4 CarPlay settings I alter to right away make it higher

Reflecting a bit, I believe Apple downplays the significance of CarPlay method an excessive amount of. The tech did get cheap consideration at WWDC 2025, together with the launch of CarPlay Ultra, nevertheless it 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 once you’re aware of an space — just lately, development lowered a significant freeway to at least one lane in my metropolis at an hour when there was nonetheless loads of visitors. The primary time I bumped into this, a 20-minute journey immediately ballooned to about an hour. Popping open Apple Maps throughout a subsequent drive allowed me to take a fancy detour and make it residence in cheap time.

If want be, CarPlay is often effective to make use of instantly after you set it up. However if you’d like the perfect expertise, there are a selection 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 personal preferences could range, though I encourage you to no less than think about these concepts.

Deleting and rearranging residence display apps

Effectivity issues on the highway

That is my most necessary change. For simplicity’s sake, CarPlay defaults to loading each suitable iPhone app once 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 the whole lot else will get shoved into extra residence 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 residence display each time you need to navigate someplace. That is annoying sufficient once you’re parked, and a dangerous distraction once you’re on the highway.

Earlier than you get behind the wheel once more, clear up CarPlay by going to Settings > Normal > 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 employ most frequently ought to occupy the highest eight spots. That method, they will all the time be on the primary residence display web page.

Use the crimson 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 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 may have to do that whereas your automobile is off too, however once you reconnect your iPhone, any modifications will sync mechanically.

Selecting Darkish and/or Clear look choices

Gentle 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 Gentle and Darkish themes. This could maintain the whole lot 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 once you’re observing 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 swimsuit, 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 fitting 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 may 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 direction of making your automobile really feel like your individual. That is as a result of the replace’s Liquid Glass aesthetic turns lots 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 also needs to be capable of 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 once 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 fearful about legibility, decision, and total visible attraction — that picture of your associate or pet may appear good in your iPhone, nevertheless it 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 mechanically crop and scale photographs added to CarPlay, at a minimal. Some type of monotone filter possibility may assist with extra chaotic photographs.

The more cash you may 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 flexibility to lock a door or flip off lights once they’re miles away from their storage will likely be an actual time saver. On most sprint shows, you possibly can entry any widgets you may have configured by swiping to the left of your house display.

To get began, you will must go to Settings > Normal > CarPlay > [your car] > Widgets in your iPhone. When you add a number of widgets, you possibly can rearrange their order, and/or activate Sensible Rotate to let your iPhone select what to prioritize based mostly 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 necessary word, which is that on larger shows, you will see a number of widget stacks directly. This makes the expertise inherently higher in costlier automobiles. I am effective 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 frequently, 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 once you’re driving. Nobody actually must know who’s dwell on Twitch once they’re cruising down the freeway, for instance.