iOS 9.3 Brings Improvements And New Features To Apple CarPlay [Screenshots]

Soon after Apple's latest keynote address on March 21, their latest version of iOS became available for download to consumers. The newest version 9.3 brings a few improvements in general to iOS devices but also a couple of new features to Apple's in-car software, CarPlay.

Read along for full details and screenshots...

iOS 9.3 - CarPlay Improvements

1. Apple Music

The biggest improvement to CarPlay comes via the heightened integration of Apple Music.
The For You and New sections now appear in CarPlay allowing users to access this content right from their car's dashboard. Apple Music subscribers have been waiting for this feature for a while now.

The Music app in CarPlay performs very similarly to the iPhone app. For example, your newest playlists and songs are highlighted and easy to find. The one thing you won't be able to do from CarPlay though, is adding new music to your library without using Siri.

2. Maps

The 'Nearby' feature is now available in Maps on CarPlay. Nearby was introduced in iOS 9 and helps users find points of interest like gas stations, parking, restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores much easily. It only makes sense that Apple has added Nearby to CarPlay where it is bound to be the most useful.

3. Siri

In iOS 9.3, Siri has taken a few more steps to sounding more human-like. The voice assistant now speaks more concisely when reading back and replying to messages in CarPlay. You may notice the subtle differences if you listen closely.

4. Sound

Apple has finally added sound equalization to CarPlay. What this means is that now, no matter which sound source you use in CarPlay, the volume levels will be the same across the board. No more discrepancies in volume levels when jumping from one sound source to another.

I have been using iOS 9.3 for a couple of days now with CarPlay and it seems to work without any new issues. I definitely appreciate the improvements to Apple Music in particular which I use almost every time I get in my car.

Have you updated your iPhone to iOS 9.3 and used it with CarPlay yet? If you have and wish to share any issues you've experienced, sound off in the comments below.

Happy updating!