# How to Master Apple CarPlay: The Complete Guide for 2023

CarPlay has been around since 2014, so there’s a good chance that you’ve either driven a car with it or been in a car where someone else has been using it. But be honest: beyond using it as a GPS, do you actually know how to use Apple CarPlay? This stock iPhone function is actually really impressive, but you need to know how to get the most out of it. Stick with me until the end of this guide as I show you everything that you can do in Apple CarPlay running on the latest version of iOS 16.

## What Is Apple CarPlay?

When we talk about CarPlay, I’m talking about connecting your iPhone to a compatible car entertainment unit so that you can see a CarPlay dashboard. There are two types of CarPlay connection: wired and wireless. The one you can access will depend on the multimedia units you’re operating.

For example, in our main car, which is a relatively new Audi, we’ve got the option of both wired and wireless connection. In our secondary car, which is a 2008 Ford Focus, we’ve also got the option of both, but that’s because I installed an aftermarket unit which offers both. You’ll need to check your setup to see what options are available to you. Wired is by far the most common.

Regardless of what kind of display you’ve got, the beauty of CarPlay is that it will function exactly the same in any vehicle once you’re connected.

## How to Connect Your iPhone to CarPlay

To connect your phone to your car, you’re either going to connect via a USB to Lightning cable and follow any on-screen instructions on your phone and car, or if you’re using wireless CarPlay, you’ll need to connect via Bluetooth. The exact method of connecting is going to be slightly different for each car and multimedia unit, so you might need to refer to your manufacturer’s instructions.

## Understanding the CarPlay Interface

The entire point of CarPlay is to try and give you a very iPhone-like experience but within your car. That’s pretty clear when you view the main screen—you’ve got very familiar tiles, and tapping on each one will open the relevant app. The dots at the bottom represent the different pages of apps, just like on your other Apple devices, and you can swipe to scroll between the pages.

### The Dashboard View

If you keep swiping from left to right on the screen, you’ll move back pages and eventually you’ll get to a dashboard view. This is where CarPlay will display what it thinks is the most relevant information for you, split into sections. The map will always take up the majority of the display here, but you might also be able to see:

– The track you’re listening to on Apple Music or Spotify
– Your next calendar appointment
– A more detailed explanation about the next turn coming up

If you want to view any of these apps in full-screen mode, simply tap on them. For example, tapping on the map section of the dashboard will jump you into the Maps app in its entirety, and you can then tap the dashboard button to get back to the dashboard.

Your most recent three apps will show here as well, along with the time, your current cell signal, and battery status (if you’re using CarPlay wirelessly or if your connected phone is charging). The little person icon represents your current Focus mode.

## Using Siri with CarPlay

Obviously, when driving, the most important thing is that you’re keeping your hands on the steering wheel and your eyes on the road. In general, you’re going to be using Siri a lot while you’re using CarPlay. You can input things using the keyboard, although your access to this is going to vary from vehicle to vehicle and whether you’re driving or not. Some car manufacturers will remove the ability for you to use the keyboard while the vehicle is in motion.

### Accessing Siri

You can access Siri at any time while you’re driving using several methods:

1. **Voice activation**: If you’ve got the trigger phrase enabled (“Hey Siri”), you can say this while driving and Siri will respond
2. **Dashboard button**: Press and hold the dashboard button on your car’s entertainment screen for a second
3. **Steering wheel button**: If you’ve got a voice control button on your steering wheel, tap and hold that for a moment

## Navigation with CarPlay

### Using Voice Commands for Navigation

In terms of navigation, you can be specific and ask Siri to direct you to a certain location, or you can search. You could:

– Ask for directions to a specific shop or business in a particular town
– Request directions to a specific postal or ZIP code or full residential address
– Ask for directions to a contact (if you’ve got an address stored against a contact)
– Find places to go for coffee near where you are
– Find a nearby gas station or petrol station
– Search for EV chargers near your location (if you own an electric vehicle)
– Get directions home or to work (if your phone knows these addresses)

### Understanding the Map Interface

For this example, I’ve asked CarPlay to find me a route from my current location. You’ll notice on the map you’ve got a route marked out in a deep blue color, but if there are other routes available to your chosen destination, those would show in a lighter shade of blue. You can tap on the different routes to choose one.

CarPlay will typically choose the route that requires the least amount of time to get you to your location, but you can see that you’ve always got the option to choose an alternative route if one’s available. If a route involves tolls or similar costs, that route will be marked with a currency symbol to let you know.

At the bottom of the screen, you can see your estimated arrival time, the time to get there, and the distance. This will update in real-time as you’re traveling, so if you hit traffic or the system sees that you’re about to, this will fluctuate accordingly.

