iOS 27: 8+ New CarPlay Features

[Heyitsgabe]

Not really. I can pinch and drag in my car on my friend's Android Auto but not in carplay. I can't listen to whatsapp audio messages or reply with audio either. Android let's you play, replay and even transcribes on screen while you are listening / recording.
I'm jealous

It also depends on what the manufacturer allows CarPlay to do. Ford loves CarPlay so probably why is works there.

 

[Smith288]

Do you leave all your personal information in the car after you leave? Rental cars always have multiple users stored data available for perusal.

No they dont. Unless the stupid user approved the transfer of contacts to the car's memory.

 

[Smith288]

“Hey Grok” what’s the weather in my location?

MyRadar?

 

[wonderings]

Note there is a gesture that pre-dates pinch-to-zoom: double-tap-and-drag either up or down. This is much easier than hitting the plus/minus zoom buttons and it think has worked in every car I’ve tried.

Interesting! I am going to give this a try when I head home today. Not as intuitive as the pinch but still way better than using the onscreen buttons.

 

[Ori]

With iOS 27, Apple is introducing several CarPlay features that will improve your in-car experience, both when you're driving and when you're idle in the car. From new video experiences to Siri AI, there are multiple new options to look forward to.

Video Apps

CarPlay apps can include video browsing capabilities, so you can browse for and watch videos on your in-car display while parked. The video playback feature does not work when a car is in motion for safety reasons, but if you're watching something and shift into drive, playback will switch to audio only.

iPhone apps that support AirPlay can also stream content to the car's display.

Video apps require car manufacturers to enable support on the vehicle, and no automakers have announced plans to add support as of now. The Apple TV app is the first confirmed app that will work with the feature.

Siri AI

Apple's smarter, more capable version of Siri can be used in the car for hands-free conversations. Siri AI for CarPlay works like Siri AI on other devices, so you can ask it to complete tasks or find information for you while you drive.

Conversations in CarPlay sync to the Siri app on iPhone so you can pick them up later.

Audio

There is a persistent mini-player for the Now Playing CarPlay template. The player shows artwork and playback controls in the top right corner of audio and media apps.

The Now Playing interface in CarPlay also has a progress bar, so you can jump to a specific spot in a song, podcast, or audiobook.

Wallpapers

CarPlay includes the new iOS 27 wallpapers, formatted for the CarPlay interface. The wallpapers have wave-style designs in a range of colors, with 14 total options available.

CarPlay in iOS 27 also supports larger, more interactive content thumbnails, and it uses the updated Liquid Glass icons for apps like Maps and Weather.

Route Data

Navigation apps like Apple Maps and Google Maps can share route data with a vehicle for adding information like EV charging stops in directions. The car can check a map route against the range of the vehicle, and suggest a charging stop.

Reliability and Location Accuracy

Apple says wireless CarPlay is more reliable in iOS 27, with improved GPS location accuracy and navigation heading detection.

Voice Control

All app categories are can now offer a voice control option, and Apple has designed a voice control template that can be integrated into apps for voice conversations.

Natural Language Improvements

In Apple Maps, Apple extended natural language search to navigation, and that also works with CarPlay. You can ask Siri for directions that avoid toll roads, highways, and more.

Compatibility

Using the new CarPlay features in iOS 27 requires a connected iPhone with iOS 27 installed. For Siri AI, you'll need an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, which includes the iPhone 15 Pro and later.

Availability

iOS 27 is available to developers and public beta testers right now, with a public launch expected in September.

Article Link: iOS 27: 8+ New CarPlay Features

I’ve had so many bugs being intruced with updates.
CarPlay on my bmw is now so poor.
Track lists don’t show up anymore on the car display. Just says “please wait”
Last dialled phone numbers or received calls just show numbers and not the names anymore (on the car display). On the CarPlay display it all works.
Basically, call history no longer syncs with the car. Track lists don’t sync with the car.

This all used to work fine.

 

[TilenS]

Few of my Apple CarPlay wishlist:

• Dashcam support — record, sync, and store footage straight to iPhone
• True home screen customization: custom widgets, moving/rearranging apps, personal layouts
• Shortcuts and Action Button integration, plus deeper HomeKit control from the car
• Better third-party AI apps in CarPlay, not just Siri
• More live road trip info: traffic incidents, gas/charging prices, rest stop info, weather along the route
• Ability to connect an iPad via CarPlay
• Ability to use an iPhone or tablet itself as a CarPlay display (for cars without a built-in screen)

 

[IJ Reilly]

They are requiring the car to tell Carplay when the car is parked, taking the phone completely out of the equation. The car manufacturer has to support the function though, so not sure the functionality will ever appear in the real world!

Could be, but this would be surprising, given that CarPlay currently exchanges only very limited information with onboard systems (state of charge for EVs is it, AFAIK), and supports this on only a small number of car models.

 

[TVreporter]

… I’ve got a 2022 F-150 with the 12” screen. Pinch to zoom doesn’t work on Waze, Apple or Google Maps.

Works fine on my 2018 F-150. Maybe Ford changed something?

