CarPlay on iOS 26: Here's Everything New

Friday June 13, 2025 8:17 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple this week announced iOS 26, and the upcoming software update includes many new features and changes for CarPlay.

CarPlay Liquid Glass Light
To try out these features now, you will need to be using an iPhone running iOS 26, which is currently available in developer beta.

Below, we recap nine changes to CarPlay.

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.

Pinned Conversations

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 widgets screen, for things like calendar appointments and HomeKit accessory controls.

Widgets were previously limited to CarPlay Ultra.

On a related note, all of these new features are coming to CarPlay Ultra.

Multi-Touch Maps

Starting with iOS 26, CarPlay users can interact with mapping apps using multi-touch gestures in supported vehicles. This allows users to zoom and pan on the map with their fingers, just like they can on an iPhone.

Watch Videos While Parked

iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to detect when the vehicle is in motion and end playback.

Automakers need to add support for this feature, so it might be limited to newer vehicles and take some time to roll out.

Smart Display Zoom

iOS 26 adds a new Smart Display Zoom setting to CarPlay.

When the setting is enabled, CarPlay will be automatically resized to better fit the shape and size of your vehicle's dashboard screen, if possible.

The images below show what CarPlay looks like before and after the Smart Display Zoom setting is enabled. With the setting turned on, all of the user interface elements become smaller, allowing for an extra row of app icons to fit on the screen.

Before

After

iOS 26 should be released in September.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Popular Stories

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...

• 69 comments

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...

• 177 comments

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...

• 58 comments

Apple 'Sherlocked' These Apps at WWDC 2025

Wednesday June 11, 2025 7:14 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple. When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred...

• 100 comments

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by Juli Clover

iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...

• 209 comments

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 10 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by Juli Clover

At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...

• 165 comments

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...

• 68 comments

Apple Lists 10 Airlines Set to Offer iOS 26's Upgraded Boarding Passes

Wednesday June 11, 2025 11:28 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

As we previously reported, iOS 26 enhances Apple Wallet app boarding passes in a few ways. First, the passes now support Live Activities, allowing you to keep track of a flight at a glance on your iPhone's Lock Screen, and in the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and newer. In addition, new shortcuts below the passes provide one-tap access to Apple Maps for airport directions, and to the Find...

• 27 comments

Top Rated Comments

turbineseaplane

15 hours ago at 09:07 am

It’s doable, but not with CarPlay.

This is also illegal in US while driving

Nobody is suggesting doing this.
Can we leave the behavior policing out of these discussions?

Folks will do what they are going to do.

Right now we have huge swaths of the population flying along with the phone in their hand or in a cradle -- getting used while driving. It's all unsafe and against rules and people are doing it in droves right now.

I don't like it .. trust me.

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

pratax2

16 hours ago at 08:23 am

I was expecting UI improvements on dashboard but it seems nothing is coming. Current layout is wasting a lot of space in useless tiles as the one of maps (with info that could be easily integrated in the map tile itself) and having a very poor experience with the music tile for example.

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

anakin44011

16 hours ago at 08:29 am

Aside from minor quibbles about sizing, readability, complexity (as everyone always has quibbles -- it is just our nature)...this is one of the most exciting CarPlay upgrades.

Depending on what you do (or want to do) in your car -- some of these capabilities could be seen as major usability upgrades to our existing vehicles. Just take a few of those and imagine how difficult it would be for Honda or Nissan to try to implement those separately (without CarPlay). And Apple is giving them to us for free. Let's give credit where credit is due - Bravo, Apple. I now forgive you for Genmoji.?

However, on a side note, I see some of these being unruly on cars without touchscreens (those relying solely on jog wheels and trackpads). I wish all car manufacturers would make touchscreens standard (with other controller as optional add-ons).

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

alexandr

14 hours ago at 10:09 am

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.

This alone makes this update worthwhile.

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

biggest father1

16 hours ago at 08:52 am

If someone uses wired CarPlay, would AirPlay video be needed to play a video on the vehicle's entertainment screen? You'd think a video would just play on the vehicle's display from the iPhone, right? Only asking because I don't have faith that auto manufacturers will update older vehicles to use this feature.

Edit: This question is regarding the new iOS 26 feature that lets you watch videos on the vehicle’s infotainment display while the car is parked.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

jphall

15 hours ago at 09:25 am

I don’t think this upgrade is that exciting at all. I think it’s rather underwhelming frankly…

I do hope you've filed feedback with Apple with specific things you'd like to have on your car's CarPlay.