If you’ve bought a car manufactured in the last decade, it’s probably equipped with Apple CarPlay. While many perceive CarPlay as merely a premium alternative to Bluetooth music streaming, there’s a lot more to it. CarPlay provides significantly greater convenience than just connecting your iPhone to Bluetooth.

What Is Apple CarPlay?

Apple CarPlay is an alternative to your car’s pre-installed infotainment system. It brings the features of your iPhone to your vehicle in a more accessible and safer fashion.

CarPlay was first introduced as “iOS in the Car” at WWDC 2013, and it was marketed as a way to navigate your music, make phone calls, get directions, and hear your iMessages eyes free with Siri. Since then, the iOS car-adaption platform has gone through multiple updates and was later renamed “CarPlay.”

As you use CarPlay, you’ll realize it’s not too different from using your iPhone or any other Apple device. The icons look and act the same, and navigation through the system is familiar.

When you launch CarPlay, a home screen of apps greets you. Depending on how many apps you have pre-installed, you can swipe through multiple pages.

Swiping all the way to the right unveils the CarPlay Dashboard. There, you can see multiple apps functioning simultaneously, such as controlling your music while receiving active directions and even the option to open your garage door.

On the left side of the screen, you’ll see the current time at the top, the three most recent apps you’ve opened, and a home button on the bottom. Holding down the home button will summon Siri, just like it used to when physical home buttons were still a thing.

That side panel is always accessible no matter where you are in the CarPlay experience. Additionally, you can summon Siri anywhere in CarPlay, and whether you have Apple Intelligence enabled determines how Siri presents itself.

Why It’s Better Than Mounting and Connecting to Bluetooth

Apple CarPlay may seem like a glorified version of iOS, and in a way, it is. However, it is much more helpful than mounting your iPhone, connecting it to the Bluetooth system, and proceeding from there.

Foremost, CarPlay is much safer and has a more intuitive interface than using your iPhone while driving (which you shouldn’t do). It presents a simplified, car-friendly version of iOS on a larger display that can be controlled via touch or voice.

Additionally, with CarPlay, your iPhone is more integrated into your car. This can be seen when using Siri, as you can summon the smart assistant from the steering wheel. Even better, in some car models, your car will automatically lower the fan’s power so that Siri can hear you better.

You’ll also notice this when you want to change a song, which you can conveniently do from the Music app. You can also answer or decline a call without looking for your phone. Additionally, you can have your messages read aloud to you, allowing you to stay informed about their content without having to read them yourself.

While Apple-owned apps work well, third-party apps have also been designed to be easy to navigate. In recent years, more apps, such as Panera, have developed their own CarPlay versions, enabling users to quickly reorder recent purchases from their car’s infotainment system.

You can access all of this without unlocking your iPhone, which is better than using your device only with Bluetooth. In that case, you’d have to unlock it using Face or Touch ID, a passcode, or a password, which takes your eyes off the road.

CarPlay is accessible from the car’s infotainment system, so inputting a password or authenticating with your face is unnecessary.

The Difference Between Wired and Wireless CarPlay

Most cars have wired CarPlay, but if you have a newer car, or pay for a more premium package, you may have wireless CarPlay instead. While the core functionality is the same, there are some differences. These mainly stem from the wireless CarPlay side, which has additional tweaks compared to the wired version. These differences aren’t life-changing, but they are convenient.

One main difference is that the wireless version does not require you to plug in your iPhone to use CarPlay. This means you can keep your phone in your bag or pocket and still use CarPlay to its full functionality.

Another difference is that with wireless CarPlay, you can see your iPhone’s battery percentage in the left panel. However, it won’t tell you the exact percentage; it will just show a visual of your battery range. It will also tell you whether your phone is charging.

A downside of wireless CarPlay is that audio from your iPhone to the in-car stereo can be delayed. This is very apparent when watching a video with people talking (while parked up, of course). Sometimes, their lips move, but the audio is delayed by a second or two.

Wireless Apple CarPlay may be a premium feature, but it doesn’t mean you have to pay a premium price. As long as you have wired CarPlay already in your car, you can buy a wireless CarPlay adapter online to get all the same features.

Wireless CarPlay is excellent, but if you don’t mind the additional tweaks, wired CarPlay will suit you just fine.

