A more intelligent and secure method of using your iPhone while driving is CarPlay. You may listen to your preferred music, make calls, send and receive messages, and obtain directions. All on the dashboard display of your automobile. Additionally, CarPlay now offers additional app categories as well as personalized dashboard backgrounds. Apple CarPlay is the company’s solution to the issue of utilizing mobile apps while driving, two activities that don’t often mix well. Because it has so many practical functions and applications, your phone can help you when you’re driving. Similar to Android Auto, CarPlay provides access to them without endangering other drivers.
Simply put, CarPlay beams the applications from your phone onto the infotainment screen in your car, replete with hands-free operation and a user-friendly interface. This means you may navigate, make calls or send texts, manage your music, and do far more without endangering other drivers.
After years of corporations attempting to make electric automobiles practical to drive and appealing to those who have lived their entire lives in gas-powered vehicles, the industry is now beginning to take off. Currently, Tesla is leading the charge to make these things a reality, but it has recently been confirmed that Apple will also enter the electric vehicle market. In reality, Apple has been figuring it out while working on other projects for a few years. They didn’t suddenly decide to make it recently, for sure.
Which iPhone Models Work with CarPlay?
Every iPhone launched since the late 2012 debut of the iPhone 5 supports CarPlay. All the way up to the most recent iPhone 13 series, this includes more affordable gadgets like the iPhone 5C and iPhone SE of the first generation. It’s also reasonable to believe that it will function with all future iPhones, including the impending iPhone 14, barring any significant changes to Apple’s in-car strategy. It goes without saying that you cannot utilize CarPlay if you own an Android phone or an iPad or an iPod.
Which Vehicles Support CarPlay?
CarPlay, which debuted in 2014 as a rather specialized piece of software, has swiftly swept throughout the automotive industry. With that in mind, it’ll be difficult to find an automaker that doesn’t support CarPlay in any form and even fewer new vehicles that don’t.
CarPlay is presently supported in over 600 vehicles, with practically every major automaker on board. Apple maintains a rather detailed Apple Car vehicle list that shows which automakers and models support CarPlay. However, it’s always a good idea to double-check CarPlay functionality for any vehicle you’re considering purchasing.
Tesla stands out as a clear exception to this trend because it doesn’t allow Android Auto or CarPlay. Instead, the manufacturer of all-electric vehicles provides its own high-end connection package, which includes navigation, streaming, and remote control of some systems. While CarPlay is free and uses your existing data plan, this does cost $10 a month.
As more vehicles operate on the new Android Automotive OS, they are now turning to Google for their software requirements. Android Automotive is a built-in feature of the automobile, as opposed to Android Auto, which is an app similar to CarPlay. This eliminates the need for any custom software. But if you own an iPhone, what does this mean? You may plug your iPhone in and operate it normally as long as the automaker supports it for that particular model.
Can I Install CarPlay in My Current Vehicle?
There are several methods for retrofitting CarPlay into a car, but some of them are trickier than others. The easiest option is to get a separate display that works with CarPlay and doesn’t need to be retrofitted into your car in any significant manner. It’s important to note that Apple does not offer a specific driving mode for iPhones or a single CarPlay app, in contrast to Android. There is a Driving Focus mode that disables phone distractions while you are driving, but there is no mode that enables you to utilize a CarPlay-like interface on your phone.
There are gadgets like the Intellidash Plus that allow you to connect to your phone and use CarPlay. Though you’ll need to find a spot to put the screen so it’s both helpful and doesn’t obstruct your view of the road, functionally it’s the same as if you bought a car with CarPlay built-in. Alternatively, you could always replace the factory-installed display/navigation system in your car with an aftermarket device if you’d prefer something a bit more streamlined.
Additionally, it depends on your ability to actually improve your automobile, which isn’t a given. Additionally, keep in mind that many aftermarket devices demand a double DIN slot, although many older vehicles might only have one. There are single-DIN CarPlay devices available, however, the selection you have is entirely based on your vehicle.
How Do You Install CarPlay on Your iPhone?
There are two methods to connect your iPhone to CarPlay, with the simplest being to use a Lightning cable to connect it to the USB connection in your car. After you connect, CarPlay will appear on the screen of your vehicle, and all of your compatible applications will be updated. Wireless CarPlay is supported by several automobiles. When CarPlay initially starts, if you have one of them, your phone will invite you to set up a wireless connection; this will happen automatically on subsequent trips.
It should be noted that Apple does not maintain a current list of vehicles that enable wireless CarPlay. Therefore, before purchasing a vehicle, do your research or use a third-party wireless CarPlay adaptor.
Which Applications Support Apple Car Play 2024?
CarPlay supports a wide number of applications, many of which are, predictably, Apple-owned. There are several other third-party CarPlay applications available in addition to the standard Maps, Phone, Messages, Music, and so forth.
Apple does not provide a full list of CarPlay-compatible applications, but there are still plenty of choices. However, since these applications must be user-friendly for driving, you won’t discover anything that’s very distracting or necessitates prolonged eye contact. Therefore, there will be no Netflix, Apple TV Plus, gaming, etc.
So, there are a variety of apps that allow you to listen to music, podcasts, audiobooks, and internet radio, including famous names like Audible, Spotify, and TuneIn.Similarly, Google Maps and Waze are both CarPlay-compatible, so you don’t need to utilize Apple Maps. EV users will also be able to use applications like PlugShare to find an EV charger quickly. You may also use applications like WhatsApp to make calls and send messages using only your voice.
The simplest approach to determine whether CarPlay supports a specific app is to plug in your phone and check. Alternatively, searching for ‘CarPlay’ in the app store can provide several possibilities you may not have explored previously — albeit there is no easy way to filter them. If you stick to the big-name applications, you shouldn’t have too many problems.
