4 CarPlay settings I alter to right away make it higher

Reflecting a bit, I believe Apple downplays the significance of CarPlay manner an excessive amount of. The tech did get affordable consideration at WWDC 2025, together with the launch of CarPlay Ultra, nevertheless it performs an out-sized function 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 if you’re conversant in an space — just lately, development lowered a significant freeway to 1 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 all of a sudden ballooned to about an hour. Popping open Apple Maps throughout a subsequent drive allowed me to take a posh detour and make it house in affordable time.

If want be, CarPlay is usually nice to make use of instantly after you set it up. However in order for you the perfect expertise, there are a variety of settings you must 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 fluctuate, though I encourage you to a minimum of think about these concepts.

Deleting and rearranging house display apps

Effectivity issues on the street

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

There’s additionally no prioritization past pre-installed apps, so for those who 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 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 correct to rearrange their precedence. As a rule, the apps you employ most frequently ought to occupy the highest eight spots. That manner, they’re going to at all times be on the primary house display 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 may 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 if you reconnect your iPhone, any adjustments will sync mechanically.

Choosing Darkish and/or Clear look choices

Gentle could 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 Gentle and Darkish themes. This could maintain all the pieces discernible in vibrant 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 gazing a navigation app.

Personally, although, I discover the Default icons boring to take a look at, and infrequently favor 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, in my view, 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 correct icon. Your alternative 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 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 will probably go a great distance in direction of making your automobile really feel like your personal. That is as a result of the replace’s Liquid Glass aesthetic turns plenty of the interface clear, bringing out the colour of your wallpaper, notably for those who 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 to discover ones that match the colours of the iPhone 17 lineup, or for those who’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 fearful about legibility, decision, and general visible attraction — that picture of your companion or pet might sound good in your iPhone, nevertheless it might 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 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 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 individuals, 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 might 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 the event 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 observe, 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 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 observe 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 dwell on Twitch after they’re cruising down the freeway, for instance.