I haven't seen any news regarding the next evolution of CarPlay, features, changes, etc. Although Apple keeps the cards close to the chest, I'm wondering if there's any information more than rumors of what could be coming next for CarPlay.
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CarPlay What's next for CarPlay?
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I wouldn't mind if they held off on new features and concentrated on bugs.
I have used CarPlay since 2015, and while the bugs have gotten better, the experience could be a lot better if the bugs went away. A key point of CP is to keep the driver's hands on the iPhone while driving, but there is many times that I have to unlock and/or restart my iPhone to get CarPlay working correctly.
I have used CarPlay since 2015, and while the bugs have gotten better, the experience could be a lot better if the bugs went away. A key point of CP is to keep the driver's hands on the iPhone while driving, but there is many times that I have to unlock and/or restart my iPhone to get CarPlay working correctly.
I wish I could say the same.
Like I said, I have been using CarPlay since 2015 with two different aftermarket head units, a factory head unit, and a couple different iPhones, and while it is better than it was under iOS 9, it still has bugs.
I think many of them are related to third-party apps like pandora, but some global ones too.
One bug that is currently really annoying that I experience a few times a week is where music from any app will only play for about 3 seconds before pausing itself.
A restart of the phone will fix it, but is very inconvenient.
My gripes with it center around features. I don't like the lack of better controls for audiobooks, and how barebones the screen is when listening to music.
Regarding bugs, on our GMC we've had a few instances where we've had to reconnect the Lightning cable a few times to get it to recognize, but after it's connected, it's fine. It's rare, though. On my Audi, once in a while it just kills the connection, and the only way for me to get CarPlay back is after a system restart of the MMI.
I don't use it anymore in the Audi, I just use Bluetooth streaming but I still prefer it over the GMC UI.
Regarding bugs, on our GMC we've had a few instances where we've had to reconnect the Lightning cable a few times to get it to recognize, but after it's connected, it's fine. It's rare, though. On my Audi, once in a while it just kills the connection, and the only way for me to get CarPlay back is after a system restart of the MMI.
I don't use it anymore in the Audi, I just use Bluetooth streaming but I still prefer it over the GMC UI.
The whole point of Carplay though is that there isnt much to interact with as you are meant to be driving not looking at the screen.
I supposed the interface could be modernized a bit. It still has a home button that looks out of place in iOS’ gesture based era. Swiping up from anywhere should take you home.
As for additional features, I’d like to see more of the car’s functions migrated into the CarPlay UI, rather than throwing you into a completely different UI to control things like AC and the car stereo. Apple should create their own apps for A/C and heating, radio, driver preferences with an API that car manufacturers can add their car functions to, so they can be access from within CarPlay. Car information like speed, fuel consumption, odometer, etc can be displayed in the CarPlay UI as well.
As for additional features, I’d like to see more of the car’s functions migrated into the CarPlay UI, rather than throwing you into a completely different UI to control things like AC and the car stereo. Apple should create their own apps for A/C and heating, radio, driver preferences with an API that car manufacturers can add their car functions to, so they can be access from within CarPlay. Car information like speed, fuel consumption, odometer, etc can be displayed in the CarPlay UI as well.
I’d just like a audio alert when a text message comes, instead of having to keep looking at the CarPlay screen for the visual notification. Definitely doesn’t help the purpose of keeping your eyes on the road.
I would love to see Apple allow apps like weather on the CarPlay interface. Imagine Carrot Weather in a section of the screen.
On my wife's 2019 Ford Edge the native interface is split into three sections - a large left half of the scree, and two smaller stacked sections on the right side. On the left, it shows the navigation screen; the upper right shows the audio section (radio/etc) and the lower right shows the phone connection. I would like to see Apple create that kind of interface... especially for the after market head units...
![SYNC-3-Home-Screen.jpg]( "SYNC-3-Home-Screen.jpg")
On my wife's 2019 Ford Edge the native interface is split into three sections - a large left half of the scree, and two smaller stacked sections on the right side. On the left, it shows the navigation screen; the upper right shows the audio section (radio/etc) and the lower right shows the phone connection. I would like to see Apple create that kind of interface... especially for the after market head units...
NO! Just NO!
If you want that, get an Android phone (because that’s exactly where Apple stole those exact gestures from - so much for innovating).
Having a virtual Home Button (exactly like CarPlay has it) is the way to do it, and it can coexist with the gestures to accommodate people that love using their iPhone like an android device.
Sorry if this is the wrong place for this, I just found this site and registered a few minutes ago - I have a lot of reading and catch-up to do so I apologize if this has already been discussed. I just purchased a 2019 Subaru with CarPlay and I thought I was going to love it but, so far, I'm just frustrated with it. The biggest problem I'm having is that I had a memory stick with all my favorites songs on it that I used to plug into my Jeep Grand Cherokee. So I plugged that into the Subaru and then Apple Carplay won't work. I can use one or the other, but not both.
