The dashboard

What's on the screen

• The display-mode button switches between instruments and HUD. During a drive, the top bar shows Stop; otherwise History opens trips and More (…) offers Edit dashboard, Manual calibration and Settings.
• Each dashboard page holds up to three cards. Swipe horizontally to switch pages; portrait and landscape are supported.
• The line at the bottom shows the driving status: Waiting to drive; keep the device steady until CapDrive recognizes that you're driving, then Driving.
• While you're driving, the buttons hide after a few seconds so the readings stay clear. A passenger can tap the screen to show them again.
• The screen stays on while CapDrive is open. CapDrive has no sounds or voice announcements.

HUD mode

Tap the display-mode button to enter HUD mode; tap again to return to instruments. The first use shows a guide, also available from the HUD heading in Settings. HUD mirrors the dashboard vertically for windshield reflection, with a black background. It uses the same layout and instrument access as the normal dashboard; editing temporarily shows the normal instruments.

Secure the iPhone near the windshield with its screen facing up, without obstructing your view, airbags or controls. Reflections are faint in daylight and depend on the windshield and surroundings; HUD is not a certified vehicle display. In Settings, Maximum brightness in HUD temporarily raises screen brightness while HUD is visible; leaving HUD or the foreground releases the override. HDR enhancement requires iOS 26 or later and a supported display. Both options default to on, increase power use and heat, and may cause glare at night. Adjust them before driving.

Orientation recognition

Before it can show G-force, heading and driving events, CapDrive works out how the iPhone sits in the car, such as which way is forward. It does this by itself while you drive normally:

• Just drive. Speeding up, slowing down and turning give CapDrive the data it needs.
• A good GPS signal helps. Recognition is slower in tunnels, parking garages and between tall buildings.
• While it's recognizing, the outer ring of the G disc and the badge on the G bars show the progress, and the other cards show the current step. Progress can go back if the data doesn't agree.
• Speed and location don't depend on recognition. They appear as soon as GPS provides them.
• If the iPhone is moved or knocked in its mount, CapDrive pauses measuring and recognizes the orientation again once the iPhone is fixed and steady. If device movement makes an already recognized orientation unreliable, a floating prompt offers Continue and End. The ring around Continue fills to 100% in 5 seconds and is selected automatically; you can also tap it immediately to keep the same trip. End saves the current trip and returns to automatic recognition for the next trip.

Manual calibration

You can also enter Manual calibration from More (…). Location permission, Precise Location and available motion data are required. At Align with the vehicle, Skip this step and let the algorithm recognize it automatically. defers alignment to automatic recognition while driving; pitch remains unavailable until recognition succeeds. Roll can also be recognized automatically after sufficient left and right turns during normal driving.

While safely parked, open More (…) → Manual calibration. Follow the steps below.

Manual calibration → Start calibration

1. Point toward the front: point the top edge of the iPhone toward the front of the car, hold it steady, then tap Next step. It need not be level at this step.
2. Align with the vehicle: keep the top edge forward and the screen parallel to the vehicle chassis, then tap Confirm parallel when ready.
3. Fix the phone in place: secure the iPhone in its final mounting position, wait for it to settle, then tap Done.

Calibration applies only to the current trip. After the trip ends or the app restarts, direction must be recognized automatically or calibrated manually again. Moving the phone can invalidate it. Canceling after calibration has started returns to automatic recognition; an ended trip is not reopened. Manual calibration does not replace GPS or guarantee accuracy. Do not calibrate while driving.

Instruments

The descriptions below refer to the default phone data sources. If you configure an OBD parameter to replace trip data, the corresponding reading uses that configured source. Its availability and unit depend on the parameter and connection; a missing reading is not zero.

The instrument library offers these cards and styles:

• Speed (Digital speed, Arc speed): your speed from GPS. GPS · reduced accuracy appears when the GPS speed is less precise than usual.
• G-force (G disc, G bars): the force of accelerating and braking (forward and back) and of cornering (left and right), in G, in the car's own directions.
• Heading (Compass, Bearing readout): the direction the car is facing, with an error estimate. Until the orientation is recognized, the card shows the GPS Direction of travel instead while you're moving, marked GPS. In a slide, the direction of travel and the direction the car faces can differ.
• Events (Driving events · action, Driving events · live): the action in progress, or the current G, peak and duration.
• Location (Position map, Position coordinates): a map that follows your position, or latitude, longitude and accuracy.
• Timeline: speed or G-force over the last 30 seconds.
• Current trip: estimated distance, moving time and moving average speed.
• Vehicle attitude: estimated pitch and roll relative to the gravity-defined horizontal plane. The reference can come from automatic recognition or manual vehicle alignment; an angle remains unavailable until its reference is verified.
• Altitude: GPS altitude and its last 30 seconds; accuracy depends on vertical GPS accuracy.

— means a valid reading is unavailable, not zero. During a brief GPS gap, position and altitude may retain their last valid reading for up to 10 seconds; the map may keep its last viewed area. This does not establish continued movement or fill gaps in recorded data.

After orientation is calibrated, valid G-force and attitude data can still be displayed and recorded without valid GPS. Unavailable speed or position stays unavailable; it is not replaced with zero. Events and acceleration timing still require GPS that meets their quality conditions.

Customizing the dashboard

1. Tap More (…) → Edit dashboard, or touch and hold a card.
2. Hold a card until it lifts, then drag to reorder it on that page. Swipe horizontally to switch pages.
3. Tap × to remove a card; the last remaining card cannot be removed. Tap + to choose a style from the library. Each page holds up to three cards; swipe to the empty page at the end to add another page.
4. Tap Done to save.

Only change the dashboard when you've parked safely, or let a passenger do it.