Apple CarPlay seamlessly integrates your iOS device with your car’s infotainment system. However, CarPlay is filled with a variety of symbols and icons that might not be immediately obvious. This guide will break down the meaning of every Apple CarPlay icon and symbol.
Table of Contents
Main Screen Tab Icons Meaning
When you connect your iPhone to CarPlay, you’ll see a set of key icons on the main screen that provide important information and quick access to navigation. Here’s a breakdown of what those symbols mean:
- Number in Red Circle Icon: Number of unread notifications for an app.
- Bars Icon: Your iPhone’s cellular signal strength. More bars mean a stronger signal. Similar to that of Status bar icons on iPhone.
- Wi-Fi Icon: Shows if your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network. When you see this icon, your phone is using Wi-Fi instead of cellular data.
- Red Dot: A new notification waiting in that app.
- Square Icon: The home button – tap it to go back to the main CarPlay screen.
Widgets Screen Icons Meaning
When you swipe right on your CarPlay screen, you’ll often see a widgets screen offering quick glances at information. Here’s what the icons there typically mean:
- Beginning/Previous Song (Backward arrow with a vertical line) Icon: Tap once to restart the current song. Tap twice quickly to skip to the song before this one.
- Pause/Play (Two vertical black lines / black triangle) Icon: Shows whether your music is playing (triangle) or stopped (two lines). Tap to change the status.
- Next Song (Forward arrow with a vertical line) Icon: Play the next song in your current list.
- Small squares making Square Icon: Acts as another way to get to the main CarPlay apps screen.
Settings App Screen Icons Meaning
When you navigate to the Settings app in CarPlay, you might see these icons to help you move around:
- Blue Up Arrow Icon: This icon indicates that you can scroll upwards to see more settings options are currently not visible on the screen.
- Blue Down Arrow Icon: Similarly, this icon means there are more settings options below what you are currently viewing, and you can scroll downwards to see them.
CarPlay Maps Icons Meaning
Here’s a quick look at the icons you’ll often see while using Maps in CarPlay:
- Triangle with a line Icon: This is your compass. The arrow points north, helping you orient yourself on the map.
- 2D/3D Icon: Tap this to switch between a flat, two-dimensional map view and a three-dimensional view that shows buildings and terrain.
- Message Bubble with Exclamation Icon: There’s an alert or important message from the Maps app, like traffic updates or road closures along your route.
- All direction arrow icon: Re-center the map on your current location and keep your direction of travel pointing upwards.
- Plus Icon (+): Zoom in on the map for a closer look at an area.
- Minus Icon (-): Zoom out on the map, allowing you to see a wider view of the surroundings.
- Blue Dot Icon: Marks your current location on the map.
CarPlay Status Bar Indicators Meaning
Keep an eye on the top status bar for these helpful indicators:
- Orange Circle around Time: This orange circle means the microphone is active or was recently used by CarPlay (likely for Siri or a voice command). A green circle in this spot would indicate that the camera, or both the camera and microphone, are in use by an app.
- Bell with Sound Waves: CarPlay’s “Announce Messages” feature is enabled. Siri will automatically read your incoming messages aloud.
- Badge Icon (Person in Rectangle): iPhone is set to the “Work” Focus mode. CarPlay will display different icons to represent other Focus modes like “Do Not Disturb” or “Personal”.
CarPlay Accessibility Icon Meaning
You might spot this icon in your CarPlay interface related to accessibility features:
Two Arrows with Three Lines and a Slash Icon: This icon indicates the status of CarPlay’s voice control feature. It means the option to control CarPlay using your voice is currently enabled.
And that wraps up the meaning of icons and symbols in Apple CarPlay! Hopefully, this guide has made navigating your in-car experience a little clearer.
Want to learn what other app icons mean? Check out more of our app icon guides below!
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