Less scrolling: iPhone packs more icons into CarPlay – but not everywhere
The first beta of iOS 18.4 comes with a small but significant improvement: Icons are smaller, swiping potentially less.
Apple CarPlay in a car.
(Image: Apple)
The unexpected often happens: users of iOS 18.4, the first beta of which was released last week after a long wait, are also reporting improvements to Apple's iPhone-car integration CarPlay. For the first time, more icons can now be displayed directly on the home screen than before. As simple as this is, it has a major impact on usability: when driving, you have to swipe on the screen less often (or operate a corresponding controller in the vehicle) to access a desired app. Less frequently used programs in particular end up on the second or third page for users, who are then distracted when scrolling, which can lead to unpleasant situations.
Suddenly more icons, but not everywhere
However, as Macrumors reports, the new feature is not available on all CarPlay screens. These already require a certain size, and apparently nothing changes for 9-inch screens. However, if the display is large enough (for Apple), a third row of icons suddenly appears instead of just two. This can then be five more icons. If the screen is oriented differently, i.e. in widescreen format, Apple may also show five icon columns instead of four.
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Unfortunately, Apple does not seem to provide any setting options for deciding for yourself how many icons should be displayed in CarPlay. This is a shame, as you could then decide to live with smaller icons. So you have to rely on the vehicle integration to correctly recognize the screen size and make the adjustment. Perhaps something will change in the course of the beta, iOS 18.4 Beta 1 is by no means complete.
CarPlay 2.0 still on hold
Apple is currently only sporadically working on CarPlay enhancements. The major new version, CarPlay 2.0, was supposed to be launched on the market for the first time in 2024 in collaboration with vehicle manufacturers, but nothing has happened yet. Apple recently announced that the implementation is now likely to take place this year.
"Each car brand will provide more details as they announce their models that will support the next generation of CarPlay," Apple said in its statement. CarPlay 2.0 (or next-generation CarPlay) will be more deeply integrated into the car, enabling vehicle control functions directly via CarPlay, for example, and will also have its own instruments, such as for the speed display.
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