Customizing Your CarPlay’s Home Screen

Your CarPlay home screen is not set in stone, it is customizable. Here are different ways you can customize your CarPlay experience.

Changing the Wallpaper

Like the iPhone when it first released, the only background you could have was a black screen, and the same was true for CarPlay. Now, you can change the wallpaper you see behind the apps.

To change your car’s wallpaper, open the Settings app in CarPlay, tap “Wallpaper,” and select the wallpaper you want to set. After you complete all those steps, the wallpaper on your CarPlay home screen will change, and you will be done.

How to Add, Delete, and Rearrange Apps

Unlike changing the wallpaper, you can add, delete, and rearrange apps from your CarPlay homepage only from your iPhone.

To do this, go to the Settings app on your iPhone, tap General, and select CarPlay, if you have multiple vehicles, tap on the one you want to customize, and then tap “Customize.” From there, you can add, delete, and rearrange apps. Take a look at a few of the best CarPlay apps on the App Store.

The apps included on your CarPlay homepage are at the top of the screen, and the section underneath contains the ones that aren’t but can be added. Apps will automatically show up in the “More Apps” section when they become CarPlay-compatible, meaning you don’t have to do anything when they do.

To add an app, tap the add icon to the left of its name. The app will then transition to the “Include” section at the top. To remove an app, tap the remove icon to the left of the app name, select the slide-in option that says “Remove,” and the app will move down to the “More Apps” section.

Apps deleted from the CarPlay homepage will not be deleted from your iPhone. However, if you delete an app with a compatible app from your iPhone, it will be removed from your CarPlay homepage.

If you want to rearrange your apps, tap and hold the three lines on the right side of the name and drag them to where you want them. Note that each app below the other will be displayed on the right-hand side of the app above it on the CarPlay homepage.

Siri Is Your Driving Buddy

While you can use most CarPlay features by touching your car’s infotainment system’s screen, you can also use them with vocal commands. To be able to do this, you’ll be partnering with Siri throughout the whole command.

Siri can perform many of the same actions as on your other devices. These include playing music, getting directions, making a phone call, sending a text message, and much more.

You can activate Siri in three ways: holding down the Home button on the left side panel or pressing the voice control button on the steering wheel. If it’s enabled on your iPhone, you can also say “Hey Siri” or “Siri,” followed by your command.

If Apple Intelligence is not enabled, Siri will display the familiar orb animation. However, if it is enabled, Siri will glow around the edges of your car’s infotainment screen, similar to its appearance on the iPhone and iPad.

Additionally, you can access Siri’s enhanced smart features if Apple Intelligence is enabled. This includes using ChatGPT to ask your most burning questions while driving, but you must turn it on beforehand.

Siri in the car is helpful, and while—like other smart assistants—it won’t always understand you 100% of the time, it is still safer than performing the action yourself while driving.

What the Future Holds for CarPlay

The next version of CarPlay is promised to offer a significant overhaul. This update will expand its capabilities and presence beyond the infotainment screen to the instrument cluster and climate controls.

You can customize it further with its expansion into the instrument cluster behind your steering wheel. This means changing the style, coloring, and information displayed.

You’ll also be able to control your car system—like temperature, seat heating levels, and defrosting (just to name a few)—right from the CarPlay experience. You won’t have to jump out of CarPlay to control these features like you do today.

Furthermore, you can add widgets to your CarPlay experience. These widgets, like Calendar and Clock, are based on Apple’s preview images. The new CarPlay experience also allows you to view information about your car, including its gas level, speed, gear, and other details.

The release date for the next generation of CarPlay has yet to be announced, but Porsche and Aston Martin have given previews of their new cars with CarPlay 2.0. The release date was originally set for 2024, but Apple has removed that deadline and has not confirmed a new one.

Additionally, CarPlay 2.0 will only be available in future vehicles when manufacturers include it. If your car has the current version of CarPlay, you won’t receive the updated version unless you purchase a new car that supports it.

CarPlay is a great feature that makes it safer and more legal to control your phone’s actions from your car’s infotainment display or with your voice. Since the platform was announced over a decade ago, more cars support it, but if they don’t, there are third-party ways to install it.

As our reliance on phones in daily life grows, CarPlay emerges as a safety feature that allows us to continue our actions while maintaining our focus on the road. If you own a car that supports CarPlay but haven’t enabled it yet, you should consider doing so.