iOS 26 Upgrades CarPlay in Five Ways

Apple today announced iOS 26, and the upcoming software update includes several new features and changes for CarPlay in vehicles.

The first iOS 26 developer beta is now available, and a public beta will follow next month. The update will be released later this year.

Liquid Glass Design

When you are using CarPlay with an iPhone running iOS 26, the new Liquid Glass design extends to the CarPlay interface. Like on the iPhone, the new look includes more shimmery app icons and translucent user interface elements.

New Messages App Features

Starting with iOS 26, you can respond to messages with standard Tapbacks like a heart, thumbs up, or exclamation marks directly through CarPlay.

Plus, you can now view your pinned conversations in the Messages app on CarPlay.

Compact View for Phone Calls

CarPlay has a new compact view for incoming phone calls, so that you can still see other information on the screen, such as turn-by-turn directions.

Live Activities

CarPlay's Dashboard screen can now show Live Activities, letting you keep track of things like a flight's arrival time at a glance.

Widgets

The regular version of CarPlay now has a customizable widgets screen, for things like calendar appointments and HomeKit accessory controls.

Widgets were previously limited to CarPlay Ultra.

All of the other new features and changes outlined above are also coming to CarPlay Ultra.