4 CarPlay settings I alter to right away make it higher

Reflecting a bit, I feel Apple downplays the significance of CarPlay approach 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 if you’re acquainted with an space — lately, development 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 abruptly 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 cheap time.

If want be, CarPlay is usually nice to make use of instantly after you set it up. However if you need the perfect expertise, there are a selection of settings you need to change, each in your iPhone and your automobile’s dashboard. The tweaks under are those I contemplate important as of iOS 26. Your personal preferences might range, though I encourage you to not less than contemplate these concepts.

Deleting and rearranging house display screen apps

Effectivity issues on the street

That is my most necessary change. For simplicity’s sake, CarPlay defaults to loading each suitable iPhone app if you set it up in 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 screen pages.

There’s additionally no prioritization past pre-installed apps, so in the event you use Google Maps or Waze as a substitute of Apple Maps, you might need to swipe to a second or third house display screen each time you need to navigate someplace. That is annoying sufficient if you’re parked, and a dangerous distraction if you’re on the street.

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 approach, they will all the time be on the primary house display screen web page.

Use the pink 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’ll be able to all the time 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 automobile is off too, however if you reconnect your iPhone, any modifications will sync robotically.

Selecting Darkish and/or Clear look choices

Mild might have its benefits, generally

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 thing discernible in vivid 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 if you’re watching a navigation app.

Personally, although, I discover the Default icons boring to have a look at, and infrequently choose 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 are not for everybody — there’s even much less distinction than the default, so some drivers might discover themselves looking too lengthy for the fitting icon. Your alternative of wallpaper might 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 could possibly go a great 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 whole lot of the interface clear, bringing out the colour of your wallpaper, significantly in the event you 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 be capable to discover ones that match the colours of the iPhone 17 lineup, or in the event you’re fortunate, the inside of your cabin. Go to Settings > Wallpaper if 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 general visible attraction — that picture of your accomplice or pet might sound good in your iPhone, however it might turn out to be 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 type of monotone filter possibility may assist with extra chaotic photos.

The more cash you might 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 folks, the flexibility to lock a door or flip off lights after they’re miles away from their storage shall be an actual time saver. On most sprint shows, you’ll be able to entry any widgets you might have configured by swiping to the left of your private home display screen.

To get began, you will need to go to Settings > Basic > CarPlay > [your car] > Widgets in your iPhone. Should you add a number of widgets, you’ll be able to 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’ll be able to swipe up or down in your in-car widget stack(s) to vary what you are taking a look at.

That leads me to an necessary be aware, which is that on larger shows, you will see a number of widget stacks directly. This makes the expertise inherently higher in dearer autos. 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 have to 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 be aware is that whereas a stunning variety of third-party widgets can be found, many of those are in all probability going to be ineffective if you’re driving. Nobody actually must know who’s reside on Twitch after they’re cruising down the freeway, for instance.