iPhone in the car: improvements to CarPlay and navigation in iOS 18.4
With the next iOS update, Apple is adding some useful features for users who use their iPhone in the car, some of them forced.
Icon from Google Maps on an iPhone: soon to be used as a standard navigation system.
(Image: Mino Surkala / Shutterstock)
The update to iOS 18.4, which is expected in April, will also bring various improvements to the iPhone for a specific target group: car drivers. Apple is no longer tying them to its in-house navigation system, provides more space in the CarPlay interface and has also optimized e-car support –, at least in one important market.
Apple Maps no longer mandatory
Within the EU, iOS 18.4 now makes it possible to specify which app is used by default for navigation – not only by car, but also by public transport, on foot or by bike. There is now also a default setting for navigation in the Apps section. If you want, you can set Google Maps, Sygic or another suitable application here, for example. Apple is doing this because the company is regulated under the EU Commission's Digital Markets Act. The function is therefore not available in other markets. Nevertheless, US users can now (also) set a default app for translations, which Apple implements voluntarily.
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It initially remained unclear whether the default setting also applies to CarPlay. However, there is also a positive change there with iOS 18.4: the number of icons on certain vehicle displays is increased by whole rows or at least columns, depending on the orientation. This is useful because it means you have to scroll less, which is an extremely useful "feature" when you are on the move. On a 9-inch screen, for example, two additional rows of four icons each appeared. How exactly Apple decides this is unclear – Unfortunately, there is apparently no setting option.
Nice store in America
If you are driving an Apple CarPlay-enabled car in the USA, you can also use new routing functions for electric cars. The NACS charging adapter is now supported, so you can now be guided to a Tesla Supercharger in a Ford, for example, which was previously not available for these vehicles. Instructions are available on the US Ford website. It is not yet clear whether the function will also be available in other markets.
Apple has compiled details on the use of e-vehicle navigation in Apple Maps and CarPlay in its support area here. The functions vary depending on the country and region, the company warns.
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