4 CarPlay settings I alter to instantly make it higher

Reflecting a bit, I feel Apple downplays the significance of CarPlay means an excessive amount of. The tech did get affordable consideration at WWDC 2025, together with the launch of CarPlay Ultra, but it surely performs an out-sized function 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 aware of an space — lately, development lowered a significant freeway to 1 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 house in affordable time.

If want be, CarPlay is often nice to make use of instantly after you set it up. However if you’d like the perfect expertise, there are a variety of settings you need 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 could range, though I encourage you to at the least take into account these concepts.

Deleting and rearranging house display apps

Effectivity issues on the highway

That is my most essential change. For simplicity’s sake, CarPlay defaults to loading each appropriate iPhone app while you set it up on your car. The issue with that is that almost all sprint shows cannot match greater than eight or 10 icons, and every thing else will get shoved into further house display pages.

There’s additionally no prioritization past pre-installed apps, so if you happen to use Google Maps or Waze as a substitute of Apple Maps, you may need to swipe to a second or third house display each time you need 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 > Basic > CarPlay > [your car] > Apps in your iPhone. Drag the triple-line icons on the fitting to rearrange their precedence. As a rule, the apps you utilize most frequently ought to occupy the highest eight spots. That means, they’re going to at all times be on the primary house display web page.

Use the crimson icons to take away as many pointless apps as potential. Don’t be concerned — you are not uninstalling these out of your iPhone, simply CarPlay. You’ll be able to 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 modifications will sync routinely.

Choosing 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 preserve every 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 looking at a navigation app.

Personally, although, I discover the Default icons boring to take a look at, and infrequently want Darkish mode’s distinction at any time of day. If you wish to comply with swimsuit, 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 could discover themselves looking too lengthy for the fitting icon. Your alternative of wallpaper could 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 could be higher than all-dark, on a regular basis.

Selecting wallpaper

Full your customization

Wallpaper may seem to be a trivial factor, however with iOS 26, it may go a great 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 a number of the interface clear, bringing out the colour of your wallpaper, significantly if you happen to 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 have the ability to discover ones that match the colours of the iPhone 17 lineup, or if you happen to’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 anxious about legibility, decision, and general visible enchantment — that picture of your companion or pet may appear good in your iPhone, but it surely may develop 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 kind of monotone filter possibility may assist with extra chaotic pictures.

The extra money you will 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 after they’re miles away from their storage can be an actual time saver. On most sprint shows, you possibly can entry any widgets you will have configured by swiping to the left of your own home display.

To get began, you will should go to Settings > Basic > CarPlay > [your car] > Widgets in your iPhone. In case 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 primarily based 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 .

That leads me to an essential word, which is that on greater shows, you will 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 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 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 after they’re cruising down the freeway, for instance.