From now on, Apple Maps is not the only navigation app you can use with CarPlay. Google Maps is now available for Apple’s car software.
Google Maps CarPlay update now available
A nice improvement of iOS 12 can be found in the car, if it supports Apple CarPlay. From now on, CarPlay also works with third-party navigation apps, and Google is the first to take advantage of this.
Also read: iOS 12 CarPlay: These major improvements are coming to your car
As of now, an update for the Google Maps iOS app is available in the App Store introducing this feature. Once you have downloaded version 5.0, you can sync the navigation app with the display in your car. The design of the map service has been specially optimized for a car screen, with larger letters and icons. The main difference with Apple’s Maps app is that Google uses its own map data, which many people still find more reliable.
If you use Google Maps on your iPhone, the CarPlay version already has an edge over the Maps app anyway. All your saved places in the iOS app are also stored in the CarPlay app, which makes it convenient to quickly navigate to your most used locations.
No Siri support for Google Maps
Sadly, Siri doesn’t support Google Maps yet. There is, however, a built-in voice recognition in Google Maps, which you can activate by tapping the screen. Touching a screen while driving is less convenient than calling ‘Hey Siri’ hands-free, but for now the only option.
Until now you could install other apps with CarPlay, but Apple still had the exclusive right when it came to navigation. In addition to Google Maps, Waze has also announced that they will support CarPlay. That app is not yet available at the time of writing.
Also read: Overview: These 4 navigation apps are coming to CarPlay with iOS 12