4 CarPlay settings I alter to right away make it higher

Reflecting a bit, I feel Apple downplays the significance of CarPlay method 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 position within the lives of iPhone house owners. 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 — just lately, building lowered 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 posh detour and make it residence in affordable time.

If want be, CarPlay is often advantageous to make use of instantly after you set it up. However if you’d like the very best expertise, there are a selection of settings it’s best to change, each in your iPhone and your automobile’s dashboard. The tweaks beneath are those I contemplate important as of iOS 26. Your personal preferences could fluctuate, though I encourage you to no less than contemplate these concepts.

Deleting and rearranging residence display apps

Effectivity issues on the highway

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

There’s additionally no prioritization past pre-installed apps, so should you use Google Maps or Waze as a substitute of Apple Maps, you might need to swipe to a second or third residence 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 > Basic > CarPlay > [your car] > Apps in your iPhone. Drag the triple-line icons on the best to rearrange their precedence. As a rule, the apps you employ most frequently ought to occupy the highest eight spots. That method, they will at all times be on the primary residence display web page.

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

Selecting Darkish and/or Clear look choices

Gentle could have its benefits, typically

For a lot of customers, the very best 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 every part discernible in brilliant 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 observing a navigation app.

Personally, although, I discover the Default icons boring to take a look at, and infrequently choose Darkish mode’s distinction at any time of day. If you wish to observe 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 are not for everybody — there’s even much less distinction than the default, so some drivers could discover themselves looking too lengthy for the best icon. Your selection 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 is likely to be higher than all-dark, on a regular basis.

Selecting wallpaper

Full your customization

Wallpaper would possibly appear to be a trivial factor, however with iOS 26, it could possibly go a good 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, notably should 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 of discover ones that match the colours of the iPhone 17 lineup, or should you’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 change into an outright mess on a 10-inch panorama show. If that is going to alter in iOS 27 (or another future launch), Apple will want a system to routinely crop and scale photographs added to CarPlay, at a minimal. Some type of monotone filter possibility would possibly assist with extra chaotic photographs.

The extra money you have 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 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 can be an actual time saver. On most sprint shows, you may entry any widgets you have got configured by swiping to the left of your house display.

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

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 advantageous 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 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 shocking 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 stay on Twitch after they’re cruising down the freeway, for instance.