Challenge
Drivers expected CarPlay parity with the native head unit — including low-latency controls and distraction-safe layouts across vehicle lines.
Case study · 2024
Automotive & Mobility
CarPlay experiences that feel native on the road
CarPlayiOSUI/UXREST APIs
Client
Mobility product studio
Engagement
iOS + CarPlay product build
Duration
8 months
Year
2024
DriveLink needed CarPlay experiences that felt as intentional as the native head unit — not a shrunk phone UI. We designed distraction-safe templates, instrumented latency budgets for vehicle controls, and shipped an iPhone companion that shared branding and telemetry-aware states with CarPlay. The engagement covered design system, iOS SDK, App Store submission, and performance profiling under real drive conditions.
An iOS-first CarPlay companion suite with deep vehicle telemetry UX and offline-tolerant media controls.
Narrative
How the engagement moved from constraints to a shippable system.
Approach
We designed CarPlay templates around glanceable hierarchy, instrumented performance budgets, and built a shared iOS SDK for vehicle APIs.
Solution
DriveLink delivers a polished CarPlay app plus iPhone companion with consistent branding and telemetry-aware UI states.
Scope
What we delivered
CarPlay app with media, navigation cues, and vehicle controls
iPhone companion with shared design tokens
Vehicle telemetry SDK for low-latency control paths
Performance budgets and profiling dashboards
App Store submission package and review responses
Highlights
What stood out
Glanceable hierarchy optimized for driving contexts
Sub-100ms control round-trips on supported vehicles
Single design system spanning phone and CarPlay
First-submission App Store approval
Engagement flow
A repeatable rhythm from discovery through hardening — tuned to this product’s constraints.
01
Drive-context research
Rode along with drivers and mapped glance patterns, vehicle APIs, and failure modes for offline stretches.
02
Template & SDK design
Prototyped CarPlay templates and a shared iOS SDK for telemetry and media controls.
03
Build & profile
Shipped iterative builds with on-vehicle latency profiling and distraction reviews.
04
Store & rollout
Prepared review materials, staged beta cohorts, and monitored post-launch crash/latency signals.
Technology stack
The delivery stack behind this engagement — client surfaces paired with services, data, and infrastructure.
Frontend
SwiftSwiftUICarPlay TemplatesUIKit
Backend
Node.jsREST APIsVehicle Telemetry API
Tooling
XcodeCI-based TestingPerformance Profiling
Outcomes
01
CarPlay App Store approval on first submission
02
Sub-100ms control round-trip on supported vehicles
03
Single design system for phone + CarPlay surfaces
Looking ahead
Add Android Auto parity and deepen offline media queues for long-haul routes.
More work
Onboard the Apeiriion express
Tell us about your product, platform, or modernization goal — we'll assemble a senior squad and a clear delivery plan.