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Apple CarPlay is no longer a luxury feature reserved for high-end cars. Nowadays, even the most affordable cars in India offer a built-in infotainment system, which makes it a cinch to connect your iPhone to your car.
With Apple CarPlay, your car and phone sync seamlessly, allowing you to focus on your driving without distractions. In this article, we explore what Apple CarPlay is, what devices it supports, and how to set it up.
Launched in March 2014, CarPlay is software that allows your iPhone to seamlessly connect to your car and display its apps on the car’s interface in a simplified iOS-like manner. This means that you can use some apps directly from your car. Stuck in a maze of narrow streets? Apple Maps and Google Maps will show you the exit route on the car’s screen. You can’t get enough of this catchy song and want to replay it without touching your phone? CarPlay will do that for you.
Basically, CarPlay makes sure you keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. It’s not an operating system itself installed on your car, but rather a platform that enables a car’s infotainment system to act as a display and control device for an iOS device.
What does Apple CarPlay do?
As mentioned earlier, the goal of CarPlay is to reduce the use of your phone while driving. You can still make calls, send texts, listen to music, check your calendar, and find your way around, but without fiddling with your phone. CarPlay uses your car’s screen and speakers to show you a familiar interface that looks like your iPhone. It also overrides some of your car’s original features, such as Bluetooth or navigation, so you can enjoy a seamless experience.
For example, if you want to call someone, you can use CarPlay to access your contacts, favorites, and recent calls. You can also use voice commands or the buttons on the steering wheel to dial a number. The call will go through your car’s speakers and microphone, just as it would with Bluetooth, but with (arguably) a better-looking interface.
GPS navigation on CarPlay works similarly, showing the map apps installed on your phone regardless of whether or not your car has a built-in navigation system.
How to set up Apple CarPlay?
It’s very easy to set up CarPlay, with or without a wire.
If you have a cord, make sure it has a USB plug on one end and a Lightning plug on the other. When connected, you’ll see some prompts on your car’s screen and your iPhone. Just say yes to them and you’re good to go. Once this process is complete, you don’t have to repeat it — all you need to do to get connected is plug the cable into your iPhone.
If for any reason you want to go back to your normal car screen, look for a button or icon that says something like “Exit CarPlay” or “Switch to Car.” Click on it and you’ll be back where you started.
But wires can be cumbersome, which is probably why cars are increasingly ditching cables in favor of wireless Apple CarPlay. Whether it’s the Hyundai i20, Hyundai Verna, Nissan Magnite, or Kia Sonet, all of these vehicles now feature wireless Apple CarPlay.
To use wireless CarPlay, you need to activate the voice command button on the steering wheel and switch the stereo to wireless or Bluetooth mode. On your iPhone, enable Wi-Fi and tap CarPlay Network. Make sure auto-join is turned on. Next, go to CarPlay settings and choose your car. If you get stuck, check your vehicle manual for assistance.
The only catch is that wireless CarPlay won’t charge your iPhone, so you might want to bring a cable anyway. But if your car has wireless CarPlay, it probably has wireless charging, too, so you can still keep your battery full without plugging anything in.
How to use Siri with Apple CarPlay
The purpose of CarPlay is to keep your eyes on the road, not on the phone. But if you end up getting distracted by the car’s infotainment screen anyway, and dangerously reaching for it to perform some action while driving, that purpose will be defeated.
Helping with this predicament is CarPlay’s built-in Siri support. The digital assistant can help you type texts while driving, in a way that is similar to making a hands-free call. When you receive a text message, you’ll see a notification on the car’s infotainment screen. Siri will read it to you when you tap it. You can also dictate your message to Siri for copying and sending.
Besides sending text messages, you can ask Siri to play your favorite music, podcasts, or audiobooks, get directions and traffic updates, make phone calls, and more. Siri can also suggest shortcuts based on your routine, like playing your morning playlist when you start your car. And with the new Siri Suggestions app on CarPlay, you can see personalized recommendations for places to go, things to do, and people to contact.
How to use CarPlay with more people via SharePlay
One of the greatest advantages of Apple’s CarPlay over Google’s Android Auto is SharePlay – a feature that puts an end to scrolling around the phone and arguing about what song to play next in the car. SharePlay allows you and your passengers to create a shared playlist on Apple Music.
Apple Music on CarPlay. (photo: Apple)
When you’re in the Apple Music app, you’ll see a new SharePlay icon in the upper-right corner. Tap it to reveal a QR code, which passengers can scan with their iPhone. All passengers who scan the QR code will be able to add to the queue. It’s like having a DJ at every seat.
What cars and devices support Apple CarPlay?
Almost every car sold in India now has Apple CarPlay, and many of them also support it wirelessly. Maruti Alto 800, one of the most affordable cars in India, comes bundled with CarPlay and it is only logical to think that every expensive car on the road also supports it.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, CarPlay is compatible with all iPhones from iPhone 5 onwards that have iOS 7.1 or later. iPads are not compatible and Apple has given no indication of any interest in changing that.
Apple CarPlay is set to get an overhaul
Apple unveiled the future of CarPlay at WWDC 2022, showcasing deeper integration with car functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, customization options, and more. The first vehicles to feature a next-generation CarPlay experience will be unveiled in late 2023, with more than a dozen automakers on board.
The next version of CarPlay will be able to appear on multiple car screens. (photo: Apple)
This upcoming version will override the current version and include vehicle functions such as radio and temperature control. Furthermore, the update will allow customization options from the instruments to choosing from different gauge cluster designs to suit the driver’s preferences.
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