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Google Maps finds its way to Apple Watch

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Google Maps on an Apple Watch
Google Maps fans can now get turn-by-turn directions on their Apple Watch.
Photo: Cult of Mac/Google

A version of Google Maps for the Apple Watch starts rolling on Monday. The goal of this app is to allow users to navigate by car, bike, public transit or on foot, without having to look at an iPhone.

Also, Google Maps for Apple’s CarPlay Dashboard got some convenient new features today.

CarKey feature will let you unlock and start your car using iPhone

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CarKey
You can share keys with Messages, too.
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2020

Apple’s car-focused tech got a nifty update at WWDC, letting users start their cars with their iPhone. Announced Monday, Apple’s new CarKey digital car keys feature will allow you to unlock and start select vehicles using NFC technology.

Emily Schubert, Apple’s Engineering Manager for Car Experience showed off the feature, which promises to revolutionize the way you start your vehicle for the 21st century.

How to customize your CarPlay setup and ditch apps you don’t need

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BMW could ditch its pricey annual subscription cost for CarPlay
Don't settle for the default CarPlay layout.
Photo: Sony

CarPlay makes it safe to use some of your favorite iPhone apps on the road, and by default, anything with CarPlay support will automatically appear in your car. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Simplify your experience and make CarPlay even easier to use by customizing your layout and ditching apps you don’t need.

Want to use CarPlay in your classic 1960s Porsche? Now you can

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Classic Porsche CarPlay
Now all I need is the classic Porsche to go with it!
Photo: Porsche

Want to feel like a 1960s spy? Fire up your vintage sports car, take to a winding road in the Swiss alps, and then call up information on your auto’s touchscreen control panel.

Such a thing, once firmly in the realm of fiction, is now possible thanks to a new line of CarPlay radios created by Porsche. Allowing you to kit out cars dating back to the 1960s with high-resolution touchscreens, Bluetooth, DAB+, and Apple’s in-car infotainment system, the head units opens up CarPlay to a whole new audience.

Using CarPlay is more dangerous than texting while driving, study claims

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BMW could ditch its pricey annual subscription cost for CarPlay
CarPlay: good for your infotainment system, not your reaction times.
Photo: Sony

Using Apple’s CarPlay platform in its current state is worse for drivers’ reaction times than being high on weed, at the drink-drive legal limit, or texting behind the wheel, a new study claims.

IAM RoadSmart, the biggest road U.K. safety charity, analyzed the impact of various in-car distractions. While CarPlay may make the experience of using your car’s infotainment system more enjoyable, the group’s research concludes that it certainly won’t make you a better driver.

“The fundamental issue of these systems [is that they require] you to take your eyes off the road ahead,” Neil Greig, policy and research director for IAM RoadSmart, told Cult of Mac. However, Greig said steps could be taken to make systems like CarPlay safer.

iOS 14 could bring CarPlay wallpapers, more Maps improvements

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BMW could ditch its pricey annual subscription cost for CarPlay
Prepare for CarPlay customization.
Photo: Sony

Apple’s big iOS 14 update could bring CarPlay wallpapers for the first time — as well as more Maps improvements, a new report claimed Thursday.

These are the latest snippets in a series of leaks from unreleased iOS 14 code. They come less a week before Apple is scheduled to roll out iPadOS 13.4, another rather significant update that brings true trackpad support to iPad.

Uconnect 5 brings CarPlay to all Fiat Chrysler vehicles in USA

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uconnect
The new Uconnect 5 home screen.
Photo: FCA

Apple’s CarPlay infotainment system is finally coming to all of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) in North America thanks to a little help from Android.

Fiat Chrysler revealed its new Uconnect 5 platform for cars today that is five times faster than the previous version. FCA says Uconnect 5 was built with future growth in mind and comes with support for CarPlay along with Android Auto and Alexa. It’s basically the Swiss-army knife of in-dash infotainment systems.

iPhone 11 owners report audio issues with wireless CarPlay

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Ford-CarPlay
Are you suffering CarPlay problems?
Photo: Ford

A growing number of iPhone 11 owners are reporting audio issues and other strange glitches with wireless CarPlay.

All say the feature worked fine with previous devices, but after upgrading to the latest Apple handsets, they’ve been unable to avoid CarPlay problems. And Apple’s latest iOS updates don’t help.

BMW cancels its ridiculous CarPlay subscription fee for new vehicles

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BMW cancels its ridiculous CarPlay subscription fee
BMW was the only automaker to charge for CarPlay.
Photo: Apple

BMW has confirmed that it is ditching its ridiculous policy of charging an annual subscription fee for Apple’s CarPlay.

Yesterday, I wrote about how BMW was rumored to be getting rid of subscription fees in the UK. Now it seems that BMW has confirmed that the changes are confirmed. And, yes, they cover the US as well.

BMW could ditch its pricey annual subscription for CarPlay

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BMW could ditch its pricey annual subscription cost for CarPlay
No other automotive has charged users a direct subscription fee for CarPlay.
Photo: Sony

BMW might abandon its controversial policy of charging customers an annual fee to use Apple’s CarPlay platform in its vehicles, an automotive publication claims.

