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Hands-On With CarPlay in iOS 13: Everything That's New
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Along with many new features for the iPhone and the iPad, iOS 13 brings updates to CarPlay, overhauling the interface for the first time in years and adding useful new functionality.
In our latest YouTube video, we went hands-on with CarPlay in iOS 13 to give MacRumors readers an idea of what's new with Apple's in-car platform.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
CarPlay in iOS 13 has a redesigned and revamped Home screen with new table views, rounded corners, and an updated Home button that swaps between a dashboard icon and an app row icon depending on what app you're using.
The new tile-like user interface displays the Maps app, Shortcuts, Siri suggestions, Music Now Playing interface, and upcoming Calendar events all at a glance, which is convenient. Tapping on any of the tiles opens up the relevant app. You can, of course, still access the standard icon list from previous versions of CarPlay with a swipe.
In the new Calendar app, you can see all of your upcoming events for the day, which is useful for when you get in the car in the morning. If a calendar event has a location associated with it, you can tap on the event and get directions to where you need to go.
Maps has an updated look and feel, and it takes advantage of all of the features in iOS 13. In supported areas, there's better detail for roads, buildings, parks, and more, and you can use the Favorites and Collections features to route to saved locations. It's also easier to find points of interest along your current route in Maps.
Siri in Maps uses more natural language, which is a great update. As an example, instead of hearing "Turn right in 1,000 feet," Siri might instead say "turn right at the next traffic light."
Updates to the Music app make it easier to navigate through your music library, playlists, radio stations, and more, so you can find just what you want to hear with little effort. The Now Playing UI has also been updated with album art throughout the entire CarPlay interface, which is an improvement over CarPlay in iOS 12.
There's Siri support for third-party navigation apps, so you can ask Siri to do something like route you home using the Waze app instead of Apple Maps. In the future, Siri support could also come to music apps like Spotify in CarPlay thanks to new SiriKit APIs. You're also now able to use "Hey Siri" across all vehicles for easier Siri activation.
For those with HomeKit products like garage door openers, there's a handy Siri suggestions feature that does things like bring up an icon to open up your garage when you approach home. There are multiple Siri suggestions like this that are going to vary based on your CarPlay usage, but it's definitely a neat and useful addition.
CarPlay has a Settings app in iOS 13, so you can adjust Do Not Disturb While Driving, turn Siri on and off, turn off album art, and switch the appearance between the default dark mode and a new lighter user interface.
Also new to CarPlay is support for using CarPlay and your iPhone at the same time. In earlier versions of CarPlay, if you had Maps up but wanted to do something like change the music on your phone, it would kick you out of Maps on CarPlay. That's not the case anymore, so now you can have Maps up while doing other things on your iPhone.
All in all, iOS 13 brings some much needed changes to the CarPlay experience, and it should be a welcome update for CarPlay users. Know of an iOS 13 CarPlay feature that we left out? Let us know in the comments.
This article, "Hands-On With CarPlay in iOS 13: Everything That's New" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Along with many new features for the iPhone and the iPad, iOS 13 brings updates to CarPlay, overhauling the interface for the first time in years and adding useful new functionality.
In our latest YouTube video, we went hands-on with CarPlay in iOS 13 to give MacRumors readers an idea of what's new with Apple's in-car platform.
CarPlay in iOS 13 has a redesigned and revamped Home screen with new table views, rounded corners, and an updated Home button that swaps between a dashboard icon and an app row icon depending on what app you're using.
The new tile-like user interface displays the Maps app, Shortcuts, Siri suggestions, Music Now Playing interface, and upcoming Calendar events all at a glance, which is convenient. Tapping on any of the tiles opens up the relevant app. You can, of course, still access the standard icon list from previous versions of CarPlay with a swipe.
In the new Calendar app, you can see all of your upcoming events for the day, which is useful for when you get in the car in the morning. If a calendar event has a location associated with it, you can tap on the event and get directions to where you need to go.
Maps has an updated look and feel, and it takes advantage of all of the features in iOS 13. In supported areas, there's better detail for roads, buildings, parks, and more, and you can use the Favorites and Collections features to route to saved locations. It's also easier to find points of interest along your current route in Maps.
