Apple CarPlay will now support 3rd party maps

The next version of the Apple's mobile operating system - iOS 12, will support 3rd-party navigation apps like Google Maps and Waze. The announcement came at the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) held from June 4 - June 8 this year.

Apple CarPlay allows the car's infotainment system / head unit to act as a display and controls the connected iPhone using the existing buttons in the car. Software is run on the phone and CarPlay uses only the display and hardware interface of the car's system. At present, CarPlay supports only Apple Maps. However, navigation via Apple Maps is not available in many places including India. On the other hand, rival Android Auto supports Google Maps, which is considered as one of the better navigation systems.

CarPlay is available on all iPhone 5 and later models with at least iOS 7.1.

The CarPlay system was rolled out in 2014, with an aim to provide safer interactions with a mobile device when driving. Users can control CarPlay from the car’s native interface or just push-and-hold the voice control button on the steering wheel to activate Siri without distraction. In India, manufacturers including Ford, Maruti, Mercedes, Hyundai, and others provide Apple CarPlay compatible infotainment systems in their cars.