According to AutoCar, a BMW representative revealed that CarPlay will be free for life on its newest cars. Owners of older cars can pay a discounted fee in the region of $300 for a lifetime subscription.

Amazon wants to challenge CarPlay and Android Auto

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Connect the Amazon Echo Dot to your existing speaker system, and you bingo! -- your speakers just got smarts.
Amazon wants to move Alexa from the home into our cars.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Amazon is trying to move in on Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto by convincing carmakers to bake in Alexa as an in-car infotainment technology.

According to a new report, Amazon is scaling up its Echo Auto ambitions. It has already convinced BMW and Audi to adopt the tech. It is now supposedly trying to get other automakers to sign up as well.

Sony’s new CarPlay system is big as an iPad

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BMW could ditch its pricey annual subscription cost for CarPlay
BMW could ditch its pricey annual subscription cost for CarPlay
Photo: Sony

Car infotainment systems have grown dramatically in size, and Sony promises one that allows people with older models to upgrade to an 8.95-inch screen. It supports Apple’s CarPlay, so the driver’s iPhone is ready to provide navigation, make calls or play music.

iOS 13 beta 5 arrives along with new tvOS 13 build

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Test shows how much battery Dark Mode will save you on certain iPhones
Test shows how much battery Dark Mode will save you on certain iPhones
Photo: Apple

Developers received a fresh batch of new beta builds this morning in the form of iOS 13 beta 5. Apple seeded the new software updates just under two weeks after the last set of betas came out, bringing fresh changes to mouse support on iPad, smaller quick action menus and tons of bug fixes.

16-inch MacBook Pro details emerge, and the Apple Car lives, this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 398
The all-new 16-inch MacBook Pro could be right around the corner...
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: A new report gives us a price tag and release date for the upcoming 16-inch MacBook Pro. Then: A new hire signals that the Apple Car is far from dead; and there’s finally a way to get podcasts recommendations tailored just for you. Plus, stayed tuned for our favorite shows and Comic-Con trailer in an all-new What We’re Into!

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

BMW will charge outrageous annual fee for CarPlay

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CarPlay-dashboard-iOS-13
My cheap Kia came with CarPlay as standard.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

BMW has decided that it will charge customers an annual fee if they want to enjoy CarPlay in its newest vehicles.

It is the first car-maker to turn Apple’s platform into a subscription service. Most now include CarPlay as standard, or as an optional feature that lasts as long as the vehicle.

CarPlay in iOS 13, the perfect road trip companion [Video]

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CarPlay Dashboard in iOS 13
The new CarPlay Dashboard puts everything you need on your... dashboard.
Photo: Apple

We’ve already extolled our excitement over CarPlay changes coming in iOS 13. But now that the beta season is well underway, we’ve had the chance to go fully hands on.

After taking it on a road trip, using it while commuting, and exploring the new features, this is our hands-on look at CarPlay in iOS 13.

To the moon! iPhone vs. Apollo Guidance Computer [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 306]

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A single iPhone dwarfs the Apollo Guidance Computer's processing power.
A single iPhone dwarfs the Apollo Guidance Computer's processing power.
Photo: NASA. Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Fifty years after the Apollo moon mission, the leaps in mankind’s computing power continue to amaze. For instance, did you know an iPhone could manage 120 million moon missions at once?

Get the story behind that astonishing stat, plus the latest on CarPlay, FaceApp and the likely design of this year’s new iPhones, in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. It’s jam-packed with all the Apple news, reviews and how-tos you can fit into your weekend. (Prefer to read in your browser? Get the headlines below.)

CarPlay’s simple Calendar app has one killer feature

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Calendar-CarPlay-iOS-13
It doesn’t look like much, but it’s surprisingly useful.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple’s Calendar app finally comes to CarPlay in iOS 13. It might not look like much, but it makes getting to meetings and events super-simple.

Here’s how the Calendar app works — and how you’ll use its killer feature.

Apple revs up CarPlay at last in iOS 13 [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 303]

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Apple revs up CarPlay - Cult of Mac Magazine
CarPlay moves into the fast lane in iOS 13.
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple finally gives CarPlay some love in iOS 13, adding loads of new features and a much better user interface. The long-overdue upgrade shifts Apple’s in-car platform into high gear at last.

Find out everything new in CarPlay in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now from the iOS App Store. Or read the rest of the best Apple news, reviews and how-tos in your browser by clicking on the headlines below.

CarPlay is better than ever in iOS 13 — here’s what’s new

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CarPlay-dashboard-iOS-13
My cheap Kia came with CarPlay as standard.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

iOS 13 doesn’t just mean big improvements for your iPhone. Apple is making some pretty significant enhancements to CarPlay, too, including a brand-new dashboard and better apps.

Some of these great new CarPlay features are long overdue. Here’s everything you can expect from Apple’s in-car platform in iOS 13.

You can now enjoy Spotify Stations on the road with CarPlay

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CaPlay 1
Spotify Stations is like your own personal radio station.
Image: Spotify

Spotify has updated its Spotify Stations app with support for CarPlay. The app is intended to provide a radio station-like experience, which customizes itself to your tastes.

With its latest update, you no longer need to use your iPhone to access the app. If you’re a CarPlay user, you can do it right from your dash.