Siri in Maps uses more natural language, which is a great update. As an example, instead of hearing "Turn right in 1,000 feet," Siri might instead say "turn right at the next traffic light."
Updates to the Music app make it easier to navigate through your music library, playlists, radio stations, and more, so you can find just what you want to hear with little effort. The Now Playing UI has also been updated with album art throughout the entire CarPlay interface, which is an improvement over CarPlay in iOS 12.
There's Siri support for third-party navigation apps, so you can ask Siri to do something like route you home using the Waze app instead of Apple Maps. In the future, Siri support could also come to music apps like Spotify in CarPlay thanks to new SiriKit APIs. You're also now able to use "Hey Siri" across all vehicles for easier Siri activation.
For those with HomeKit products like garage door openers, there's a handy Siri suggestions feature that does things like bring up an icon to open up your garage when you approach home. There are multiple Siri suggestions like this that are going to vary based on your CarPlay usage, but it's definitely a neat and useful addition.
CarPlay has a Settings app in iOS 13, so you can adjust Do Not Disturb While Driving, turn Siri on and off, turn off album art, and switch the appearance between the default dark mode and a new lighter user interface.
Also new to CarPlay is support for using CarPlay and your iPhone at the same time. In earlier versions of CarPlay, if you had Maps up but wanted to do something like change the music on your phone, it would kick you out of Maps on CarPlay. That's not the case anymore, so now you can have Maps up while doing other things on your iPhone.
All in all, iOS 13 brings some much needed changes to the CarPlay experience, and it should be a welcome update for CarPlay users. Know of an iOS 13 CarPlay feature that we left out? Let us know in the comments.
This article, "Hands-On With CarPlay in iOS 13: Everything That's New" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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MacRumors Giveaway: Win a 61W USB-C Power Adapter and USB-C to Lightning Cable From RAVPower
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For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with RAVPower to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a 61W USB-C Power Adapter and a USB-C to Lightning cable, which can be used to fast charge an iPhone or an iPad.
You can also use the USB-C Power Adapter for charging a Mac or an iPad Pro when combined with a USB-C to USB-C cable.
RAVPower's latest 61W PD USB-C charger uses gallium nitrate (GaN) technology, which allows it to be smaller than your average 61W power adapter. It's a good deal more compact than Apple's own 61W charger for the 13-inch MacBook Pro at 1.1 inch by 1.9 inches, making RAVPower's version more portable.
According to RAVPower, the charger, which is priced at $45 from Amazon right now, is the smallest 61W PD GaN charger on the market, coming in at 50 percent smaller than the comparable MacBook Pro charger.
You can get the power adapter in either black or white, and RAVPower says it comes equipped with safeguards to protect against overheating, overcharging, and short circuiting.
Paired with the 61W PD 3.0 GaN Wall Charger, RAVPower is giving away its new USB-C to Lightning cable, which can be used for fast charging an iPhone. A few months back, Apple made the only USB-C to Lightning cables on the market, but recently opened up the specification to allow for MFi-certified third-party cables.
RAVPower's cable measures in at three feet long and it has reinforcing at the top to prevent it from fraying or breaking with repeated bending. RAVPower says it will hold up to more than 30,000 bends over its lifetime, and it is indeed Made for iPhone certified.
Using the RAVPower USB-C to Lightning cable and the 61W power adapter, you can fast charge an iPhone up to 50 percent power in just 30 minutes.
We have 10 of the cable and power adapter combo sets to give away. To enter to win, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
RAVPower
The contest will run from today (August 16) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on August 23. The winners will be chosen randomly on August 23 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
For those who don't win, RAVPower is offering a free USB-C to Lightning cable with the purchase of a GaN 61W USB-C charger. Just enter the promo code DTQQV38K when checking out on Amazon, but make sure both items are in your cart.
This article, "MacRumors Giveaway: Win a 61W USB-C Power Adapter and USB-C to Lightning Cable From RAVPower" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with RAVPower to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a 61W USB-C Power Adapter and a USB-C to Lightning cable, which can be used to fast charge an iPhone or an iPad.
You can also use the USB-C Power Adapter for charging a Mac or an iPad Pro when combined with a USB-C to USB-C cable.
