The headline from Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference may have been a set of augmented reality goggles priced like several months of mortgage payments. Still, the part we’re excited about is the rebirth of the mix tape.
If you’re not old enough to have made mix tapes, bear with us. The analogy is imperfect, anyway.
Apple revealed that an upcoming update to its CarPlay phone projection system would let everyone in the car (who has an iPhone) contribute to a common music mix.
What Is Apple CarPlay?
Related: Apple CarPlay — Do You Need It?
Apple CarPlay is a system that lets your car’s screen mirror your phone’s screen. It doesn’t display every app. Some are too interactive to be used safely while driving, but it shows a simplified, low-touch version of navigation and streaming apps. Many cars also let you control them with voice commands and steering-wheel-mounted controls.
Not every car on the market in 2023 has it, but most do. There’s an equivalent for Android users, Android Auto. The two have grown so ubiquitous that GM caused a stir this spring when it announced plans to phase them out.
Related: Android Auto — How it Works and Why You Need It
What Is SharePlay?
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are great on road trips. But they do put just one person — the one with the phone — in charge of entertainment. If you don’t have my favorite Mountain Goats songs in your collection, I’m out of luck all the way to Cleveland.
That, Apple says, is a fixable problem. The next iteration of CarPlay will allow other iPhone users to add songs to the music mix, assuming everyone is using Apple Music.
The system will create a shared session and send a push notification to other iPhones in the car to join. Everyone can then add songs to the queue. We’re all getting No Children. You’ll love it.
Apple hasn’t said when the new feature will launch.
