Everything new coming to CarPlay in iOS 13

Posted:
in iOS edited March 2020
In its first major overhaul since its original debut, CarPlay is gaining a wealth of new features with the launch of iOS 13. Here is every new feature and changing coming to Apple's automotive platform.

CarPlay Dashboard in iOS 13
CarPlay Dashboard in iOS 13 making driving easier

A necessary redesign

CarPlay got a fresh coat of paint in iOS 13. It has been modernized with a new design that matches the rest of iOS 13. CarPlay stalwarts such as the grid-based Home screen are still around but the shelf to the left has been tweaked and reorganized.






When first looking at the new Home screen you will notice a pair of new apps that hadn't shown themselves before. iOS 13 adds both the Settings app and the Calendar app to CarPlay.

iOS 13 brings a new Calendar app
iOS 13 brings a new Calendar app to CarPlay


Calendar is a simple interface with a list of your upcoming appointments. You can tap into any of them and if there is an address you can quickly get turn-by-turn directions.

Settings app in CarPlay
Settings app in CarPlay


Settings gives you three options to control from CarPlay including toggling Do Not Disturb While Driving, selecting the appearance, and turning off Siri Suggestions on the Dashboard.

The appearance can now alternate between a light and a dark UI. In Settings, you can choose automatic where it stays light during the day and dark at night or you can tell it to always use the dark interface. There is no option to keep the interface light persistently.

The Music app was redesigned for CarPlay in iOS 13
The Music app was redesigned for CarPlay in iOS 13


Apple also took the opportunity to redesign the Music app. It now has a much higher focus on colorful album art and is much easier to navigate.

The new Dashboard

All the work they've done comes into focus with the new Dashboard view. This is your new command central while driving and gives you access to everything you need in one place. Half the display is occupied by the map while the other half is home to Siri Suggestions, the Now Playing widget, and any upcoming appointments. Siri suggestions can be a multitude of things such as the location of your next appointment, where it thinks you are heading next, or your garage door opener as you arrive home.

New CarPlay Dashboard view
New CarPlay Dashboard view brings all your information together


The top is also taken over by driving instructions when using turn-by-turn navigation.

You can jump between the Home screen and Dashboard by way of a new icon in the lower left-hand corner. The Home button seems to now have disappeared from CarPlay just as it has vanished on iPhones and iPads.

Tapping any of these Dashboard items will take you directly to those apps, as you'd expect. To the left of the dashboard is your quick launch icons for your recently used audio, navigation, and communication apps.

Siri

Siri has been upgraded here with iOS 13 too. Not only does the virtual assistant have a new voice, but she can interact with third-party audio and navigation apps too.

Auto manufacturers are able to build in "Hey, Siri" support this time around so no button is needed to invoke Siri when needed. Whether you are launching Siri through your voice or the physical button, the UI no longer takes over the entirety of the display. Siri is now relegated to the bottom of the display leaving the rest visible which is crucial when navigating.

Bits and pieces go a long way

There is much more going on with CarPlay in iOS 13 that you may or may not see coming to your own vehicle. Things like support for adjustable screens or irregular screen sizes. iOS 13 now supports a second video stream so HUDs or other secondary displays can now also be used in CarPlay.

OS supports the AVRCP 1.6 standard which means album art can be transmitted over Bluetooth when being used to play audio.

Share your ETA with Maps in iOS 13
Share your ETA with Maps in iOS 13


Maps looks new as well with a refreshed interface and more mapping data coming throughout the U.S., as well as has adopted the ability to share your ETA with recent contacts.

Arguably the biggest change coming to CarPlay fixes a persistent issue that anyone who has used CarPlay has experienced. On iOS 12 and prior, CarPlay and the connected iPhone had to display the same appWhether Messages, Music, Maps, etc it was a hassle.

Personally, my other half would connect her iPhone to CarPlay but whenever she would send a text or change the music it would take the map and navigation off the screen. This is no longer the case with iOS 13 which has independent app views. You can now use your iPhone independently from what is displayed on the CarPlay UI.

