Apple CarPlay could let you pay for petrol, but it won’t cost any less

We may not be in the depths of the pandemic anymore, but touching stuff loads of other people have still feels grosser than it used to.

Never more than when you’re filling up the car. Beyond grabbing the same handle used by dozens of drivers that day, you have to use the pin pad to confirm the purchase. Pass the hand sanitiser, please?

Apple’s next CarPlay update could enable drivers to pay at the pump wirelessly, via a dedicated app, according to a US energy company. HF Sinclair told Reuters it plans to make use of the next-generation CarPlay tech Apple previewed at WWDC 2022 earlier this month.

“We are excited by the idea that consumers could navigate to a Sinclair station and purchase fuel from their vehicle navigation screen,” said Jack Barger, SVP of marketing.

The report says that following the launch of the next-gen CarPlay, iPhone users will need to download an app from the fuel provider and set up payment details (Apple Pay will probably be an option).

From there, users will be able to navigate to a particular pump on the forecourt (or more likely enter the pump they’re parked at) and activate it.

Of course, there’s no getting away from the fact that you’ll still have to get out of the car and pump the gas yourself (unless you’re in New Jersey), but it does at least remove some of the friction from the process of filling up your car, at a time when its never been more painful.

The doubling down on CarPlay, which includes a concept with displays that run the breadth of the car’s interior, comes at a time when Apple is still thought to be working on a vehicle of its own.

Which other tasks would you like to see CarPlay handle in future? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.