Apple CarPlay makes things easier when you’re behind the wheel. By connecting your iPhone to your car’s Bluetooth or USB port on supported models, you can rely on CarPlay to get driving directions, listen to music and other audio, make and receive phone calls, and listen to and respond to text messages. You can even accomplish most of these tasks by talking to Siri directly instead of fiddling with touch-screen controls that take your eyes off the road.
Apple continues to beef up the capabilities of CarPlay by adding several new features and jettisoning a few annoying obstacles. Recent updates allow for multitasking, improve Siri integration, add EV charging stations on Maps, and introduce a new calendar view
One of the best improvements is the change to allow a passenger to check the connected iPhone without disrupting what you see on the CarPlay dashboard. Below are a few tips and tricks that should help you use CarPlay even more effectively.
No More Link Between iPhone and CarPlay
Image: Getty
In the past, CarPlay would simply mirror whatever app was open on your phone, but that wasn’t always helpful when trying to do two things at once. For example, if you had Maps open on your car’s dashboard and someone opened the Music app on your phone, you would lose your directions. Since the introduction of iOS 13, that no longer happens. Your passenger can open any app on your phone, and the dashboard view remains the same.
New Dashboard
Before iOS 13, your dashboard could display only one app at a time. If you wanted to see the Maps navigation screen and use your Music player, you would have to bounce back and forth between the two. Now you can split the screen between two or three apps so you can cue up driving directions in one window, control music from another, and view your calendar in a third portion of the screen.
The dashboard also has three different modes, which you can switch between by tapping the home button. One mode displays your current or last app full screen, another mode shows the split-screen view, and a third mode takes you back to the home screen with access to all your available apps. You can also tap on an app to display it full screen and tap one of the icons on the left side of the dashboard to switch to a recent app.
Customize Your Wallpaper
With iOS 14 or higher, you can now customize the CarPlay wallpaper directly on the display. To do this, open the Settings app in CarPlay. Go to Wallpaper, tap the image you want to set as your new wallpaper, and then tap the Set button.
Make Good Use of Siri
Thanks to iOS 14, Siri now sports a few helpful enhancements when teamed with CarPlay. Ask Siri something, and the voice assistant appears in a small swirling ball at the bottom, the same as on your iPhone or iPad. This means Siri will no longer obstruct your view of a map, a song, or anything else on the screen.
You can ask Siri to send an audio message to someone else so that you don’t have to peek at your phone. Just say “Hey Siri, send an audio message to [person’s name].” Siri will ask you to record the message. After you finish speaking, you can then review, change, or send the message.
Siri will also share your ETA with someone else, a helpful addition if you’re running late to an appointment. Just say “Hey Siri, share my ETA with [person’s name].” Siri confirms your request and tells you that it’s now sharing your ETA with the other person.
Get Additional Alerts
If you’re running iOS 14 or higher, Apple Maps will now display alerts for traffic lights and speed cameras as you drive with CarPlay.
EV Charging Help
If you own an electric vehicle, you can get help from CarPlay when it’s time for a charge. Press the Search bar in Apple Maps. Type in “EV Chargers” and tap the entry for EV Chargers from the search results, and a map pops up showing you the nearest charging stations.
Take Advantage of More Apps
Apple has expanded the types of apps it supports through CarPlay. You can add compatible apps for EV charging stations, parking, food delivery, and other categories. To view and add apps to CarPlay via your iPhone, go to Settings > General > CarPlay, then tap the name of your car and select Customize. From there, you can add, remove, and switch the order of available apps.
More Detailed Maps
Most drivers use CarPlay for driving directions, so Apple has beefed up its Maps app to deliver more information. You have always been able to see speed limit, direction, and estimated arrival time, but with iOS 13 or higher, you can see more details, such as 3D buildings and businesses like gas stations and restaurants. Siri is also more helpful with driving directions, giving specific instructions such as “Turn right at the next traffic light” instead of “Turn right in 800 feet.”
Music App Improvements
With iOS 13 or higher, the Music app through CarPlay is easier on the eyes. Album art is larger and more pervasive, so you can more readily identify an album visually. Navigating to your albums and playlists is a quicker and simpler process. The interface is more intuitive as you can see your album art on the right side of the screen and still use the touch-screen controls for playing music.
See What’s Playing
You can more easily see full details on whatever song, podcast, or other audio is currently playing via an app entitled Now Playing. The Now Playing app can be accessed from the home screen, or if you’re already in an audio app, just tap the audio graph icon in the upper-right corner.
View Your Calendar
You can now view your calendar appointments for the current day. Just navigate to the home screen and tap the icon for Calendars or ask Siri to show you your calendar.
Better Settings
CarPlay offers its own dedicated Settings app through which you can tweak different options. You can turn Do Not Disturb While Driving, Siri Suggestions, and Album art on and off. There’s also a switch that sets the CarPlay app’s color scheme between dark mode and the default light theme.