Apple will be releasing iOS 13 as a free update later this fall. Check out our previous feature on our top new inclusions in iOS 13 and how to master Dark Mode.
watto_cobra
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 42
    ”Hey, Siri” has worked in my car since at least iOS11. Is there some change here that I don’t understand?


    There is much more going on with CarPlay in iOS 13 that you may or may not see coming to your own vehicle. Things like support for adjustable screens or irregular screen sizes. iOS 13 now supports a second video stream so HUDs or other secondary displays can now also be used in CarPlay.

    I also thought that Apple had shown off support for secondary displays last year, though it doesn’t work in our current vehicle. Again, is this a change from that announcement?

    Edit: WWDC 2016 Eddy Cue (just after 1:08:20) announced that navigation prompts would be supported in the instrument cluster. What is difference about this second video stream? 

    I’m pretty happy with these updates and I’m looking forward to getting them in September. 

    Keeping Maps on screen will be especially nice and I like that invoking Siri doesn’t take over the entire display. 

    In iOS 12 and earlier taking a screenshot on the phone while connected to CarPlay will give 2 screenshots, 1 of the phone and the other of what CarPlay is displaying. Has that changed or did you just opt to go with pictures of the dashboard showing CarPlay? I’d prefer screenshots, myself. 
    edited June 2019 watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 42
    kgarrkgarr Posts: 7member
    Does the dashboard view always show Apple Maps?
    edited June 2019
  • Reply 3 of 42
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    As someone who uses Carplay every fucking day, this is SUPER exciting to me. Sharing ETA right from carplay also incredibly useful.
    StrangeDayslollivercornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 42
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,036member
    What I would love to see is Apple integrate weather data into navigation along the route. 

    Some of us have to drive under nasty weather conditions- I pull call for a hospital- and knowing that taking route 1 vs route 2 might keep you out of the predicted path of a storm could be very helpful. Same for telling you there is a flash flood or tornado warning along a particular route so you can re-route or park and let it blow over. The predicted paths of storms from live radar has gotten very good and this could be a very big deal.

    Likewise, real time traffic data during deteriorating winter weather could suggest a re-route to avoid icing conditions. In my part of the country the difference between rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow can be a very narrow band, so routing to avoid the frozen precipitation could also be a big deal.
    wow321jeffythequick
  • Reply 5 of 42
    Need a wireless Carplay connection.
    Need a wireless Carplay connection.
    Need a wireless Carlplay connection.

    Did I mention wireless?
    redraider11entropysurahara
  • Reply 6 of 42
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    Ah cool, some welcome improvements here. Especially independent views on iphone and head unit...no more freaking out when someone browses for music and the map goes away.
    lolliverllamazinkdifferentwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 42
    shevshev Posts: 84member
    slurpy said:
    As someone who uses Carplay every fucking day, this is SUPER exciting to me. Sharing ETA right from carplay also incredibly useful.

    Same, biggest point of interest for me from wwdc. Updates look great 
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 42
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 2,120member
    I was glad to see that one can go to nearly full screen on the map and get rid of most of the distracting on-screen glop.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 42
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    Need a wireless Carplay connection.
    Need a wireless Carplay connection.
    Need a wireless Carlplay connection.

    Did I mention wireless?
    Apple make dongles. Why not a wireless one to upgrade everyone’s carplay? And it would probably have to be Apple that makes it.
  • Reply 10 of 42
    MulderFLMulderFL Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    CarPlay is wireless in BMW. I can't wait to not loose my current CarPlay screen when someone in the car touches my phone - that gets so annoying.
    llamawatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 42
    karmadavekarmadave Posts: 369member
    The Pioneer AVH-W4400NEX in my car supports a Wifi connection. My bigger question is what will be necessary to use the new iOS 13 Car Play features with my existing receiver. I'm assuming it's at least a firmware upgrade...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 42
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    Need a wireless Carplay connection.
    Need a wireless Carplay connection.
    Need a wireless Carlplay connection.

    Did I mention wireless?
    This isn't something Apple can do. It is wholly dependent on the implementation in the car. That said, certainly Apple could help car side manufacturers do this - maybe even producing their own audio heads. It might be part of Project Titan. 
    MplsPlolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 42
    mistergsfmistergsf Posts: 241member
    shev said:
    slurpy said:
    As someone who uses Carplay every fucking day, this is SUPER exciting to me. Sharing ETA right from carplay also incredibly useful.

