4 CarPlay settings I alter to instantly make it higher

Reflecting a bit, I believe Apple downplays the significance of CarPlay means 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 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 conversant in an space — just lately, building 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 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 dwelling in affordable time.

If want be, CarPlay is usually tremendous 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 need to change, each in your iPhone and your automotive’s dashboard. The tweaks beneath are those I contemplate important as of iOS 26. Your personal preferences could differ, though I encourage you to a minimum of contemplate these concepts.

Deleting and rearranging dwelling 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 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 extra dwelling display pages.

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

Earlier than you get behind the wheel once more, clear up CarPlay by going to Settings > Common > 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 means, they’re going to at all times be on the primary dwelling display web page.

Use the crimson icons to take away as many pointless apps as attainable. Don’t be concerned — you are not uninstalling these out of your iPhone, simply CarPlay. You’ll be able to 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 automotive is off too, however if you reconnect your iPhone, any modifications will sync routinely.

Selecting Darkish and/or Clear look choices

Mild 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 Mild and Darkish themes. This could maintain all the pieces 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 if you’re watching a navigation app.

Personally, although, I discover the Default icons boring to have a look at, and sometimes 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 are not for everybody — there’s even much less distinction than the default, so some drivers could discover themselves searching too lengthy for the fitting icon. Your alternative 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 may be higher than all-dark, on a regular basis.

Selecting wallpaper

Full your customization

Wallpaper would possibly seem to be a trivial factor, however with iOS 26, it will possibly go a great distance in direction of making your automotive really feel like your personal. That is as a result of the replace’s Liquid Glass aesthetic turns quite a lot of the interface clear, bringing out the colour of your wallpaper, notably 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 also needs to have the ability 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 fearful about legibility, decision, and general visible attraction — that picture of your companion or pet may appear good in your iPhone, but it surely might develop 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 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’ll be able to entry any widgets you have got configured by swiping to the left of your own home display.

To get began, you will should go to Settings > Common > CarPlay > [your car] > Widgets in your iPhone. If you happen to 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 primarily based on the time of day. Regardless, you’ll be able to swipe up or down in your in-car widget stack(s) to alter what you are .

That leads me to an necessary be aware, which is that on larger shows, you will see a number of widget stacks without delay. This makes the expertise inherently higher in dearer autos. I am tremendous with that in my very own automotive — 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 once they’re cruising down the freeway, for instance.