Google Maps and Waze get on board with CarPlay

During WWDC 2018, Apple updated the apps compatible with CarPlay. Among them we also find Google Maps and Waze: here's how to use them

That from the Worldwide Developer Conference 2018 could come some interesting news for Google too was hard to believe. Instead, one of the WWDC 2018 news that could be most appreciated by the end user concerns some of the products made in that of Mountain View.

As emerged during the first day of the Apple developers conference being held in San Jose, with the release of iOS 12, Google Maps and Waze apps will be able to be used in cars with multimedia systems compatible with CarPlay. Which, translated in plain English, means that the two Google products can be used in smart cars that use Apple systems. In short, a point in favor of the Mountain View giant, which will be able to further expand its "sphere of influence" in the field of digital cartography.

How CarPlay works and how to use Google Maps in smart cars

First of all, we need to understand what CarPlay is and how it works. It is, in fact, a sort of interface that allows iPhones to communicate with the infotainment systems in the latest generation of cars. Specifically, CarPlay allows you to use your iPhone while driving without endangering your safety or that of other people on board. Thanks to CarPlay, for example, you will be able to read and reply to incoming messages without ever taking your hands off the wheel (and your eyes off the road), listen to music from Apple Music or Spotify and, in fact, get directions.

To use CarPlay in your car, you must first make sure that it is compatible with the infotainment system inside. This means that CarPlay must be installed within the smart car's infotainment system, or you won't be able to use it. If your car is compatible, simply connect your iPhone to the car with the USB port and wait for CarPlay to load. At that point, you will be able to control your iPhone from the screen of your car and access the various apps directly from the car.

With the arrival of iOS 12, among the various applications that can be used with CarPlay there will be, in fact, also Google Maps and Waze. This means that iPhone owners will be able to "abandon" Apple Maps and ask for directions to Google Maps or rely on the "bottom-up" signals that characterize Waze.