RAVPower's latest 61W PD USB-C charger uses gallium nitrate (GaN) technology, which allows it to be smaller than your average 61W power adapter. It's a good deal more compact than Apple's own 61W charger for the 13-inch MacBook Pro at 1.1 inch by 1.9 inches, making RAVPower's version more portable.
According to RAVPower, the charger, which is priced at $45 from Amazon right now, is the smallest 61W PD GaN charger on the market, coming in at 50 percent smaller than the comparable MacBook Pro charger.
You can get the power adapter in either black or white, and RAVPower says it comes equipped with safeguards to protect against overheating, overcharging, and short circuiting.
Paired with the 61W PD 3.0 GaN Wall Charger, RAVPower is giving away its new USB-C to Lightning cable, which can be used for fast charging an iPhone. A few months back, Apple made the only USB-C to Lightning cables on the market, but recently opened up the specification to allow for MFi-certified third-party cables.
RAVPower's cable measures in at three feet long and it has reinforcing at the top to prevent it from fraying or breaking with repeated bending. RAVPower says it will hold up to more than 30,000 bends over its lifetime, and it is indeed Made for iPhone certified.
Using the RAVPower USB-C to Lightning cable and the 61W power adapter, you can fast charge an iPhone up to 50 percent power in just 30 minutes.
We have 10 of the cable and power adapter combo sets to give away. To enter to win, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
For those who don't win, RAVPower is offering a free USB-C to Lightning cable with the purchase of a GaN 61W USB-C charger. Just enter the promo code DTQQV38K when checking out on Amazon, but make sure both items are in your cart.
Tag: giveaway
This article, "MacRumors Giveaway: Win a 61W USB-C Power Adapter and USB-C to Lightning Cable From RAVPower" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Review: Satechi's Dual Smart Outlet Offers HomeKit Compatibility and Power Monitoring
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Satechi this summer launched its first HomeKit-compatible product, the Dual Smart Outlet, a HomeKit plug that turns dumb appliances and electronics into smart electronics that can work alongside other HomeKit products.
There are quite a few HomeKit-enabled smart plugs on the market, but Satechi's version is relatively compact and offers some bells and whistles that not all HomeKit plugs provide.
Design wise, the Dual Smart Outlet is made from an unobtrusive white plastic, and it offers two separate HomeKit plugs. It plugs into a standard socket horizontally, leaving the other socket of your standard dual socket outlet free to use. Satechi's Smart Outlet is one of the better space saving plugs on the market, even though it's not exactly small.
Other options from companies like iHome or Wemo take up similar amounts of space, but offer just one smart outlet. There are some smaller single plug options on the market that are better picks if you only need a single smart outlet, but Satechi's is a good way to connect two devices.
There's an LED light at the top of each socket that lights up when something is plugged in, so you know that the device or appliance is receiving power. The lights also activate for the HomeKit pairing process.
Satechi says that the Dual Smart Outlet's Max AC output is 15A 1800W, so it will work with devices like lights, fans, space heaters, humidifiers, coffee makers, and more.
Setting up the Dual Smart Outlet is as simple as plugging it in and then scanning the HomeKit code, though it's worth noting that this can only connect to a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network. Limiting a connection to 2.4GHz is always a hassle and can be confusing for some users. Just make sure your iPhone is connected to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network to get the Dual Smart Outlet set up, which may involve delving into router settings.
The Dual Smart Outlet can be controlled via Siri voice commands, through the Satechi app, or through the Home app available on iOS devices and Macs. Through Siri, you can turn it on, turn it off, check its status, or activate HomeKit scenes or automations that the Smart Outlet is used in.
As with any other HomeKit product, you can use scenes to pair the devices plugged into the Smart Outlet with other HomeKit devices, and with automations, you can have the Smart Outlet turn on or turn off at certain times or when certain conditions are met.
With scenes, for example, you can set up a "Good Night" option that does something like turn on the fan connected to the Smart Outlet, turn off the lights, turn down the temperature, and more. Automations, meanwhile, can do things like have a coffee maker come on at a certain time each morning or have a light turn off at a specific time of day.
Paired with HomeKit products that can activate triggers, such as motion detectors, you can set up devices plugged into the Smart Outlet to do activate or deactivate based on motion or other parameters.
