Starting in iOS 12 later this year, Apple’s CarPlay will no longer force you to use Apple Maps to get directions. Instead, you’ll be able to use navigation from any third-party app, like Google Maps, Waze, or whatever your mapping app of choice is.
CarPlay already supported third-party apps in other scenarios. However, mapping has been one of those classic cases of Apple locking everyone into using its own service. But Apple Maps isn’t exactly a beloved app. And while it’s improved over time, there are plenty of reasons to prefer other services, like all the additional information that Waze provides.
Letting people choose which mapping service to use will make CarPlay a better experience since people will be able to get directions from a service they’re more familiar or more comfortable with, which is pretty important when you’re driving.
CarPlay is Apple’s in-car interface for iOS. In many new cars — or older cars with newer head units — you can plug in an iPhone (or Android phone) and have a version of the phone’s apps pulled up on-screen. It’s a major convenience since your phone is going to know a lot more about you and be connected to a lot more services than your car is. Plus, carmakers are just never going to be as good at making user-friendly software interfaces as phone designers.
