CarPlay

For the vast majority of people, CarPlay is a must-have. Apple’s in-car experience provides a vastly superior infotainment experience than most options from carmakers. There’s quick access to your favorite apps, integration with Siri, seamless connectivity, and more.

Here are all of my favorite tips and tricks for making sure you’re getting the most out of your CarPlay experience…

CarPlay has been around for so long that it’s rare to see brand new apps debut from big-name companies. The most noteworthy CarPlay apps have typically been on the platform for years already. But this week, CarPlay got two brand new apps that are big iPhone hits: ChatGPT and Google Meet.

CarPlay in iOS 26.4 unlocked access to a new category of apps: third-party AI assistants like ChatGPT, which just shipped its new CarPlay app yesterday. Here’s why these new apps offer a glimpse at what to expect from iOS 27 and the new Siri.

CarPlay is an excellent Apple feature that brings communication and entertainment apps from your iPhone to the built-in screen in your car. Install supported apps on your iPhone, then they automatically appear on your CarPlay display when you’re connected. Read on for our list of iPhone apps that work with CarPlay.

Last week, Apple released iOS 26.4, which enabled support for voice-based AI apps to CarPlay for the first time.

Just a few days later, OpenAI has updated the ChatGPT app for iPhone to take advantage of this change. Now, ChatGPT is fully accessible via a dedicated CarPlay app.

iOS 26.4 was released today, and with the update CarPlay adds two new features for users, while also laying the groundwork for another big upgrade soon.

Ford’s Mustang Mach-E is one of very few cars with support for Apple Maps EV Routing in CarPlay. The feature helps you plan EV trips by automatically inserting necessary charging stops along your route.

One limitation of Apple Maps EV Routing, however, is that it doesn’t support battery preconditioning. According to Ford, however, this is changing.

EV maker Lucid is bringing Apple CarPlay support to its Gravity SUV starting tomorrow. While Tesla is rumored to be working on Apple CarPlay support, Lucid Gravity makes one more EV model with the iPhone feature first.

Ever wish you could rearrange or delete apps from CarPlay? It turns out you can, although it works differently than rearranging your iPhone Home screen. The trick is in the Settings app on iPhone. Just don’t try to do this while driving. You don’t even need to be connected to CarPlay for it to work.

The last year has been an exciting one for CarPlay, with CarPlay Ultra launching and iOS 26 bringing some of the biggest CarPlay changes in years. Now iOS 26.4 is set to continue this positive trend, showing that CarPlay’s best days may be ahead.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Apple was preparing to update CarPlay with support for voice-based interactions in AI apps like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. As of this week’s release of iOS 26.4 beta 1, that support has officially arrived.

Here’s how it works.

Starting with iOS 26, Apple will officially allow video playback through CarPlay. Released this week in beta, iOS 26.4 appears to be the first version with support, as long as two conditions are met. While CarPlay video playback isn’t ready for users yet, one developer has shown off how it will look as well as how Apple’s TV app looks in the car.

iOS 26.4 is here, at least in beta form, and delving into the code has revealed that Apple is preparing for CarPlay to let you watch videos when parked.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Tesla is still working on adding CarPlay integration to its cars. The automaker, however, reportedly hit “a few hurdles” that it had to ask Apple to fix.

Qobuz, a popular hi-res music streaming service, is out with an all-new CarPlay app this week. The company touts that new CarPlay app offers a “a more robust and streamlined listening experience.”

When Apple moved the iPhone to USB-C, it left behind more than just the Lightning port. New iPhone comes with a USB-C charging cable, but many cars still use USB-A ports for CarPlay. That’s created a gap for drivers: no first-party cable to connect a USB-C iPhone to a USB-A car.

Apple’s official workaround is a $29 USB-C to Lightning adapter. Beats, an Apple brand, offers this USB-A to USB-C cable for half the price that is effectively the official solution for using CarPlay with USB-C iPhones.

Like many people, Apple CarPlay is a must-have feature for me. Having quick access to key iPhone apps via my car’s screen is incredibly convenient. Here are three of my favorite recent CarPlay features.

When Apple previewed “next-generation CarPlay” in 2022, it felt like Apple froze development of the CarPlay version actually used by drivers. Eventually, next-gen CarPlay became CarPlay Ultra, and CarPlay for non-Aston Martin drivers rapidly started to see new improvements again. Now it sounds like that trend will continue either before or as part of iOS 27.

Apple made a major U-turn with CarPlay after a decade of not allowing video playback. Starting with iOS 26, Apple technically allows apps to display video through the CarPlay screen while parked.