A New Big App Is Launching on CarPlay

The driver interface of Uber is currently exclusive to mobile devices. This means drivers need to pick up their phones whenever they want to view and accept trips, despite their vehicles offering CarPlay.

The new update, which is already live for some users and is expected to reach the broad availability phase by the end of the month, brings the full capabilities to the bigger screen in the cabin. This includes not only support for managing trips, but also accessing map data to see where the current demand levels are higher.

CarPlay integration for the Uber app has long been a top feature request. People familiar with the matter originally said the feature was on the roadmap back in 2022, but the company so far remained tight-lipped on everything related to this update.

Uber started reaching out to drivers to inform them about the CarPlay support via email in early February, but for now, the company seems to stick with a gradual rollout of the feature.

The CarPlay support in an app like Uber makes perfect sense. Drivers would no longer have to look at their mobile phones, occasionally being forced to interact with the app while in motion to add rides to their queues. Thanks to the new update, all the information will be displayed on CarPlay, so Uber not only brings a boost of convenience to drivers, but also makes the experience overall safer.

Using Uber on CarPlay isn’t exactly as straightforward as in the case of other apps, as drivers first need to launch the software on their smartphones. Uber tells drivers to fire up the application on the iPhone, go online, and only then connect the mobile device to the head unit to use the CarPlay interface.

Once all steps are completed, the Uber app shows up on CarPlay, with a small notification in the lower part of the screen telling them if they are online or not.

The rollout of the new feature kicked off in the United States, but eventually, Uber should bring it to all drivers out there regardless of their region. The company hasn’t released an official announcement on this front, but according to a report, emails are being sent as availability improves.

While Uber should be coming to Android Auto as well, no information on this front exists. Mirroring the Uber app on Android Auto is indeed possible using a rather complex approach, so an update to also include support for Google’s car-optimized platform would help address all the bugs that drivers are hitting when turning to this solution.