Apple’s new iOS 14 update brings a lot of great changes and additions for Carplay.

Apple’s new iOS 14 update brings a lot of great changes and additions for Carplay.

iOS 14 was officially released September 16th. The big update has been long awaited since it’s announcement earlier this year in June, and barring a few minor issues, has been very well received. Here are a few of the biggest changes coming to Apple CarPlay. 

Wallpapers

iOS 14 has added the option to change the default black wallpaper to something a little more exciting. Users can now choose from five pre-bundled wallpapers included with the update. Don’t get too excited, custom wallpapers are still not available.

This comes as no surprise given Apple’s track record with customization.

New Applications

Apple has opened up the walled-garden ever-so-slightly to allow a few new applications into the CarPlay environment.

Look for new applications related to Electronic Vehicle Charging, Food Delivery and Parking. We’re not yet sure if you can order a pizza from your car like you can with the General Motors and Domino’s collaboration, but we’ll be excited to see what comes in the near future.

EV Charging Maps and Parking applications will be a welcome addition for many urban users.

Improved Siri Functionality

iOS 14 has brought general improvements to Siri across the board and CarPlay is not left out.

Along with these general improvements, you can now send audio messages to your contacts while driving. While this does sound better than dealing with the always-present audio dictation issues, it begs the question “Would anyone really prefer to listen to an audio recording over reading a text message?”

While I’m sure Nan would love to hear my voice, I don’t think my wife is looking forward to making the choice between digging out her headphones and playing my audio clip out loud in the middle of the store.

Horizontal Status Bar

If you have a portrait-style display in your car (like the Dodge RAM 12” Display), you will now have the option of moving your Status Bar to the bottom of your screen.

Improved Messaging and Voice Apps

Look to see general improvements across-the-board when it comes to Messaging and Voice applications.

Many of the other changes within the update help to enhance your existing voice and messaging apps, and you may also see increased functionality with regard to previous conversations and album artwork.

CarKey

CarKey will allow you to use your iPhone to unlock and start your vehicle.

Those are the major changes to expect with the new iOS 14 update. Let us know if you find anything we missed.