iOS 18.4 Includes a Small But Useful Change for CarPlay - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 18.4 Includes a Small But Useful Change for CarPlay

by

The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay.

ios 18 4 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.

Related Roundup: CarPlay
Related Forums: HomePod, HomeKit, CarPlay, Home & Auto Technology, iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

Rivian Explains Why CarPlay Debate Will Become Completely Obsolete Feature

iOS 27 Adds Major New Feature to CarPlay

Wednesday June 17, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Last year, Apple revealed that it was planning to allow CarPlay users to watch video via AirPlay in their vehicles while they are not driving, and the company finally provided more specific details about this functionality at WWDC 2026. In a WWDC 2026 video aimed at developers, Apple said the CarPlay video feature is available in new vehicles that support it. When playing a video in an...
Read Full Article
Waze logo

5 New Waze Features Rolling Out Now: Here Are All the Details

Monday July 13, 2026 3:42 am PDT by
Google today announced that Waze is getting a handful of new features, including some Gemini-powered personalization enhancements for Conversational Reporting. Conversational Reporting already uses Gemini when users report traffic incidents like slowdowns, but now you can use it to suggest map updates like road closures or outdated addresses. Saying something like "The road is closed here"...
Read Full Article • 51 comments
apple back to school sans airpods 2

Apple's 2026 Back to School Offer is Coming Soon

Sunday July 12, 2026 7:29 am PDT by
Apple's stores will be rolling out Back to School marketing materials this week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. This suggests that the offer will begin in the U.S. in the next few days. Last year, college students and educational staff could receive a free accessory like AirPods 4 or an Apple Pencil Pro with the purchase of a qualifying Mac or iPad model. The Back to School offer is in...
Read Full Article • 16 comments

Top Rated Comments

WarmWinterHat Avatar
WarmWinterHat
18 months ago
That's cool, but I can't find enough useful CarPlay apps to fill up one screen.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I
ignatius345
18 months ago

So much wasted space on the current carplay layout with the large icons and huge gaps between the icons...
It's spaced out for a reason. You're reaching out a fair distance with one hand in a vehicle that may or may not be bouncing around, and often only looking at it for a second or two. All that points to a design with less information density and more visual and physical separation between UI elements.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kobayagi Avatar
Kobayagi
18 months ago
Why is this not something that is customizable by the user?

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.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
tomdar2
18 months ago
Find My should be on Car Play. How it isn’t is baffling.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I
imac9556
18 months ago

What do the arrows in the upper left corner do?
In my Lexus/Toyota it makes the screen smaller by a little so the car toolbar will always be visible even if CarPlay is up. (see example)

Attachment Image
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SkippyThorson Avatar
SkippyThorson
18 months ago

Why would you need that? Your phone is literally right there in the car with you, and if you need to track down your AirPods or whatever, you can easily pick it up when you're stopped and do just that. There are already waaayyy too many people pulling boneheaded distracted driving crap without Apple putting toys on the big shiny screen on the dashboard.
Here's a primary example:
With a couple of taps, you're in Find My, select your out of town relative, request directions.
Boom, you're on the highway to Grandmother's house.

Here's another:
Where does my AirTag for my wallet say it is?
Oh crap, that little shop we hit after the restaurant.
Tap, directions back to my wallet without an address.

Just because something doesn't work for you, doesn't mean it doesn't work for someone else.
The point of CarPlay is to leave the phone down in the console or in your pocket.
If you can pick up your phone for all of those features, what is CarPlay's purpose at all then; by your logic?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments