4 CarPlay settings I alter 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, 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 once we’re driving, however to get the place we have to safely and on-time. That may be true even whenever you’re conversant in an space — just lately, building diminished a significant 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 instantly 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 usually superb to make use of instantly after you set it up. However if you would like the perfect expertise, there are a selection 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 individual preferences could fluctuate, though I encourage you to not less than think about these concepts.

Deleting and rearranging residence display apps

Effectivity issues on the street

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

There’s additionally no prioritization past pre-installed apps, so in the event you use Google Maps or Waze as a substitute of Apple Maps, you may need to swipe to a second or third residence display each time you need to navigate someplace. That is annoying sufficient whenever you’re parked, and a dangerous distraction whenever you’re on the street.

Earlier than you get behind the wheel once more, clear up CarPlay by going to Settings > Normal > 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 employ most frequently ought to occupy the highest eight spots. That approach, they’re going to all the time be on the primary residence display web page.

Use the crimson 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 possibly can 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 whenever you reconnect your iPhone, any adjustments will sync robotically.

Choosing Darkish and/or Clear look choices

Mild 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 Mild and Darkish themes. This could maintain every thing discernible in shiny 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 whenever you’re looking at 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 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 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 may appear to be a trivial factor, however with iOS 26, it could possibly go a good distance in the direction of making your automobile really feel like your individual. That is as a result of the replace’s Liquid Glass aesthetic turns a number 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 whenever 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 apprehensive about legibility, decision, and general visible attraction — that picture of your associate or pet may appear good in your iPhone, nevertheless it may turn out to be 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 robotically crop and scale photos added to CarPlay, at a minimal. Some kind of monotone filter choice may assist with extra chaotic photos.

The more cash you could 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 enable 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 possibly can entry any widgets you could have configured by swiping to the left of your house display.

To get began, you will should go to Settings > Normal > CarPlay > [your car] > Widgets in your iPhone. In the event you add a number of widgets, you possibly can 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 possibly can 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 observe, which is that on greater shows, you will see a number of widget stacks without delay. This makes the expertise inherently higher in costlier automobiles. I am superb 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 have to 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 whenever you’re driving. Nobody actually must know who’s dwell on Twitch after they’re cruising down the freeway, for instance.