Apple upgraded CarPlay in iOS 12 with support for third-party navigation apps including Google Maps and Waze, allowing drivers to use alternatives to Apple Maps for the first time. CarPlay has an even bigger update in iOS 13 with the introduction of Dashboard, new apps, and updates to existing apps.
CarPlay in iOS 13 has several design changes that make the infotainment system feel more like the iPhone X and later. For example, the virtual Home button has been replaced with two icons showing the app launcher or new Dashboard feature. The icon is in the same location (bottom left or right depending on where you’re driving) and works the same with long-presses invoking Siri, but the virtual Home button inspired by the pre-iPhone X era has been retired.
One of the biggest subtle changes to CarPlay in iOS 13 is independent app views, a feature that solves a classic problem with CarPlay. Before iOS 13, CarPlay directly reflected what app was active on your iPhone. If the app on your iPhone wasn’t a CarPlay app, then CarPlay would simply show the Home screen.
Now in iOS 13, CarPlay switches apps independently from iPhone. This solves the classic problem of a driver relying on Maps for navigation while a passenger uses the iPhone for something else — especially if you’re letting your passenger charge their iPhone while you use their navigation. And if you’re the driver, you can rely entirely on CarPlay and leave your iPhone screen off or on the CarPlay screen…
MacDailyNews Take: Tons or screenshots in the full article – check it out. It’s certainly nice to see that staccato-inducing Home button inexorably going the way of the dodo! The X-class gesture UI just makes iOS and iPadOS so much more fast and fluid.
