New SharePlay for Apple CarPlay Lets Passengers Become Backseat DJs

Apple CarPlay default display in the Toyota Hilux GR Sport.

Apple held its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) this week, revealing a brand new SharePlay for Apple CarPlay function that lets passengers request control of the vehicle’s music playback. 

With it, the days of having to fight with other passengers for the AUX cord, or awkwardly requesting for the driver’s iPhone passlock code, are gone. Essentially, this function easily enables any passenger to become a ‘backseat DJ’, should the driver allow them that is.

“When the driver’s iPhone is connected to CarPlay, any passenger’s iPhone will automatically suggest joining their session. Just tap to connect,” said Anne Park Shedlosky, director of software program management at Apple, when describing the new function at WWDC this week.

So far the feature only works via Apple's native Apple Music app via its new Collaborative Playlists function, but third-party apps may be supported in the future. It will allow passengers to add music to the shared playlist as well as control music playback directly from their own devices.

SharePlay will essentially serve as a 'virtual AUX cable' for passengers. (Image: YouTube screengrab)

“From there, it’s easy to play your favourite music, control playback and enjoy the ride together,” she continued. Think of this as the ‘virtual AUX cable’, if you will. Notably, this is the first and only CarPlay change announced for the upcoming new iOS 17 software.

Apple also announced an offline version of Apple Maps. This allows drivers living in areas with spotty cellular service to download a portion of a map with access to turn-by-turn directions, even without cellular reception. However, it's unclear if this will be supported via CarPlay or just handheld cell usage.

Apple's ambitious next-generation Apple CarPlay suite previewed during WWDC 2022.

Compared to last year’s WWDC keynote surrounding Apple CayPlay development, this year’s announcement seems rather low key. Last year, Apple previewed its next generation CarPlay suite with ambitious plans of greater integration with vehicle hardware including a takeover of the instrument display.

However, it seems Apple remains tight-lipped regarding details surrounding said plan. Of course, the biggest roadblock towards enabling this are the car companies themselves, with many still favouring in-house developed systems – i.e. Mercedes-Benz MBUX Superscreen and BMW iDrive 9.

Surely, the first car to feature Apple’s greater CarPlay vision and application will be big news indeed.