This review is aimed at people who have some understanding of HomeKit already, but if you're new to HomeKit entirely, make sure to check out our HomeKit guide for more information on just how scenes, automations, and triggers work. You can set up scenes and automations in the Home app or in the Satechi app -- both work.
One of the useful features of the Dual Smart Outlet is its power monitoring. It monitors and tracks how much power each device plugged into it is using, so you can get a clear idea of how much energy a fan, heater, light, or other product is using up.
Power monitoring options can be viewed in the Satechi app and are not available in the Home app. Like many other apps for HomeKit devices, Satechi's app shows your entire HomeKit setup rather than just your Satechi plug. From the app, you can control all of your devices, create scenes, create automations, and adjust HomeKit settings.
The Satechi app has a simple layout, but it doesn't let you set filters or favorites so it can be a little bit hard to find what you're looking for if you just want to get to your Satechi Smart Outlet but have a lot of HomeKit products.
Getting to the power information requires locating the two outlets in your list of HomeKit devices, long pressing on the icon (and not just tapping, because that's an on/off control) and then selecting the "Detail" option. It's not exactly streamlined, and hopefully something Satechi will improve in the future.
In the app, you can see the current power usage for what's plugged in, the total consumption in kilowatt hours, and the total cost, provided you've added the electricity costs for your area into the app. Beyond total cost and total consumption, you can also set schedules and timers from this interface, though you can also use HomeKit scenes in other areas for this purpose as well.
Power monitoring does not appear to be separated by outlet, so you can't see different power metrics for each item plugged in. It's all combined.
I had a problem with my original Dual Smart Outlet that resulted in power monitoring not working at all. A second unit worked fine, so I'm not sure what the issue was. I will note, though, that I still can't see specific metrics for cost over time (though I can see total cost), which is a bug that may be worked out in a future version of the app.
Since I can see total lifetime power cost estimates, it's not a major problem not to be able to see the cost over time metric, but some people may miss this feature if it's not working. The energy consumption over time graph works well, showing me power usage for the devices plugged in sorted by day, week, month, or year.
The Home app limits you to turning the Dual Smart Outlets on and off, so the Satechi app needs to be used for power monitoring purposes. You're limited to turning your outlets on and off in the Home app.
Satechi's new to HomeKit devices, but this is a solid first offering. The Dual Smart Outlet is competitively priced at $60, and it offers two HomeKit plugs that add connectivity to non-HomeKit products.
Because the outlet can be placed horizontally, it doesn't take up too much space, and during my testing, it worked well with no disconnects or other issues. I did have problems with the power monitoring features, though, and the app could use some refining and updating. I wouldn't specifically buy the Smart Outlet for the power monitoring function, but it has the potential to be a useful bonus if it's not something that you specifically need.
Satechi's Dual Smart Outlet can be purchased from Amazon.com or from the Satechi website for $60.
Note: Satechi provided MacRumors with a Dual Smart Outlet for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Satechi. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This article, "Review: Satechi's Dual Smart Outlet Offers HomeKit Compatibility and Power Monitoring" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
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Satechi this summer launched its first HomeKit-compatible product, the Dual Smart Outlet, a HomeKit plug that turns dumb appliances and electronics into smart electronics that can work alongside other HomeKit products.
There are quite a few HomeKit-enabled smart plugs on the market, but Satechi's version is relatively compact and offers some bells and whistles that not all HomeKit plugs provide.
Design wise, the Dual Smart Outlet is made from an unobtrusive white plastic, and it offers two separate HomeKit plugs. It plugs into a standard socket horizontally, leaving the other socket of your standard dual socket outlet free to use. Satechi's Smart Outlet is one of the better space saving plugs on the market, even though it's not exactly small.
Other options from companies like iHome or Wemo take up similar amounts of space, but offer just one smart outlet. There are some smaller single plug options on the market that are better picks if you only need a single smart outlet, but Satechi's is a good way to connect two devices.
There's an LED light at the top of each socket that lights up when something is plugged in, so you know that the device or appliance is receiving power. The lights also activate for the HomeKit pairing process.
Satechi says that the Dual Smart Outlet's Max AC output is 15A 1800W, so it will work with devices like lights, fans, space heaters, humidifiers, coffee makers, and more.
