4 CarPlay tips that will change your driving life

Apple CarPlay used to be a novelty, a luxury for people willing to splurge on expensive car trims. Not so much anymore — it’s de facto on many new models, and even on many used ones. You can (almost) assume you’ll find it on any vehicle worth buying, advanced EV brands like Rivian and Tesla aside.

If you rely on CarPlay to get around town, there are some tricks you can use to smooth out the experience. Some might surprise you, even if you’ve been using CarPlay for a while already.

1 Switch to a split-screen view to see multiple apps at once

This is best if you’re not in unfamiliar territory

You may have already discovered this accidentally, but if you tap the home screen/app selection button (in the lower-left corner) twice, you’ll be taken to a split-screen view displaying multiple apps, assuming more than one is running. Only some apps are compatible, but typically, this enables basic music and podcast controls without losing map directions. Navigation apps take priority, of course, and may occupy multiple windows to control options or alert you to upcoming turns. Depending on the time and location, you may also see windows for Calendar events or toggling a HomeKit-compatible garage door opener when you’re near your house.

You can switch back to an app’s fullscreen mode by tapping on its window or selecting it again from the sidebar or CarPlay home screen. In fact, if you’re driving in an unfamiliar area that might require complicated routes, it’s best to give your navigation app as much screen space as possible.

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2 Use Google Maps or Waze instead of Apple Maps

Apple’s still playing catch-up, it seems

Apple Maps is the default for CarPlay, and there are advantages to using ithe platform if you want to. It links with Calendar automatically, and if you have an Apple Watch, your wrist will vibrate when it’s time to turn. However, Google Maps remains superior, thanks to features like user-reported hazard warnings, better coverage, and ties to Android and the web. Waze has similar benefits, although many of its features are now included or improved in Google Maps.

Don’t worry — while third-party apps were initially a little crippled in CarPlay, they’ve been working as seamlessly as Apple Maps for a long time now. Just ensure you’re running the latest versions of both iOS and your favorite navigation tool.

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3 Reorganize (and reprioritize) your home screen

Get to what you need faster

Another default in CarPlay is the automatic sync of compatible iPhone apps. That’s largely a positive since app makers don’t always advertise compatibility, and the last thing anyone wants is a navigation app failing to appear when they’re already late for work. The downside to this scheme is that the apps you need can potentially end up on a second or third home screen page, which is a genuine issue when you’re trying to change apps while driving.

Once you’re parked, grab your iPhone and go to Settings > General > CarPlay. Select your car’s name, then Customize. You can use the red circle buttons to de-sync apps from CarPlay, or drag the triple-line icons to reorder them on the home screen. Apple is needlessly vague about how reordering works, but if you want apps to be quickly accessible, put them in one of the first eight positions. Anything further down will force you to swipe through home screen pages.

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4 Plug in a destination and soundtrack before you start the car

Save yourself a little effort

It’s easy to think of CarPlay as a separate entity, but it really is just a projection of your iPhone. That means anything you do in a CarPlay-compatible app will carry over once it connects to your car. To save yourself some awkward typing and tapping, it’s often easier to enter trip directions ahead of time using your iPhone, and then hit start once CarPlay is running. That’s especially true with multi-stop routes — while you can make those happen via CarPlay, the process is a lot more cumbersome. For example, I wouldn’t want to generate a cross-country roadtrip that way.

This tactic applies to music and podcasts as well. Sometimes, I deliberately keep Spotify or Apple Podcasts playing on my iPhone while I’m getting ready to leave somewhere. Once my car starts, the audio switches over on its own.