CarPlay support in Uber’s Driver app should promote safer driving as drivers can view and accept trips without using their phones.
- What’s happening? Uber is adding support for Apple’s CarPlay feature to its dedicated driver app in the United States.
- Why care? This will contribute to safer driving. Uber drivers can add rides and manage trips using CarPlay on their car’s infotainment screen instead of fiddling with their smartphones.
- What to do? If you’re an Uber driver, connect the Uber Drive app to CarPlay.
Uber Drive gains CarPlay support
Uber announced CarPlay support via an email sent to drivers and viewed by TechCrunch. The feature will initially launch to all US drivers by the end of this month. The email instructs drivers how to connect the Uber Drive app to CarPlay:
- Launch the Uber Driver app on your iPhone.
- Touch the Go button to go online.
- Connect your iPhone to your CarPlay-enabled vehicle via a cable or wirelessly.
- Once connected, open CarPlay and run the Uber Driver app.
We wish Uber had this feature way before it popularized ride-sharing. Whenever I order an Uber and see my driver fiddling with the app on their tiny phone screen instead of keeping their eye on the road, I become nervous. And the last thing I want to do when I feel agitated is arguing with my driver.
With CarPlay support, drivers will interact with the Uber Driver app on a much bigger infotainment screen in their vehicle instead of squinting at their phones.
Accessing Uber’s navigation map and features such as heat maps, additional routes and the sides of streets on a bigger screen will benefit both drivers and passengers.
“Integrating the Uber driver app into CarPlay means drivers won’t have to switch between their phone and the screen, or between apps, to be able to view and accept trips, navigate and add rides to their queue,” notes TechCrunch.
A year ago, Uber suffered a feature regression as the company quietly discontinued its Apple Watch app. As a result, it’s no longer possible to hail a ride from your wrist.