When Apple users download iOS 12 on Monday, they will see a host of new features and performance improvements. Among the more unheralded new features: more third-party apps for CarPlay, including the option to get GPS directions from Google Maps and Waze. First announced in 2014, CarPlay is Apple's solution to automakers' generally poor dashboard navigation software. By plugging in your iPhone to a compatible car's USB port, users can mimic Apple's iPhone interface on their car's dashboard, providing safer and easier access to music, navigation and messaging apps while driving, as opposed to simply using a phone on a car mount. Apple has over 20 apps for CarPlay, including Spotify, WhatsApp and MLB At Bat in addition to its own Apple Music, Maps and Podcasts apps. The company has also seen increasing support from automakers in recent years, with support now across 400 models, according to Apple's website. Some major manufacturers have also begun including the option for CarPlay as a standard feature in their 2018 and 2019 vehicles. This includes Toyota who, after holding out, has added the software as a standard feature on its 2019 Camry, Sienna, Avalon, Corolla Hatchback, RAV4 and C-HR cars. Prior to iOS 12, users were stuck using Apple Maps if they wanted to use CarPlay for navigation. That will change, however, once the new update arrives, with Apple highlighting Google Maps and Waze as two apps that will be arriving at some point during its recent WWDC developer event in June. It is unclear when exactly the apps themselves will be updated to support CarPlay. (Both apps currently work with Google's Android rival to CarPlay, Android Auto.) Waze tells USA TODAY that it will have its app ready for CarPlay "shortly after iOS 12 is launched," but the company did not provide an exact date. But with iOS 12 set to hit iPhones on Monday, the wait is almost over. Follow Eli Blumenthal on Twitter @eliblumenthal<doc-sep>Earlier today, we reported that Waze has started beta testing CarPlay integration. Now, someone has posted screenshots of the Google Maps app in beta, which features CarPlay integration (a new feature available in iOS 12). iOS 12 third-party navigation apps use a base layer that is rendered by the app, overlaid with standard CarPlay controls. You can see how that works in the screenshots below. As shown in these screenshots, the Google Maps app icon takes the navigation slot on the sidebar, which until iOS 12 could only be occupied by the Apple Maps app. The arrowhead and map tiles are rendered by Google, using Google branding and the visual design language. Obviously, the underlying data source is also Google’s. You can see the map in both cartography and satellite modes. There’s a D-Pad control to pan the map manually and a microphone button to conduct a voice search. The app uses CarPlay standard toolbar controls to add destinations or access a settings screen. The settings screen is a full-screen pane that again features familiar grid layout of actions, like toggles to avoid highways and tolls. Add destination includes actions for recent searches, significant places like home and work, and POIs like gas stations. Unfortunately, access to the Google Maps beta is relatively locked down. The roadmap for the public launch of these features is yet to be announced. Users will need to upgrade their devices to iOS 12, which supports all the same devices that can run iOS 11. Then, we must wait for the third-party maps apps to release updates to the App Store which integrate with the new CarPlay APIs. Given Apple featured Google Maps on the WWDC keynote slide, we would expect it to come out fairly soon — although it’s unlikely to be there on day one. Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:<doc-sep>Google Maps is the American tech giant's solution to navigation When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor the biggest new releases, reviews and tech hacks Google Maps is the American tech giant's solution to navigation and is used by over a billion people across the globe. The software is not only incredibly handy but very accessible too. That's because it is available on desktops, smartphones and tablets, meaning it can be used anywhere. And Google has consistently rolled out updates for Maps that have ranged from drastic changes to more subtle tweaks.<doc-sep>
With iOS 12, Apple is giving third-party apps more flexibility and new capabilities within CarPlay. As an example, for the first time, you can use other apps besides Apple Maps as your preferred navigation software for Apple’s in-car platform. With that change now possible, Google Maps and Waze are both planning to support CarPlay and have begun beta testing. Unfortunately it’s not a beta test most of us can join, so you’ll have to wait for the proper release before you can use either of these in your own vehicle through CarPlay. But some early screenshots posted by 9to5Mac provide a good preview of how Google Maps and Waze will look once that happens. Both apps are already available on Android Auto, so the developers behind each app are well familiar with the basics of optimizing their navigation for an in-car display: make the icons big, text readable, and directions... well, accurate. Apple Maps continues to get better and better, but G Maps and Waze each have their own strengths. Google Maps utilizes Google’s own traffic and mapping data, which you might trust a bit more than Apple’s — even now. It also syncs up with your saved places. And Waze is pretty unrivaled when it comes to warning you about accidents or, for those who go heavy on the gas pedal, nearby police. Google Maps still looks like a Google app while following CarPlay’s UI guidelines. There’s no official word on exactly when the CarPlay versions of Google Maps and Waze will widely roll out to users. But with iOS 12 widely launching on Monday — you can already install it now, remember — hopefully it won’t be long before this beta graduates to a full update.