With Apple CarPlay, the user interface and apps of your iPhone can be put onto the display of your car dashboard. Not long ago, CarPlay was an option that wasn’t well known. Now, it is considered a must-have.
Here are five things to know about Apple CarPlay:
1. CarPlay will Replace Your Car’s Infotainment System
Your car’s infotainment system is the hardware and software in your car that provides audio or video entertainment.
CarPlay will replace all of that and provide some of the apps that you are used to already using, like maps (including Apple, Google or Waze), music (Apple, Spotify and more), Messages, WhatsApp, phone, and Podcasts, among other things.
2. Not all Apps on CarPlay are Exactly as They are on Your iPhone
Not all of the apps on your iPhone are on CarPlay, for safety reasons. Any apps that require heavy interaction and attention is just not something that should be on a car dashboard.
But there are elements of apps that have enhanced safety because they are replaced by voice and dictation.
For example, when messages come in on iMessage or WhatsApp, they are read out by Siri instead of being shown on the screen.
3. The iOS Screen is what Appears on Your Car System
When you plug in your iPhone, the car’s system is replaced by the iOS home screen, showing app icons and having a virtual home button.
What is displayed on the screen depends on the size of your car’s display and how you are using CarPlay.
You use CarPlay with whatever controls your car already has, whether it is a touch screen, or buttons and knobs or voice, or any combination of all of these controls.
4. CarPlay can now Offer Interfaces on More than Just One Display
Car manufacturers can now put the CarPlay interface on more than one screen at a time with the most recent upgrade with iOS 13. So, CarPlay can be on the central display and on digital instrument clusters behind the steering wheel.
5. How CarPlay is Less Distracting
When driving, you want the information and entertainment, but you don’t want distraction. The iOS13 has dark mode that switches on automatically at night so the interface is less distracting. And Siri is less distracting, by taking up less screen space.
There is a new Calendar app that makes it easy to look at your whole schedule for the day, and you can tap on an event to navigate it with CarPlay. It does things like call attendees to let them know you are running late.
When opening and closing apps, the most recent three show on the screen closest to the steering wheel so you can return to them without taking your eyes off the road, except for a glance.
CarPlay gives you everything you want out of your iPhone, but does it in such a way that you aren’t tempted to take a quick peek at your iPhone when you’re driving.
It is easy to use CarPlay, it’s safer, and more convenient.
