda Connect generations for the identification steps.
The 2024 update added wireless CarPlay, USB-C, and partial touch
Section titled “The 2024 update added wireless CarPlay, USB-C, and partial touch”The 2021–2023 cars are wired-only with USB-A ports (two in the armrest console, rear ports on higher trims). The 2024 model year brought three changes: wireless Apple CarPlay, USB-C ports in place of USB-A, and touchscreen input — but only inside CarPlay and Android Auto. The native Mazda Connect menus stay knob-driven even on 2024+ cars. Wireless availability varies by trim and market, so confirm against the specific car’s window sticker rather than the model year alone.
The 2026 CX-5 is a clean break again: an all-new generation revealed July 2025 with a 12.9-inch touchscreen (15.6-inch available) running Mazda Connect with Google built-in, on Android Automotive. That makes three unrelated infotainment computers across three consecutive CX-5 generations.
Navigation still lives on an SD card
Section titled “Navigation still lives on an SD card”The 2021+ system keeps SD-card navigation. Some trims ship with the card; on others it’s a dealer or parts-counter purchase that activates the built-in nav. The card mechanics (slot in the console, map updates via Mazda’s toolbox software) follow the same general approach as the rest of the lineup; see Mazda Connect navigation SD cards. Most owners on this platform skip it entirely and run Google Maps or Apple Maps through the standard CarPlay/Android Auto instead.
Why Gen 6 software doesn’t apply here
Section titled “Why Gen 6 software doesn’t apply here”Every tweak documented on this site depends on Gen 6 internals the 2021+ unit doesn’t have. Gen 6 is a Linux 3.0.35 box whose UI is HTML rendered by Opera Presto, rootable over documented USB exploits, with firmware in readable .up packages. The 2021+ platform replaced all of it: a different SoC, a proprietary OS, a different UI framework, .kwi firmware, and no published root exploit.
Concretely, on a 2021+ CX-5:
- USB tweak installers (MZD-AIO and similar) do not run, and there is no boot-time problem for them to fix; the newer unit doesn’t share Gen 6’s 55–65 second startup.
- ScreenTune does not support it and won’t; support is defined by the Gen 6 CMU on v74.00.324A, not the badge.
- There is no firmware path between platforms. You cannot “update” a 2020 car into the 10.25-inch system or load Gen 6 firmware onto a 2021.
What still works: FORScan. Body-module changes (i-Stop default, auto lock/unlock, mirror fold, lighting behavior) live in modules independent of the infotainment unit, so the FORScan catalog applies to 2021+ cars the same way it does to Gen 6 cars.
Further reading
Section titled “Further reading”- Gen 6 vs Gen 7 differences — the detailed side-by-side
- Mazda Connect generations — identification steps, all three platforms
- 2016–2020 CX-5 infotainment — the supported system
- CX-5 overview