In iOS 27, available now, CarPlay gets its biggest update in years, but some features depend on what type of car you have rather than your iPhone model. Some of the biggest additions won't do anything in the vast majority of vehicles on the road today. Here's how the new features pan out.
Works in Any CarPlay Vehicle
- Custom widgets: In iOS 27, CarPlay is no longer limited to Apple's handful of stock widgets. Any compatible widget from your iPhone's Home Screen can now be added to the CarPlay dashboard. To do so, go to Settings ➝ General ➝ CarPlay, tap your car, then tap Widgets ➝ Add Widgets. You can drag widgets to rearrange them, tap to remove them, and toggle Smart Rotate and Widget Suggestions.
- Audio scrubbing: The Now Playing screen now has a proper progress bar, allowing you to drag to any point in a song or podcast rather than having to tap skip repeatedly. There's also a persistent mini-player that keeps artwork and controls on screen while you browse.
- Apple Music Filters: In Apple Music on CarPlay, you can filter your library to sort playlists, albums, artists, and songs by categories like "Favorites" or "All Playlists." Apple says third-party music apps can adopt it too.
- New wallpapers: New wave designs found in iOS 27 and macOS 27 are now available in CarPlay in 14 color options. In previous years, most of Apple's platforms shipped with their own distinct wallpaper. This year, they all share a design called "Celosia," featuring sweeping, overlapping curves and soft shadows inspired by layered flower petals or folded paper.
- Maps improvements: Apple extended natural language search to navigation, and that also works with Apple Maps in CarPlay. You can ask Siri for directions that avoid toll roads, highways, and more.
- Better wireless reliability: Apple says wireless CarPlay connections are more dependable in iOS 27, with improved GPS accuracy and better navigation heading detection. These are phone-side changes, so no new hardware is required.
Needs the Right Car
- Video apps: Apple made a song and dance about this feature, but it's the one that fewest people can use right now. Video browsing in the CarPlay interface requires automakers to certify AirPlay video integration for the vehicle. In other words, an iOS update alone can't enable it. That makes sense when you think about it – playback only works when the vehicle is parked (it switches to audio if you shift into drive) and the car needs to be able to share its drive state with iOS. As of writing, no manufacturer has announced plans to support the feature.
- Sharing routes to your car's own screens: Navigation apps can now pass route data to a vehicle's built-in infotainment or digital instrument cluster, including EV charging stops and range. Again though, your car has to support it, so your mileage may vary (no pun intended).
Needs a Supported iPhone
- Siri AI: The upgraded Siri now handles back-and-forth conversation in the car, while chats sync to the Siri app on your iPhone so you can pick them up later. It does however require an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, plus there's a Siri AI waitlist to get access, which you can join on your iPhone in Settings ➝ Siri.
One to Watch
Apple has given developers a voice control template that any category of CarPlay app can adopt for voice conversations. But nothing will change until individual app makers make use of it, so expect this to arrive gradually.
Bottom Line
If you have a car with CarPlay and a recent iPhone running iOS 27, you'll immediately be able to take advantage of third-party widgets, audio scrubbing, new wallpapers, and Maps improvements. For video and route sharing, you'll need to wait for your car's manufacturer to add support. iOS 27 was released on September 14 and is available to download now.
