Reflecting a bit, I believe Apple downplays the significance of CarPlay means an excessive amount of. The tech did get cheap consideration at WWDC 2025, together with the launch of CarPlay Ultra, but it surely performs an out-sized function within the lives of iPhone house owners. Many people depend on it not only for music and podcasts after we’re driving, however to get the place we have to safely and on-time. That may be true even while you’re aware of an space — not too long ago, development diminished a significant freeway to 1 lane in my metropolis at an hour when there was nonetheless loads of visitors. The primary time I bumped into this, a 20-minute journey immediately ballooned to about an hour. Popping open Apple Maps throughout a subsequent drive allowed me to take a posh detour and make it residence in cheap time.
If want be, CarPlay is usually high quality to make use of instantly after you set it up. However if you’d like the most effective expertise, there are a selection of settings it is best to change, each in your iPhone and your automotive’s dashboard. The tweaks beneath are those I take into account important as of iOS 26. Your personal preferences might differ, though I encourage you to no less than take into account these concepts.
Deleting and rearranging residence display screen apps
Effectivity issues on the highway
That is my most necessary change. For simplicity’s sake, CarPlay defaults to loading each suitable iPhone app while you set it up in your automobile. The issue with that is that almost all sprint shows cannot match greater than eight or 10 icons, and all the things else will get shoved into further residence display screen pages.
There’s additionally no prioritization past pre-installed apps, so for those who use Google Maps or Waze as an alternative of Apple Maps, you might need to swipe to a second or third residence display screen each time you wish to navigate someplace. That is annoying sufficient while you’re parked, and a dangerous distraction while you’re on the highway.
Earlier than you get behind the wheel once more, clear up CarPlay by going to Settings > Normal > CarPlay > [your car] > Apps in your iPhone. Drag the triple-line icons on the precise to rearrange their precedence. As a rule, the apps you utilize most frequently ought to occupy the highest eight spots. That means, they will at all times be on the primary residence display screen web page.
Use the crimson icons to take away as many pointless apps as potential. Don’t fret — you are not uninstalling these out of your iPhone, simply CarPlay. You may at all times add them again later by returning to the underside of the Apps web page and tapping on the suitable inexperienced icons. You will have to do that whereas your automotive is off too, however while you reconnect your iPhone, any adjustments will sync routinely.
Choosing Darkish and/or Clear look choices
Mild might have its benefits, generally
For a lot of customers, the most effective look settings — present in CarPlay’s in-vehicle Settings > Customise Icons menu — would be the Default icon set, and Auto for switching between Mild and Darkish themes. This could maintain all the things discernible in shiny daylight, however then flip the theme over to Darkish as soon as the solar goes down. That is much less straining on the eyes, particularly while you’re watching a navigation app.
Personally, although, I discover the Default icons boring to take a look at, and infrequently desire Darkish mode’s distinction at any time of day. If you wish to comply with go well with, simply faucet each Darkish choices.
New to iOS 26 is the power to decide on Clear icons. These are visually slicker than the darkish ones, for my part, however they are not for everybody — there’s even much less distinction than the default, so some drivers might discover themselves searching too lengthy for the precise icon. Your alternative of wallpaper might have an effect right here (see beneath). As I write this, I am experimenting with clear icons and the Auto theme mode to check if these is perhaps higher than all-dark, on a regular basis.
Selecting wallpaper
Full your customization
Wallpaper would possibly appear to be a trivial factor, however with iOS 26, it might go a good distance in the direction of making your automotive really feel like your individual. That is as a result of the replace’s Liquid Glass aesthetic turns lots of the interface clear, bringing out the colour of your wallpaper, notably for those who pair it with clear icons (see above).
In my case, I am utilizing a gold-tinged wallpaper that matches the “desert titanium” of my iPhone 16 Pro. You must also be capable to discover ones that match the colours of the iPhone 17 lineup, or for those who’re fortunate, the inside of your cabin. Go to Settings > Wallpaper while you’re within the driver’s seat.
Whereas I am right here, I ought to gripe that Apple nonetheless has but to permit customized wallpapers in CarPlay. That is in all probability as a result of the corporate is apprehensive about legibility, decision, and total visible attraction — that photograph of your accomplice or pet might sound good in your iPhone, but it surely may change into an outright mess on a 10-inch panorama show. If that is going to vary in iOS 27 (or another future launch), Apple will want a system to routinely crop and scale pictures added to CarPlay, at a minimal. Some form of monotone filter choice would possibly assist with extra chaotic pictures.
The more cash you might have, the extra helpful it’s
One of many side-benefits of Apple’s work on CarPlay Extremely is that a few of its extra superior widgets have slid into the usual UI. These permit issues like checking the climate, viewing your upcoming calendar appointments, or accessing smart home controls with out having to cease first. I think about that for some individuals, the power to lock a door or flip off lights once they’re miles away from their storage can be an actual time saver. On most sprint shows, you possibly can entry any widgets you might have configured by swiping to the left of your house display screen.
To get began, you may need to go to Settings > Normal > CarPlay > [your car] > Widgets in your iPhone. In the event you add a number of widgets, you possibly can rearrange their order, and/or activate Good Rotate to let your iPhone select what to prioritize based mostly on the time of day. Regardless, you possibly can swipe up or down in your in-car widget stack(s) to vary what you are taking a look at.
On larger shows, you may see a number of widget stacks without delay. This makes the expertise inherently higher in costlier autos.
That leads me to an necessary notice, which is that on larger shows, you may see a number of widget stacks without delay. This makes the expertise inherently higher in costlier autos. I am high quality with that in my very own automotive — the one widgets I’ve added are Climate, Batteries, and Calendar, and the one one I care about more often than not is the primary one. I have to know if I will be coping with rain, snow, or freezing temperatures regularly, however checking my Apple Watch’s energy can in all probability wait till I’ve arrived at my vacation spot.
One other notice is that whereas a stunning variety of third-party widgets can be found, many of those are in all probability going to be ineffective while you’re driving. Nobody actually must know who’s reside on Twitch once they’re cruising down the freeway, for instance.
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