Setting up the Dual Smart Outlet is as simple as plugging it in and then scanning the HomeKit code, though it's worth noting that this can only connect to a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network. Limiting a connection to 2.4GHz is always a hassle and can be confusing for some users. Just make sure your iPhone is connected to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network to get the Dual Smart Outlet set up, which may involve delving into router settings.
The Dual Smart Outlet can be controlled via Siri voice commands, through the Satechi app, or through the Home app available on iOS devices and Macs. Through Siri, you can turn it on, turn it off, check its status, or activate HomeKit scenes or automations that the Smart Outlet is used in.
As with any other HomeKit product, you can use scenes to pair the devices plugged into the Smart Outlet with other HomeKit devices, and with automations, you can have the Smart Outlet turn on or turn off at certain times or when certain conditions are met.
With scenes, for example, you can set up a "Good Night" option that does something like turn on the fan connected to the Smart Outlet, turn off the lights, turn down the temperature, and more. Automations, meanwhile, can do things like have a coffee maker come on at a certain time each morning or have a light turn off at a specific time of day.
Paired with HomeKit products that can activate triggers, such as motion detectors, you can set up devices plugged into the Smart Outlet to do activate or deactivate based on motion or other parameters.
This review is aimed at people who have some understanding of HomeKit already, but if you're new to HomeKit entirely, make sure to check out our HomeKit guide for more information on just how scenes, automations, and triggers work. You can set up scenes and automations in the Home app or in the Satechi app -- both work.
One of the useful features of the Dual Smart Outlet is its power monitoring. It monitors and tracks how much power each device plugged into it is using, so you can get a clear idea of how much energy a fan, heater, light, or other product is using up.
Power monitoring options can be viewed in the Satechi app and are not available in the Home app. Like many other apps for HomeKit devices, Satechi's app shows your entire HomeKit setup rather than just your Satechi plug. From the app, you can control all of your devices, create scenes, create automations, and adjust HomeKit settings.
The Satechi app has a simple layout, but it doesn't let you set filters or favorites so it can be a little bit hard to find what you're looking for if you just want to get to your Satechi Smart Outlet but have a lot of HomeKit products.
Getting to the power information requires locating the two outlets in your list of HomeKit devices, long pressing on the icon (and not just tapping, because that's an on/off control) and then selecting the "Detail" option. It's not exactly streamlined, and hopefully something Satechi will improve in the future.
In the app, you can see the current power usage for what's plugged in, the total consumption in kilowatt hours, and the total cost, provided you've added the electricity costs for your area into the app. Beyond total cost and total consumption, you can also set schedules and timers from this interface, though you can also use HomeKit scenes in other areas for this purpose as well.
Power monitoring does not appear to be separated by outlet, so you can't see different power metrics for each item plugged in. It's all combined.
I had a problem with my original Dual Smart Outlet that resulted in power monitoring not working at all. A second unit worked fine, so I'm not sure what the issue was. I will note, though, that I still can't see specific metrics for cost over time (though I can see total cost), which is a bug that may be worked out in a future version of the app.
Since I can see total lifetime power cost estimates, it's not a major problem not to be able to see the cost over time metric, but some people may miss this feature if it's not working. The energy consumption over time graph works well, showing me power usage for the devices plugged in sorted by day, week, month, or year.
The Home app limits you to turning the Dual Smart Outlets on and off, so the Satechi app needs to be used for power monitoring purposes. You're limited to turning your outlets on and off in the Home app.
Bottom Line
Satechi's new to HomeKit devices, but this is a solid first offering. The Dual Smart Outlet is competitively priced at $60, and it offers two HomeKit plugs that add connectivity to non-HomeKit products.
Because the outlet can be placed horizontally, it doesn't take up too much space, and during my testing, it worked well with no disconnects or other issues. I did have problems with the power monitoring features, though, and the app could use some refining and updating. I wouldn't specifically buy the Smart Outlet for the power monitoring function, but it has the potential to be a useful bonus if it's not something that you specifically need.
How to Buy
Satechi's Dual Smart Outlet can be purchased from Amazon.com or from the Satechi website for $60.
Note: Satechi provided MacRumors with a Dual Smart Outlet for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Satechi. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This article, "Review: Satechi's Dual Smart Outlet Offers HomeKit Compatibility and Power Monitoring" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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