Uber Starts Integrating its Driver App With Apple CarPlay

iPhone-using Uber drivers around the world will be allowed to use Apple’s Car Play to run the Uber app directly from their car’s dashboard by the end of the month, TechCrunch reports(Opens in a new window). 

In an email sent to Uber partners and seen by TechCrunch, the company told its drivers that if they were in possession of an iPhone, they’d be able to run the Uber app on their car dashboards via CarPlay, effectively meaning they’d no longer need to have one eye on their phone to check for rides and the other on the road as they drive.

CarPlay,  which Apple launched back in 2014, enables a car radio or head unit to be a display and controller for an iOS device. 

The Apple CarPlay integration has already started being rolled out to drivers in the United States, the email further notes.

The news means that Uber drivers will be able to connect their dashboard to the Uber app by firstly opening the app on their iPhone and tapping ‘Go’ to go online. They must then connect their iPhone to their car via cable or wirelessly to launch CarPlay. Drivers can utilize CarPlay to view and accept trips, navigate the Uber app, and add rides to their queued trips.

According to Apple(Opens in a new window), every major car manufacturer offers models that support Car Play or is planning on introducing them. 

In December, Uber updated its app(Opens in a new window) in order to allow users to keep track of their rides and orders via the lock screen, or the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island. The rides can be tracked via a progress bar that shows the estimated time of arrival and how close the user is to their destination. Uber Eats users are able to check their order through their lock screen as it’s being prepared, picked up by the delivery driver, and delivered.

PCMag reached out to Uber for comment but did not immediately receive a response.