4 CarPlay settings I alter to instantly make it higher

Reflecting a bit, I believe Apple downplays the significance of CarPlay method 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 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 while 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 site visitors. The primary time I bumped into this, a 20-minute journey out of the blue 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 often superb to make use of instantly after you set it up. However in order for you the very best expertise, there are a variety of settings you must change, each in your iPhone and your automobile’s dashboard. The tweaks beneath are those I think about important as of iOS 26. Your personal preferences might fluctuate, though I encourage you to a minimum of think about these concepts.

Deleting and rearranging residence display screen apps

Effectivity issues on the highway

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

There’s additionally no prioritization past pre-installed apps, so should you use Google Maps or Waze as an alternative of Apple Maps, you might need to swipe to a second or third residence display screen each time you wish to navigate someplace. That is annoying sufficient while you’re parked, and a dangerous distraction while 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 best to rearrange their precedence. As a rule, the apps you employ most frequently ought to occupy the highest eight spots. That method, they’re going to all the time be on the primary residence display screen 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 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 will have to do that whereas your automobile is off too, however while you reconnect your iPhone, any modifications will sync routinely.

Choosing Darkish and/or Clear look choices

Mild might 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 Mild and Darkish themes. This could maintain every little thing 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 while you’re watching a navigation app.

Personally, although, I discover the Default icons boring to have a look at, and infrequently desire 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 don’t seem to be for everybody — there’s even much less distinction than the default, so some drivers might discover themselves looking too lengthy for the best icon. Your alternative of wallpaper might 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 is perhaps 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 might go a great distance in direction of making your automobile really feel like your individual. 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 should 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 must also be capable of discover ones that match the colours of the iPhone 17 lineup, or should you’re fortunate, the inside of your cabin. Go to Settings > Wallpaper while 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 nervous about legibility, decision, and general visible enchantment — that picture of your accomplice or pet may appear good in your iPhone, nevertheless it 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 kind of monotone filter possibility may assist with extra chaotic photographs.

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 folks, the flexibility to lock a door or flip off lights once they’re miles away from their storage might 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 property display screen.

To get began, you may should go to Settings > Common > CarPlay > [your car] > Widgets in your iPhone. Should you add a number of widgets, you possibly can rearrange their order, and/or activate Good 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 alter what you are taking a look at.

That leads me to an essential word, which is that on larger shows, you may see a number of widget stacks without delay. This makes the expertise inherently higher in dearer autos. 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 most likely wait till I’ve arrived at my vacation spot.

One other word is that whereas a stunning variety of third-party widgets can be found, many of those are most likely going to be ineffective while you’re driving. Nobody actually must know who’s dwell on Twitch once they’re cruising down the freeway, for instance.