4 CarPlay settings I modify to right away make it higher

Reflecting a bit, I feel Apple downplays the significance of CarPlay manner an excessive amount of. The tech did get cheap consideration at WWDC 2025, together with the launch of CarPlay Ultra, however it performs an out-sized position within the lives of iPhone homeowners. 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 accustomed to an space — lately, building decreased a serious freeway to at least one lane in my metropolis at an hour when there was nonetheless loads of site visitors. The primary time I bumped into this, a 20-minute journey all of the sudden ballooned to about an hour. Popping open Apple Maps throughout a subsequent drive allowed me to take a fancy detour and make it dwelling in cheap time.

If want be, CarPlay is usually nice to make use of instantly after you set it up. However in order for you the perfect expertise, there are a variety of settings it’s best to change, each in your iPhone and your automobile’s dashboard. The tweaks under are those I think about important as of iOS 26. Your individual preferences could differ, though I encourage you to not less than think about these concepts.

Deleting and rearranging dwelling display apps

Effectivity issues on the highway

That is my most vital change. For simplicity’s sake, CarPlay defaults to loading each appropriate iPhone app while you set it up on your automobile. The issue with that is that almost all sprint shows cannot match greater than eight or 10 icons, and every little thing else will get shoved into extra dwelling display 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 may need to swipe to a second or third dwelling display 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 > Common > CarPlay > [your car] > Apps in your iPhone. Drag the triple-line icons on the suitable to rearrange their precedence. As a rule, the apps you employ most frequently ought to occupy the highest eight spots. That manner, they will at all times be on the primary dwelling display web page.

Use the purple 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 possibly can 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 may have to do that whereas your automobile is off too, however while you reconnect your iPhone, any modifications will sync robotically.

Selecting Darkish and/or Clear look choices

Mild could have its benefits, typically

For a lot of customers, the perfect 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 every little thing 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 flexibility to decide on Clear icons. These are visually slicker than the darkish ones, for my part, however they don’t seem to be for everybody — there’s even much less distinction than the default, so some drivers could discover themselves looking too lengthy for the suitable icon. Your selection of wallpaper could have an effect right here (see under). As I write this, I am experimenting with clear icons and the Auto theme mode to check if these is likely to be higher than all-dark, on a regular basis.

Selecting wallpaper

Full your customization

Wallpaper may appear to be a trivial factor, however with iOS 26, it might probably go a good distance in the direction of making your automobile really feel like your personal. That is as a result of the replace’s Liquid Glass aesthetic turns a variety 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 also needs to 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 frightened about legibility, decision, and total visible attraction — that picture of your associate or pet may appear good in your iPhone, however it might 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 robotically crop and scale photos added to CarPlay, at a minimal. Some kind of monotone filter possibility may assist with extra chaotic photos.

The extra money you’ve got, 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 enable 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 folks, the flexibility to lock a door or flip off lights once they’re miles away from their storage might be an actual time saver. On most sprint shows, you may entry any widgets you’ve got configured by swiping to the left of your private home display.

To get began, you may should go to Settings > Common > CarPlay > [your car] > Widgets in your iPhone. In case you add a number of widgets, you may 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 may swipe up or down in your in-car widget stack(s) to vary what you are .

That leads me to an vital word, which is that on larger shows, you may see a number of widget stacks directly. This makes the expertise inherently higher in costlier automobiles. I am nice with that in my very own automobile — 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 must 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 word 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.