    Same, biggest point of interest for me from wwdc. Updates look great 
    Same here as well. And thank you Baby Jesus, I can finally see album art. What took so long?! Wireless CarPlay connection is lower on the list for me. It's great for short rides when you want to hop into your car and not have to fiddle with plugging in, but most of my driving is long distance so I always like to keep my phone charging anyway.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 42
    mistergsfmistergsf Posts: 241member
    shev said:
    slurpy said:
    As someone who uses Carplay every fucking day, this is SUPER exciting to me. Sharing ETA right from carplay also incredibly useful.

    Same, biggest point of interest for me from wwdc. Updates look great 
    Same here as well. And thank you Baby Jesus, I can finally see album art. What took so long?! Wireless CarPlay connection is lower on the list for me. It's great for short rides when you want to hop into your car and not have to fiddle with plugging in, but most of my driving is long distance so I always like to keep my phone charging anyway.
  • Reply 15 of 42
    kjespokokjespoko Posts: 14member
    I'm super excited about these updates. I use CarPlay every day and have wanted a split screen mode since it was first available. The question I have, since I don't yet have the beta, can you customize what information is available in the split screen view? For example, can it show the recent text messages rather than the calendar view? Also, does it show the name of the song rather than the artwork of the current album playing? 

    I also would like to see the current temperature outside based on my location or have CarPlay pull the temperature that the car is reading. For example in my Suburban, the outside temperature is only displayed on the touch screen, not on the dashboard. Currently when using CarPlay the only way to find out what the outside temperature is, is to exit CarPlay and go to the standard Chevy screen.  I would really like to see the current temp displayed all the time right below the time. Please tell me that current temperature is displayed somewhere in CarPlay! If not, please Apple put this feature in before the final release! 

    I can't wait to get my hands on this new update!
    redraider11watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 42
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    davgreg said:
    What I would love to see is Apple integrate weather data into navigation along the route. 

    Some of us have to drive under nasty weather conditions- I pull call for a hospital- and knowing that taking route 1 vs route 2 might keep you out of the predicted path of a storm could be very helpful. Same for telling you there is a flash flood or tornado warning along a particular route so you can re-route or park and let it blow over. The predicted paths of storms from live radar has gotten very good and this could be a very big deal.

    Likewise, real time traffic data during deteriorating winter weather could suggest a re-route to avoid icing conditions. In my part of the country the difference between rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow can be a very narrow band, so routing to avoid the frozen precipitation could also be a big deal.
    Concur...but without the bold. 
    StrangeDayswow321watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 42
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    I wonder if you can swap the windows around in dashboard view? Might be a handy thing for RHD vehicles.
  • Reply 18 of 42
    jccjcc Posts: 326member
    Why don't they show the album art on the play navigations!? They didn't have it in the old and I thought they would be smart enough to include that now but no...wtf?! Are they stupid or what?
  • Reply 19 of 42
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    entropys said:
    Need a wireless Carplay connection.
    Need a wireless Carplay connection.
    Need a wireless Carlplay connection.

    Did I mention wireless?
    Apple make dongles. Why not a wireless one to upgrade everyone’s carplay? And it would probably have to be Apple that makes it.
    Car play and navigation tend to use a lot of juice, so I would have to plug my phone in anyway. I guess you could have a wireless charging pad which would be more convenient.

    Either way, as Eightzero said, CarPlay supports a wifi connection; it's up to the manufacturers to take advantage of it. Given how long it's taken some manufacturers to support CarPlay at all I suspect wifi support will take a while. There are several aftermarket car stereos that do have it, however.
    llamawatto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 42
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member

    MulderFL said:
    CarPlay is wireless in BMW. I can't wait to not loose my current CarPlay screen when someone in the car touches my phone - that gets so annoying.
    Yes! Driving somewhere and using Maps only to have the map disappear as soon as my daughter grabs the phone to change the song
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
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