The time has come, you have treated yourself to a new car, and it has Car Play! You have leveled up and now have a fancy dashboard to control your music.
It can take a little getting used to, but you wonder how you ever lived without it once you are up and running.
But now you have mastered CarPlay; you are wondering, what else can I do? Can CarPlay be customized?
Your questions go unanswered, scared that if you make any adjustments, you will break your CarPlay and be stuck with a crackly radio – yuck!
But do not panic, for we are here today with all your CarPlay customizing questions! Keep reading to find out all you need to know about your CarPlay!
Table of Contents
- What is CarPlay?
- How does CarPlay work?
- Can you change the CarPlay background?
- Can you customize the CarPlay dashboard?
What is CarPlay?
Before we get into it, let’s have a little recap for those in the room who need it!
CarPlay is a handy feature that allows Apple users to connect their phone to their car and control and view some apps through their car’s dashboard media system.
You can control the apps either through your phone or the dashboard, perfect for changing a song or checking the map while you drive!
CarPlay offers you access to your music, maps, messages, phone calls, and more!
The function can read your messages aloud to you, and you can use voice-to-text to dictate your replies, allowing you to keep in contact without having to take your eyes off the road.
You can also use Siri too to control your apps, as well as dictate messages and calls. You can even ask Siri to change the songs, too; welcome to the future!
You don’t need to limit yourself to Apple apps, too; Spotify, Google Maps, Waze, and Whatsapp are available for you to use.
You can customize the apps on your CarPlay, too (more on this later). Sounds great, doesn’t it?
How does CarPlay work?
CarPlay works quite simply. Inserting the lightning cable into your phone will trigger an icon to appear on your car’s dashboard. Once you click on it, your dashboard should look like an iPhone menu.
Your apps will be there for you to select, allowing you to check your messages, make calls, and have directions dictated to you.
A Bluetooth connection will stream the audio from your phone on a technical level, while the cable will provide the navigation data required. It will also charge your phone while you drive, a bonus!
Some manufacturers are using wireless CarPlay in their cars, providing better data transfer rates than the cable. These are not standard yet, but we can expect to see this as the years go on.
CarPlay is easy enough to use too, simply press the app you want to use, and overall they operate the same way your phone does.
The biggest difference is that your messages will be read aloud to you, and you can respond via voice-to-text. After a few uses, you will become an expert!
Can you change the CarPlay background?
Yes, you can change the background of CarPlay, and it is easy to do so! First, plug your phone into the car using the USB to lightning cable or wireless connection and launch CarPlay.
Once launched, click on the app grid at the bottom left corner of the screen.
Select the Settings app; you might need to swipe the screen to locate the app. Launch the Settings app and select the wallpaper option.
There will be several choices of wallpapers that you can choose from that you can preview before you make your final decision.
Once you have selected the wallpaper you like, you can choose to set or cancel it from the button options at the bottom of the screen.
You can even choose between day or night mode, too, for a truly unique experience!
What you cannot do, is use your photo as wallpaper on CarPlay. There is the possibility that this could change as updates are revealed, allowing you to personalize your CarPlay even further.
At present, though, you are unable to use your image for wallpaper on CarPlay.
You don’t need to worry about changing your wallpaper as it will not change the wallpaper on your phone!
That will stay the same with any current wallpaper you have selected, while your car’s dashboard will be set to your new wallpaper.
Can you customize the CarPlay dashboard?
Yes, you can indeed! Customizing your CarPlay dashboard is a simple task to do, and there are plenty of options allowing you to create a dashboard that suits your needs.
The dashboard can be customized in a few short minutes with just your iPhone as a tool!
Remember to customize your dashboard when your car is parked up in a safe space.
It is best not to adjust the dashboard when you are driving, as you could be charged with using your phone when driving (if it is illegal in your state) or lose focus and cause an accident.
To customize your dashboard, open settings on your phone and tap general. Select the CarPlay option, and any vehicles your phone has connected to will pop up.
Click on the correct vehicle, and the screen you see will mirror that on your car’s console or dashboard.
A few options will appear, the top one being ‘customize.’ Select customize, and all the apps present on your display will appear.
From here, you can press down on the icons to move or hide them. You can adjust them so that only the apps you need to use are present.
It is worth noting that some of the apps, such as music and maps, cannot be removed but can be rearranged if needed.
There is also a ‘more apps’ option at the bottom, allowing you to add or adjust the apps if required.
And don’t worry if you make any mistakes; there is a reset button in the top right corner.
If needed, you can hit this if needs be to set your screen to normal and go again with your adjustments.