I have been struggling to find a third party app that will let me stream "my music" through Carplay but the only thing I've found so far is paying for Itunes or Apple Cloud subscription, etc. My husband is very anti-Apple so I am trying not to have a monthly charge show up - I'd rather spare myself the "I told you so's".
Anyone else struggling with this? There are other issues I'm having with CarPlay but after spending some time on this forum I can probably learn more about those. Playing my own music without having to buy them all through Itunes is what I'm challenged with right now.
Thanks in advance.
Sue
I have been struggling to find a third party app that will let me stream "my music" through Carplay but the only thing I've found so far is paying for Itunes or Apple Cloud subscription, etc. My husband is very anti-Apple so I am trying not to have a monthly charge show up - I'd rather spare myself the "I told you so's".
Anyone else struggling with this? There are other issues I'm having with CarPlay but after spending some time on this forum I can probably learn more about those. Playing my own music without having to buy them all through Itunes is what I'm challenged with right now.
Thanks in advance.
Sue
You might want to consider a Spotify account. That’s what I use and it’s integrated with CarPlay and I can also use it with all my non Apple devices as well.
Thank you! I'll look into that right now! I'm not familiar with any music apps since I always have my favorites on a memory stick..... guess it's time to move into the proper decade. 
Sue
Sue
You can add DRM-free music to iTunes, so depending on your songs, you shouldn't have to buy them.
Connect your memory stick to your computer, open iTunes, drag all the songs to iTunes, add the songs to your iPhone.
There are many other options out there if this doesn't work, but I have found Apple's music app to be almost bug-free when using in CarPlay, but this is not the case for the third-party apps.
Thanks, Vertical, but doesn't iTunes have a monthly subscription fee? I have been avoiding that for years and hoped to continue.
Sue
Sue
No, iTunes is free and has been free in its almost 20 year existence.
Apple Music, has a subscription fee, but this isn't needed. I think it is $15 a month, which I have never actually used due to owning a lot of my own music and I use free streaming services like Pandora.
There is also iTunes Match, which is $25 a year, and it just easily syncs all your music to all your devices without a need to connect your device to iTunes. I pay for this one, but it isn't needed for you. This is nice for someone with a lot of devices. Another feature is that Apple matches your song file with one in the iTunes song, and stores the better quality one. It also is nice if you have song song that you got from not-so-legal sources, such as LimeWire, Napster, etc. It basically makes your illegal song file, legal.
I got almost all of my 3000 song collection from old CDs I have been collecting since the 90's. Maybe of them were copied at a lower quality back when hard drive space was an issue. When they were "matched" using iTunes Match service, most of the lower quality songs were replaced with higher quality ones.
But, you really don't need any of that.
iTunes is free, I would just use that.
BTW, copying your songs to iTunes and putting them on your iPhone is really super easy, whether they are on a thumb drive or CD.
That was VERY helpful information, especially the part about songs obtained through other sources.
OK! Then I guess I'm off to do the upload and download on iTunes! Will I be able to listen to "my" music via iTunes and still have Waze telling me where to go? That's the problem I've had with playing music from my phone, once I engage Waze, I lose my music, then have to fiddle with my phone to get the music going again, and that defeats the purpose of not playing with our phones while driving, right?Sue
That was VERY helpful information, especially the part about songs obtained through other sources.
Sue
Yes, I do it every day.
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My wife was mildly anti-Apple when I met her. We were friends for year prior to dating, and I was a big Apple fan during that time.
After we started spending more time together, she would use some of my Apple products I had at my house, and was quickly amazed with how they "just worked". Having used Windows her whole life, she was surprised about how easy the Mac OS was and how stable it was. She like the original ATV, and was really excited about Netflix's streaming service when the ATV2 was released.
She was constantly complaining about her Android phone and hated to use it, so one day, I surprised her with a iPhone 5. She quickly fell in love with it and actually liked using her phone.
She now has her own MacBook Air, and loves using that. She also has a work-provided laptop with Windows, and kind of dreads using that.
Anyways, people can change, even stubborn spouses.
I am not sure what computer OS you use, but if you would like to play your music on CarPlay from your iPhone's music app, check out these how tos:
How to add items to iTunes on Mac
How to add items to iTunes on PC
How to sync music, movies, and more using iTunes on your Mac or PC to your iPhone
Turning on your ringer switch solves that issue unless you don’t have a tone for messages.
What I do, get Waze going, then use button on steering wheel call source to choose audio.That was VERY helpful information, especially the part about songs obtained through other sources.
Sue