### Map View Options

Once on the route, you’ve got a few different buttons that will change various settings:

– **Compass arrow icon**: Gives you the detailed 3D map view with turn-by-turn directions
– **Squiggly line icon**: Shows a point A to point B view, zooming out to show the route in its entirety in 2D
– **Plus and minus buttons**: Zoom in and out of the map
– **Touch controls**: If your screen is touch-sensitive, you can swipe to move around the map

### Additional Route Options

While on the route, you can tap on the upward-pointing arrow in the ETA section to access additional options:

– Share your ETA with someone via text message
– Add a stop to your route
– Report a crash, hazard, or speed check

### Audio Settings

The audio button allows you to choose how much Siri should speak out turn-by-turn directions to you. You can choose between:

– Directions being spoken
– Everything being muted
– Just having important messages and warnings being spoken

I’d recommend that if you prefer not to have directions spoken out, at least have the important messages enabled, as Maps can now include warnings of things like hazards in the road, broken-down vehicles, and speed cameras.

## Communication Features

### Making Calls

If you want to call someone, simply ask Siri to call that person. If they have multiple phone numbers (like a work phone and an iPhone), you can specify which number you’d like to call.

### Sending Messages

You can send someone a message, and you can do it via third-party apps, not just Apple Messages. What’s quite handy here is that your iPhone will recommend a preferred method of sending a text based on what you usually do. For example, if you typically message someone using WhatsApp, Siri will ask if you’d like to use WhatsApp for the message.

You can also send an audio message from the car if you like, although I believe this only works via Apple Messages. You would simply say “send an audio message to [whoever]” rather than “send a message to,” and your phone will begin recording you speaking.

## Setting Reminders

You can set reminders while you’re driving. This is super helpful, especially if you’re driving alone. If you think of something and want to be reminded about it later, simply access Siri and ask it to remind you of whatever the thing is.

A practical example: whenever you use a paid crossing, you can immediately access Siri and say “remind me to pay the [crossing name] charge tonight at 7 PM,” and it will remind you at that time.

## Entertainment Controls

For entertainment purposes, I find it best if you specify the type of media you want to listen to. Examples:

– “Play the latest episode of the [podcast name] podcast”
– “Play the album [album name] by [artist]”
– “Play

on Spotify”

This specificity helps Siri avoid mistaking albums for songs. Your car will default to Apple Music, but you can specify other platforms like Spotify.

## CarPlay Settings and Customization

### iPhone Settings

On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > CarPlay to view CarPlay options for the cars you’ve got set up. Here you can:

– Toggle CarPlay on and off
– Forget the connection with a car
– Customize app availability and order
– Enable or disable apps
– Change the order of apps as they appear on the CarPlay screen

### In-Car Settings

From your car, you can choose settings to:

– Switch you’re driving focus on or off
– Choose how Siri should announce messages when received while using CarPlay
– Select appearance (light mode, dark mode, or automatic)
– Choose a wallpaper
– Adjust Siri and suggestions settings
– Show or hide album artwork

## Driving Focus Mode

The driving Focus mode is worth discussing in detail. If you open Settings > Focus > Driving, you can customize you’re driving Focus mode. A Focus mode is essentially a way of changing your iPhone’s look and behaviors during a certain period.

The driving Focus mode is slightly different from other Focus modes in that it won’t allow you to choose apps to override notifications. Essentially, only calls and messages will come through while you’re driving, which is a good safety feature.

You can customize who can contact you while driving by tapping “People” and giving certain people the ability to always contact you or specifically stopping certain people from contacting you.

## Additional CarPlay Tips

### Sharing Your ETA

You can share your ETA (estimated time of arrival) with someone while driving via Siri. Simply access Siri and say “share my ETA with [whoever],” and Siri will send a text message to that person letting them know when to expect you.

### Taking Screenshots

You can take a screenshot of CarPlay if you ever need to. Simply take a screenshot with your connected iPhone the way you normally would, and your phone will take a screenshot of both your phone screen and the connected CarPlay screen. Both will show in your iPhone’s photo library.

### Parking Location Memory

Your car can remember your parking location if you’re using CarPlay. Simply disconnect and walk away, and your phone will remember the last location where it knows you and your car were. It will mark this on Maps as your parked car. Simply open Maps and search for “parked car” to find your way back.

### Alternative Map Apps

There are other map options available besides Apple Maps. These vary based on region, but Google Maps and Waze are the main competitors. Waze is great for user-generated information, while Google Maps is good if you want a satellite view while driving.

It’s also worth checking the App Store for other CarPlay-compatible apps that might be useful in your area.

### Wireless Charging Warning

Be careful with in-car wireless charging. While convenient, wireless charging pads that aren’t properly ventilated can cause your phone to overheat, potentially damaging battery health. If your charging pad gets very hot, consider switching to wired charging instead.

## Apple Watch Integration Tip

One common complaint is the Apple Watch buzzing on your wrist while driving each time you come to a turn. To disable this:

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone
2. Select your watch
3. Scroll down to Maps
4. Ensure turn alerts are disabled for both “Driving” and “Driving with CarPlay”

## Conclusion

That covers everything you need to know about CarPlay in 2023. Apple has announced that a major change is coming to CarPlay later this year, which will bring even more functionality to this already impressive system. For now, these tips should help you get the most out of your current CarPlay experience and make your driving safer and more enjoyable.

Remember, the key to mastering CarPlay is understanding that it’s designed to keep you focused on driving while still providing access to your iPhone’s most important features. Use voice commands whenever possible and take advantage of the safety features like Driving Focus mode to minimize distractions while on the road.

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