CarPlay is Apple’s in-car experience that lets you use the most relevant apps right in your vehicle. It’s quickly grown in popularity and enhances both everyday commutes and long road trips. It now comes in almost any car in the US, and iOS 14 brings with it a slew of new CarPlay features. Here’s everything you need to know about them.
- How to Change CarPlay Background in iOS 14
- Explore New App Categories in CarPlay
- How to Send Audio Messages with Siri
- How to Share Your ETA with Siri
- CarPlay Has Improved Maps
- Use Japanese and Chinese keyboards
- Horizontal Status Bar
How to Change CarPlay Background in iOS 14
Bored of the plain black and white backgrounds on CarPlay? Apple now lets you choose from 5 new vibrant options that look similar to the stock iOS 14 wallpapers.
Further, they are dynamic and adjust in appearance according to the time of day provided that dark and light mode switching is enabled.
Follow the steps below to change the wallpaper in CarPlay.
- Launch the CarPlay Settings app
- Go to the Wallpaper section
- Select a wallpaper to see a preview. Then tap to confirm
Explore New App Categories in CarPlay
CarPlay now boasts three new app categories, namely parking, EV charging, and food ordering, to enhance your experience.
For instance, a parking app could show you available spots in the vicinity while a charging station app could show you nearby EV chargers, or a food app could let you order at a restaurant while still on the way to it.
Further, developers now have more tools to customize app experiences, which will enable new possibilities and functionality in the future.
How to Send Audio Messages with Siri
Just like on your iPhone and iPad, Siri in CarPlay has a new look with iOS 14. It’s more minimal in appearance and displays in the middle of the screen when invoked.
You can now ask Siri to send a voice message while you drive. Simply speak it out, and Siri will record the audio and send it to the contact you want. The recipient will be able to play the message and hear your voice.
along with voice messages, you can also ask Siri to send your estimated time of arrival to a Contact as you focus on driving. This can keep others in the loop about any delays you’re facing and is a useful safety feature.
CarPlay Has Improved Maps
The improved Apple Maps in iOS 14 enhances your CarPlay experience. For instance, you can now see alerts for approaching red lights or speed traffic cameras.
Further, if you have an electric vehicle, you will see navigation routes that have EV charging stations compatible with your car.
Maps will also help route you around any congested and restricted zones in certain areas.
Use Japanese and Chinese Keyboards
CarPlay now supports keyboards in Chinese and Japanese so you can search for points of interest in your preferred language.
Horizontal Status Bar
If your car has a portrait screen, you can now have the CarPlay status bar at the bottom of the screen. This provides a more natural layout with wider app views.
Summing Up
So what’s your experience using CarPlay? Does it make your commutes better, and which new features are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below. You can also check out our guide to Apple’s new digital car keys.
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