5 Bizarre Apple CarPlay Apps You Never Knew You Wanted





The more you explore Apple CarPlay, the more you can discover its wonders. With iOS 26, Apple has added several interesting CarPlay features to the infotainment display, such as finally including the ability to AirPlay video when the vehicle is parked. However, if you want an even more unique experience, you should get to know some bizarre Apple CarPlay apps that, at first, don’t make sense to have installed, but if you want some smaller things done, like ordering your favorite fast food, seeing live weather, or joining a meeting no matter when, CarPlay’s got your back.

Ahead of the rumored release of Apple CarPlay for Tesla vehicles, whether you’re considering upgrading your car with this experience or just want to discover more things you can do with Apple’s driving system, we selected a few bizarre apps that you can get on CarPlay and that you probably never thought about using in your daily commute.

Chick-fil-A

The popular fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, which specializes in chicken sandwiches, released an Apple CarPlay app at the end of 2024. This experience expands on the diverse ways you can get your favorite meal. To take advantage of it, though, users are required to have their iOS Chick-fil-A updated on iPhone, a logged-in account, and a saved credit card or gift card to make the purchase.

The restaurant chain informs that you must have placed a digital order or saved a few menu items before, as the CarPlay experience is expected to be used as quickly as possible. With all these steps completed, every time you feel the urge to get a Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Strips family-style meal with waffle potato fries, some Chick-fil-A sauce, and a Coke, you can get this with just a few taps. More interestingly, the experience looks a lot like ordering from a physical totem at a restaurant.

Chick-fil-A says that if you don’t see the app on your CarPlay home screen, its icon is probably on the next screen, as Apple usually prioritizes its own apps on the first display if you haven’t customized it yet.

Zoom

If you have a schedule full of meetings, the time you spend commuting to work can be well-used to plan your day, solve last-minute problems, and more by using Zoom. The app is available on CarPlay, and lets you call your Zoom contacts, accept meeting invitations, and even mute during a call.

You can tap your contact or ask Siri to call them on Zoom. In addition, if you receive a call, it will appear with the new call notification UI from iOS 26, which, instead of occupying the entire display, will display a small notification where you can accept or decline the call.

To avoid distractions, users have limited capabilities on the Apple CarPlay interface, which means you can’t see people’s video or share displays, but you can hear them throughout the meeting. This way, you ensure you’re up-to-date with your schedule while still paying attention to the road while driving. You need to have the Zoom app installed on your iPhone and be logged into it to take advantage of the contact’s sync.

Domino’s Pizza

If you can get Chick-fil-A on-the-go with CarPlay, you probably know there’s an even older experience for CarPlay users, which is the ability to order your Domino’s pizza from your vehicle. Available for almost two years now, the app offers two options: calling your local Domino’s to get your order placed or tapping to order. This way, you can, with a few taps, select that saved Easy Order or some of your recent placements, and skip the long drive-thru line by getting your pizza ready beforehand.

Just like the other apps listed above, you need to have the Domino’s iPhone app and log in to the app with your Pizza Profile. The best way to take advantage of the Domino’s app on CarPlay is by having a few of your favorite pizza orders saved, which means you can just tap them on the infotainment display to get your order good to go.

Like on the app or the web, Domino’s lets you track the status of your order, even though it still doesn’t support Live Activities, which would be very handy with iOS 26 and CarPlay. Still, you can get notifications about when your order will be ready.

MyRadar

Unlike other weather apps, what makes MyRadar an odd yet interesting choice is that it turns your infotainment screen into a live meteorological display. While it doesn’t show your Apple Maps routes, it shows where it is raining in your area, so you know if you’re literally heading into the storm or away from it.

The fun part is seeing the precipitation moving in real time around your vehicle, and it looks like an aviation weather tool instead of a regular weather app. It also displays snow and storm intensity, and if your local government issues severe weather advisories for thunderstorms or hazardous conditions, you’ll also see it on display.

That said, if you want an aviation-like tool while driving around your known routes or through an endless road, at least you get some dynamic information as you proceed on your trip. Most of these features are free to use, but you can pay for a subscription for extra features.

Microsoft Teams

If Zoom is available on CarPlay, maybe having Microsoft Teams there won’t make it such a bizarre experience. What’s interesting about the app integration is that you can actually see your meetings for the day and tap to join them. If you have a scheduled meeting, a progress bar will show how much time you have left on that call.

Microsoft says all-day meetings aren’t shown unless the user decides to. In addition, external meetings require the user to join from their iPhone first. It’s possible to place calls by asking Siri, using Speed Dial, or your recent call history. Just like Zoom, the interface won’t display video or screen sharing, but you can still hear everybody on the call and add your inputs. This way, you can join any meeting even when commuting and guarantee you have everything ready when you arrive at the office. Or, if you had to leave early and forgot you had an important meeting, you can now take it from your vehicle in a hands-free experience.



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