 

[eduardodfj]

If you already bought the car though, they have no financial incentive to update it.

That's good, because why would I want to enter the updates' rat race, with my car? I want things to work with the least maintenance work from my side that is possible. At most, give me significant new features every 5 or 8 years and I'll gladly pay for it but for Christ's sake stop the continuous nagging for the most insignificant novelty. For cars, computers, phones, etc.

 

[Big_D]

I didn't even know that anything on my 2017 CarPlay-enabled car needed the car maker to ever do anything! I thought any new CarPlay features came from updates on my iPhone.

It really depends on the feature, if it is a safety feature that requires the vehicle to tell CarPlay that it is safe to perform the actions of that feature (i.e. the car is in Park, and to tell CarPlay the instant the driver puts the car into gear, probably handbrake on and in neutral on a manual), most other stuff will probably come in the updates on the iPhone. Although it looks like pinch-to-zoom is also a feature controlled by the car side of the equation.

 

[Big_D]

That depends on multi-touch support on the screen itself. There IS a good gesture you can use to zoom in and out without hitting those tiny +/– buttons:

Double-tap the map, but don't lift your finger the second time, then drag your finger up/down to zoom in/out. Basically it's tap-tap hold, drag. (I'm doing a crap job of describing it, but you can also practice on your iPhone, where it also works.)

Nice tip, but I think it is up to the manufacturer to implement the pinch-to-zoom in CarPlay. My Tavascan has pinch-to-zoom on the in-built navigation software and works well, and fairly smoothly, but CarPlay doesn't allow pinch to zoom, so the screen supports it, but it isn't implemented in CarPlay.

 

[Big_D]

That video playback feature is going to be woefully supported by manufacturers because the brands outfitting their vehicles with high quality infotainment systems that would adequately playback video have already have deals with Disney+, Netflix, etc to provide apps for their infotainment OS.

Yes, Stilantis and Renault/Nissan have switched to Android Automotive OS for many of their models, which brings apps and YouTube native to the car, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and many of the Chinese manufacturers are offering YT, Netflix etc. as native apps as well, and some of them are also switching to Android Automotive OS as well. VWAG are switching to Android Automotive OS as well, I believe, but it won't be an upgrade for existing models, because it requires different hardware, my 2025 Tavascan has 5.4.0 at the moment and should get 5.6 at some point, but the 6.0, which, I think, is Android Automotive, requires new hardware, that was also the case on older models on v3 or 4, they didn't get the 5 series software either...

For those who use it, how is Apple CarPlay these days? My wife can use it in her 2023 Mercedes SUV, but it has to be hard wired in, which is ridiculous.

With my Tavascan, I simply paired the phone over Bluetooth, selected CarPlay integration and allowed it on the phone, now, every time I get into the car, the phone connects automatically and CarPlay is available. It even displays the "Now Playing" as a widget on the home screen. If I left the vehicle in CarPlay mode, it springs back in, but I spend 90% of the time in native mode, with CarPlay in widgets, switching to CarPlay to switch audio etc.

 

[Samplasion]

It's my understanding those wired to wireless CarPlay adapters (I use one myself in my 2017 Hyundai Azera) require CarPlay to already exist. That would say that the OEM CarPlay is still in play somehow and the wireless widgets just do some sort of conversion.

Yes, the car has to have some sort of CarPlay receiver, be it an app on the existing infotainment system or an aftermarket unit. But the transceiver can totally decide which metrics to send along between the car and the phone, and which ones to block, at least if it works the way I think it does.

If my understanding is correct, CarPlay is just the combination of screen+protocol, so an intermediary can "impersonate" any feature of a car simply by pretending to send the correct messages to the phone.

 

[Big_D]

That's good, because why would I want to enter the updates' rat race, with my car? I want things to work with the least maintenance work from my side that is possible. At most, give me significant new features every 5 or 8 years and I'll gladly pay for it but for Christ's sake stop the continuous nagging for the most insignificant novelty. For cars, computers, phones, etc.

Then don't buy a modern car. They are all online, so they need regular security updates at the very least!

 

[IJ Reilly]

Yes, the car has to have some sort of CarPlay receiver, be it an app on the existing infotainment system or an aftermarket unit. But the transceiver can totally decide which metrics to send along between the car and the phone, and which ones to block, at least if it works the way I think it does.

If my understanding is correct, CarPlay is just the combination of screen+protocol, so an intermediary can "impersonate" any feature of a car simply by pretending to send the correct messages to the phone.

It doesn't work that way. CarPlay is a video projection on top the car's native infotainment system. The phone effectively uses the screen in your car as a connected monitor. It's also very similar to AirPlay. With few exceptions, allowing your phone to project video on the screen (and pass through audio) is the extent of the conversation between your phone and your car. One exception: a few EVs pass battery SoC to the iPhone so it can be used for route planning in Maps. My Mustang Mach-e does. Perhaps the carmakers could supply more car-based data to CarPlay, but to my knowledge, that's it, so far.

CarPlay Ultra seems to be a lot more sophisticated, but very few carmakers are offering it.