DoorDash is gearing up to enhance the experience for its drivers who use iPhones and CarPlay by enabling them to access parts of the delivery app through their car dashboard.
The company promises a more “streamlined” experience, acknowledging the long-standing request from drivers for this feature, which has now been integrated into the app in recent months.
Apple CarPlay empowers users to view certain app functionalities directly on their car dashboard, eliminating the need to switch between different devices constantly. The larger screen size also proves beneficial for navigation, and this aspect serves as the main selling point that DoorDash is focusing on with this release. Initially, the company is conducting a pilot integration in a select number of markets, with plans to potentially extend it to all users in the coming months.
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Currently, CarPlay systems are in their early stages, providing a more limited set of in-app actions compared to the traditional phone experience. For instance, Uber employs CarPlay to display surge pricing heat maps and enables drivers to accept or decline trips on the car’s large screen. As for DoorDash, its CarPlay integration currently focuses on navigation alone, but the company aims to incorporate additional functionalities in the near future, according to a spokesperson.
Certain gig workers already use iPads or other tablets to mirror their cellphones, effectively transforming these tablets into expansive operating systems that encompass all app functionalities, as highlighted by Sergio Avedian, a senior contributor for the industry blog, The Rideshare Guy.
Avedian anticipates a gradual integration of the full app functionalities into car screens, but he acknowledges that the process has been a time-consuming endeavor.
