iOS 14: Everything To Know About The New CarPlay Features

Apple's updates to many iPhone features in iOS 14 include a slew of improvements for CarPlay. These changes may seem minor, but they are designed to enhance the overall driving experience when using Apple's platform.

Some of the improvements to CarPlay seem to mirror what Apple did to the iPhone experience in iOS 14. Some, however, are specific to the iPhone maker's car platform. Here's a quick look at some new features.

Change background Images

After iOS 14 gave iPhone users more ways to customize the Home Screen, CarPlay now allows users to change the background. But it won't let users choose just any photo they want. It will simply let users select from a small number of existing background images. The new wallpapers would change the way CarPlay looks and make app icons more visible.

Siri enhancements

Apple added a host of improvements to Siri in iOS 14, some of which have made their way to CarPlay.

CarPlay users will now be able to see other things on the screen even when Siri is interacting with them. This is because of the new compact interface similar to the one on the iPhone. Siri interactions are now limited to a small part of the screen.

Users can also ask Siri to share ETAs to people in their Contacts list. Users who are navigating on the road can ask Siri to share their ETA with someone simply by saying it. The digital assistant will also automatically update the ETA in the event that the user gets stuck in traffic or gets delayed for some reason. Users don't need to tap on the screen to do this anymore.

Users can also tell Siri to send audio messages to contacts. All users need to do is to invoke Siri, tell it to send an audio message to the name of the person in their contacts and say what they want Siri to send when prompted.

Route planning

Users who download apps from their car manufacturers can connect them to CarPlay in order to be able to plan routes more efficiently. For example, those who use electric vehicles can use Apple Maps, CarPlay and their car manufacturer's app to plan routes indicating charging stops. The apps can also be used to monitor the vehicle's charge.

New app categories

Apple also introduces the new Parking and Quick Food Ordering app categories for CarPlay. These apps will help users find parking spaces in their target destination and order food ahead of time so that it's ready when they arrive.