Who’s up for a slice? Starting today, drivers of modern cars who want some cheesy goodness are able to order Domino’s through Apple CarPlay. We’re really living in the future, folks. As weird as this sounds, Domino’s has the right idea. Idling sucks, and European automakers’ early pathetic excuses for cup holders were actually good. Mealtime is a communal thing, and takeaway always beats eating in the car. However, whipping out your phone to order food on the road is a bad idea, so a CarPlay app can help bridge the gap between safety and sustenance.
As it sits, you have two options for ordering Domino’s through the app from your CarPlay-equipped car: Tap a saved favorite order and store it, or get patched into a phone call with the Domino’s network that will let you order anything from any store. It’s just that damn easy. Sure, you could instead just ask Siri to call Domino’s, but do you really trust Siri? I’ve had voice texts come out as utter gibberish before, so for all I know, Siri might select The Big Pink on my music streaming service of choice instead of phoning me through to an alright pizza chain. Plus, using the CarPlay app lets you access the dope-ass pizza tracker, turning the commute home into some sort of timing challenge. Just don’t re-enact C’etait Un Rendez-Vous over a large meat lover’s.
Granted, Domino’s isn’t top-notch pizza, but it isn’t wet trash anymore. The firm stepped up its sauce game enough in recent years to build decent pies, even if you opt for gluten-free crust. Oh, and that’s another positive – diet-sensitive fast food options aren’t exactly everywhere, so having something vegetarian or gluten-free at the tap of a finger is pretty dope. While far from gourmet, Domino’s blows Sbarro out of the water. That’s not a very high bar, but it helps in life to lower your expectations, then be pleasantly surprised when they’re exceeded.
[Editor’s Note: So, I’m not exactly sure how I feel about all this; I mean, CarPlay works because you have your phone right there, and you really could just tell Siri to call them and then you have a full voice interface to the pizza people, and they could be, say, an independent local pizza place that makes way better pizza than Domino’s but, eh, whatever, I guess this is easier.
Honestly, all of this reminds me of the Web 1.0 era, when there was a brief fad of including dedicated pizza-ordering buttons on various web devices. Like the i-Opener of 1999, which featured a dedicated pizza key:
Anyone remember that hunk of crap? I bought one cheap and tried to use it as a second monitor, but it never really worked. I’m just saying all of these dedicated food ordering apps and add-ons feel kind of like a fad, a throwback to the old turn-of-the-millenium, Y2K-era. I guess it’s fine, though. Enjoy your damn pizza. Plus, Domino’s at least has an interesting car-related bit of history, because one of the founders sold their half of the business for a 1959 VW Beetle. – JT]
Depending on fast food establishments in your region, it might surprise you to know that Domino’s isn’t the first joint with a CarPlay app. Dunkin’ Donuts rolled out CarPlay support in 2021, while Panera came to dashboards last year. Both of these apps sound like a great way to skip the drive-thru while on the go, and now Domino’s makes a trifecta. Coffee, soups, pizza, what more could you really need? Well, I have an idea.
While individual fast food CarPlay apps are a great start, I fear too many of them will really clutter up the UX and assault your inbox with a deluge of emails. What we really need is something like Ritual for CarPlay, where you could have a list of most-ordered takeaway orders from favorite independent restaurants and just quick-select to order. Jump from jokbal to shawarma to biryani through an easy one-page menu and have a local go-to be hot and ready by the time you get to the front door. Hot and ready pho beats the hell out of whatever Little Caesar’s has on its menu.
I love food like I love cars because it’s culture. They’re both products of an environment and time, and ways for people to come together. Just as Japan’s post-war rebuilding brought about kei cars, South Asian immigrants in Britain mixed elements of butter chicken with western tomato flavor to create chicken tikka masala. Hell, the American fast food boom was largely a response to the increased mobility afforded by the automobile. While Domino’s isn’t especially fancy food, I’m excited for this new era of cars and cuisine, especially as infotainment systems mature.
(Photo credits: Domino’s Pizza)
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I want to buy GAS from my screen, and not have to pull out my phone. ExxonMobil had an app that worked from an Apple Watch, but was buggy as hell. When it worked it was great. Now you need to pull out your phone – not much easier than pulling out your card. Why can’t I buy gas from my car? Seems like 100% of ICE cars could potentially use that.
Does the app let me notify Dominoes of pot holes along my commute?
That would make more sense.
Seems like a great idea on Domino’s part if you ask me… I mean honestly, how else was Domino’s gonna get automotive writers and readers across the web to talk about ordering pizza ???? ????
“jokbal to shawarma to biryani” …checks my small town in rural michigan. well, we have a domino’s. you lucky, cultured bastards.
When going to the drive-through is just too hard.
Jason, missed opportunity here.
If you can order pizza from the car, why not have pizza delivered to the car.
