When drivers can access their music, navigation apps, and a wide array of other features, all without even touching their mobile devices or taking their eyes off the road, driving is safer and more enjoyable for everyone. Could your business benefit from creating an app for drivers to use? Apple CarPlay, just as Android Auto does for Android users, gives motorists using an iPhone, a fast and convenient way to access the supported apps from their device. These apps can deliver music, messages, news, podcasts, and more, providing a more personal and un-distracted experience for drivers and passengers.
How Does Apple CarPlay Work?
The design of CarPlay is specifically for driving scenarios and is controlled with your voice or your touch. CarPlay overlays itself on top of a car’s factory infotainment system, and the apps on CarPlay have all been updated specifically for the car, so drivers can use them while keeping their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.
The best apps for CarPlay are those that support brief interactions and never command the driver’s attention. The primary focus on CarPlay apps is voice interaction through Siri, enabling drivers to control the app while never taking their hands off the steering wheel or their eyes off the road. If on-screen information needs to be minimal, it needs to be relevant, and it needs to require very little decision making from the driver. Thanks to using familiar iOS interface elements, icons, text appearance, and terminology, CarPlay provides users with a familiar experience that they can use intuitively.
What’s the advantage of Apple CarPlay?
Apple CarPlay is a safer way for drivers to use their iPhone while they drive. Performing many of the same functions as an iPhone, motorists can use CarPlay to navigate, make calls, send and receive text messages, and listen to music or podcasts.
What Can Apple CarPlay Do?
There are over 500 car models that support CarPlay, representing every major automobile manufacturer. Additionally, there are after-market systems that support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while you can also interface through after-market dongles to enable CarPlay and Android Auto to work with unsupported OEM Head Unit in your Car. Although CarPlay works with traditional iOS apps like maps, users can also use third-party apps, including their favorite navigation app. Additionally, CarPlay supports apps developed by car manufacturers, allowing more control of a car’s features. Users can personalize their experience by rearranging how apps appear through a setting on their iPhone.
Some of the third-party apps that are already compatible with CarPlay include Waze, Google Maps, Spotify, SiriusXM, Pandora, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Google Play Music, WhatsApp, CBS Radio, Tidal, and NPR One. In order to be as hands-free as possible, some of the elements in these apps are replaced by voice and dictation for CarPlay use. For example, rather than reading your incoming Messages on the CarPlay display, Siri reads them to you.
For businesses and developers, there are some additional considerations to keep in mind when considering a new app. CarPlay apps need to include support for dynamically-changing screen sizes, irregularly-shaped displays, and the possibility of second screens such as instrument clusters. Since the main point is to reduce distraction, apps need to support integration with Siri for hands-free activation. Locking a user’s iPhone screen when CarPlay is active reduces distractions, although, with iOS13, a user can interact with iPhone apps as well, so it is important to consider design guidelines for multiple displays with un-distracted driving and road safety in mind.
Could your business benefit from an Apple CarPlay App? We can build one for you. At Copper Mobile, we can define, design, develop, dry-run, and deliver the right Apple CarPlay app for your business.
