CarPlay’s iOS 18.4 upgrades hint at a promising new trend

CarPlay is used and loved by millions of iPhone owners. And while the wait for CarPlay 2 keeps getting longer, iOS 18.4 and other recent updates hint at a promising CarPlay trend.

CarPlay 1.0 is slowly getting better, with iOS 18.4 bringing the latest upgrades

For an iOS feature that’s used by so many iPhone owners, CarPlay’s update cadence in the last few years has been lacking.

After Apple announced its “next generation of CarPlay” back in 2022 alongside iOS 16, the company seemed to invest very little into improving the existing CarPlay system.

We’ve gotten app updates and wallpapers coordinated with new iOS versions, but not much else.

Recently though, albeit slowly, that’s started to change.

iOS 18.4, for example, adds a few nice CarPlay upgrades:

1. Vehicles with large screens now support three rows of app icons, up from two
2. Sports apps can offer CarPlay versions
3. and in the EU, Google Maps can be set as the default navigation app

These upgrades, alongside CarPlay’s iOS 18.1 AI-related features and NACS change, signal a possible new trend.

Apple seems ready to invest a little more in the current CarPlay 1.0 system.

Is Apple planning a new path for CarPlay’s future?

After CarPlay 2 failed to hit its 2024 shipping deadline, I wrote that Apple should reboot CarPlay’s “next generation” as an upgraded version of the current system.

CarPlay 2, as Apple envisioned it, involves deep buy-in from auto manufacturers. Essentially, Apple wants control of more vehicle elements than just the infotainment screen.

But even after years of waiting, when CarPlay 2 does arrive it will only be available to a fraction of current CarPlay users—those who buy a fancy new car that supports it.

Leaks of various CarPlay 2 elements have shown that Apple could make positive upgrades to the current CarPlay system now.

For example, images revealed some of the customizable widgets CarPlay 2 will bring to the vehicle.

Is there a reason widgets have to be exclusive to pricey new vehicles as part of CarPlay 2? Couldn’t Apple offer them as part of the current CarPlay experience?

I may be overly optimistic, but Apple’s recent updates to CarPlay as part of iOS 18 have me wondering if that’s now become the plan.

Even as work continues on the full CarPlay 2 vision, maybe Apple’s decided to start bringing relevant features to the existing CarPlay experience too.

We’re just two months from iOS 19’s unveiling. Could the big new design extend to CarPlay? Maybe with widgets as a part of it?

That may be asking a lot. But with the first CarPlay 2 vehicles MIA, it would be great news if Apple is planning a long-overdue pivot.

Do you think Apple’s plans for CarPlay have changed, and we might get more new features moving forward? Let us know in the comments.

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