4 CarPlay settings I modify to instantly make it higher

Reflecting a bit, I feel Apple downplays the significance of CarPlay approach 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 once we’re driving, however to get the place we have to safely and on-time. That may be true even if you’re acquainted with an space — not too long ago, building lowered a serious 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 fancy detour and make it dwelling in affordable time.

If want be, CarPlay is usually wonderful to make use of instantly after you set it up. However if you need the very best expertise, there are a selection of settings you need to change, each in your iPhone and your automobile’s dashboard. The tweaks under are those I take into account important as of iOS 26. Your personal preferences could fluctuate, though I encourage you to at the very least take into account these concepts.

Deleting and rearranging dwelling 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 if 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 all the pieces else will get shoved into extra dwelling display pages.

There’s additionally no prioritization past pre-installed apps, so when you use Google Maps or Waze as a substitute 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 suitable to rearrange their precedence. As a rule, the apps you utilize most frequently ought to occupy the highest eight spots. That approach, they’re going to all the time be on the primary dwelling display web page.

Use the crimson icons to take away as many pointless apps as doable. Don’t be concerned — you are not uninstalling these out of your iPhone, simply CarPlay. You may 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 if you reconnect your iPhone, any modifications will sync mechanically.

Choosing 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 hold 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 have a look at, and infrequently want 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, 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 suitable 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 may 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 will probably go a good distance in the direction of making your automobile really feel like your personal. That is as a result of the replace’s Liquid Glass aesthetic turns a whole lot of the interface clear, bringing out the colour of your wallpaper, notably when 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 be capable of discover ones that match the colours of the iPhone 17 lineup, or when 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 most likely as a result of the corporate is frightened about legibility, decision, and total visible enchantment — that picture of your companion or pet might sound good in your iPhone, but it surely might 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 photos added to CarPlay, at a minimal. Some type of monotone filter possibility would possibly assist with extra chaotic photos.

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 after they’re miles away from their storage shall be an actual time saver. On most sprint shows, you may entry any widgets you may have configured by swiping to the left of your own home display.

To get began, you will must go to Settings > Common > 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 vary what you are taking a look at.

That leads me to an essential notice, which is that on greater shows, you will see a number of widget stacks directly. This makes the expertise inherently higher in dearer automobiles. I am wonderful 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 regularly, however checking my Apple Watch’s energy can most likely wait till I’ve arrived at my vacation spot.

One other notice is that whereas a stunning variety of third-party widgets can be found, many of those are most likely 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.