The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay.
As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped with up to a 14-inch screen.
In our testing, CarPlay still showed two rows of four icons in a Honda Civic with a 9-inch screen.
While this is only a minor change, CarPlay showing more icons when possible is a nice quality-of-life improvement for Apple's phone mirroring system, allowing drivers to quickly access more apps with less swiping between pages.
Following beta testing, iOS 18.4 is expected to be released to the public in early April.
Top Rated Comments
All these cars have different screen sizes and orientations. Why not let users add more columns and/or rows and change their size too? So if you just want a few big ones that are easier to press or more if that's your thing...
It's crazy how little customization Apple allows on things that could actually make it more user friendly and more importantly: safe, since you're using the screen while driving.
My dad has CarPlay in his Lexus and I use CarPlay when we go on long drives so I’m glad that Apple has made it better by offering an extra row of application icons on the display
I hope that more cars implement wireless CarPlay in the future as my dad’s car does not have wireless CarPlay so I have to use an adapter to get it to be wireless - it would be nice if Apple made their own adapter to allow people to use wireless CarPlay (if it’s not already built into their cars)