Think about it. Maybe you’re in the future EV Family
TrucksterCrossoverster, and bygone it, you’re getting to the Hoover Dam today, because dad told mom that he could make that drive in one day. He doesn’t care if the water levels are low, if you need to go to the bathroom, or if you’re hungry…… because he can just use the in-car CarPlay App to order pizza, and some wacky set of contraptions will allow Domino’s to safely deliver the pizza while both vehicles are still rolling, like some in-flight refueling wackiness you see with military aircraft.
Just like some car god intended, because look at the time we’re making when we don’t have to stop to get food.
Delivere*by* a car. No driver. Self-driving pizza. No more minimum wage high school kid risking his life in a $500, seven-owner, flood-damaged, multiple-collision, beige Dodge Magnum for your $14 one-topping pizza
People are becoming so lazy and need useless solutions to save them 5 seconds. We are all gonna be like the people on the spaceship Wall-E soon. I can honestly say life is becoming more difficult, frustrating, and expensive since the boom of the internet 30 yrs ago.
I can’t disagree with you, though I’d like to. Sure, internet services are nice and can save time…. when they work. Or when you have the right device. Or when there’s a signal for your handheld radio-telephone gaming device. I’ve noticed that while it can be convenient, it has displaced the solutions you would use when the internet is not accessible. Remember phone books? A google search is useful, but sometimes presents so many options that I can’t make a decision, but with the ol’ Yeller Pages I just went down a list making calls. Banking online is really nice, but when the app is down for maintenance the teller window has reduced hours meaning that going to a local bank branch is no longer a viable option. So as long as everything works live can be easier, but when it’s down, hoo boy…
Oh yeah – GET OFF MY LAWN YOU DAMN KIDS! Almost forgot to end my Old Man Yelling At Clouds rant properly.
I can’t believe it’s been 30 years since I never researched anything.
Now the good weather is here, I’ll be spending more time on motorcycles.
It is bad enough out there, without some f-head ordering a pizza while driving.
Screens in view of the driver should be limited to instrumentation related to the car/truck/van and non-critical apps should require the vehicle to be parked.
When you look down, for each second at 30 mph you have traveled 44 feet, blind.
That math checks out, and it’s eye-opening (pun intended).
Even scarier: At highway speeds, when you sneeze while driving, you travel the distance of an NFL first down with your eyes closed*.
Be safe out there!
[spoiler title=”*”] Some internet sources claim travel at the distance of a football field (~300 ft), but that assumes a 3-second sneeze at 70 mph, which is pretty unrealistic in my personal sneezing experience. More conservatively, assuming adherence to a 65 mph speed limit and a 0.4-second sneeze, you’re looking at nearly 13 yards (38 ft or nearly 12 meters). [/spoiler]
There’s an “Avoid the Noid” joke in here somewhere, I just know it.
Also, Domino’s sucks.
Last ate some Domino’s shit 30+ years ago…Fool me once, screw you.
As someone driving a 2013 with no Car Play or Android Auto, I assumed those capabilities just mirrored your phone to the screen. If you have a Dominos app, or any app, you can load up a “big” version. I guess that isn’t how it works?
There’s only a limited amount of apps that have a CP or AA version
Same, I’m confused here.
I’ll cop to being somewhat of a pizza snob, but I also understand there’s a time and place for cheap pizza, such as Little Caesar’s or Costco. About a year ago, someone who doesn’t know me well gave me a Domino’s gift card.
My friends, this is the worst mainstream pizza I’ve ever put in my piehole. I’d rather eat pizza from a bowling alley snack bar or a grade school cafeteria. And to make matters worse, neither is it a cheap pizza. I think it was $20 for a single pizza. I got the pizza for free, and I still felt ripped off.
I spent $23 on the last single topping pizza I got from my local place. They have signs begging for tips on the counter (I always carry out). Not too long ago the pizza was $14. If they aren’t paying those counter staff, I know the price of flour, tomatoes, cheese, and pepperoni hasn’t gone up that much.
Papa Johns offers 50% off when the local basketball, football, hockey whatever team does something. Ends up being like a $10 large pizza.
The other place is certainly better, but $13 better?
The actual solution is I need to make some dough and freeze it so it is ready to go, and just make my own pizza from now on.
You might be surprised. According to the owner of bagel place close to my home, the price of flour went up 4x from the beginning of 2022 to the end.
Of course, Domino’s probably isn’t paying as much as an independent bakery, and they probably have pre-negotiated prices for what they are buying, but still…
Chuck-E-Cheese has surprisingly decent pizza.
You’re right about that, or at the very least it’s a lot better than it has to be. They know they have a captive audience and could very well just put some ketchup on a piece of cardboard and there’s nothing a parent could do about it but grin and bear it. They do seem to put some effort into the product
It’s one of the solutions in search of a problem!
Yeah, but why would you? I mean…Dominos.
Everquest called, /pizza