Seems you don’t want an Aston Martin to have a brand new CarPlay expertise in 2025. That’s as a result of iOS 26 brings a contemporary coat of paint and a few new options to CarPlay for everybody.
Liquid Glass design
The obvious change is basically a brand new theme that mirrors Apple’s new Liquid Glass design language used on iPhone. In CarPlay, Liquid Glass is current from app look choices to buttons and different interface parts.
CarPlay icons now help these look modes: Default, Darkish, and Clear. Clear is the tremendous glassy look with choices for Gentle, Darkish, or Auto. The brand new Clear Darkish choice is my early favourite.
Right here’s a fast shot of the Can-Am Pulse electrical motorbike I’m testing…
Widgets can now seem on CarPlay, together with from third-party apps on iPhone that don’t have CarPlay variations. Widgets on CarPlay look rather a lot like StandBy widgets on iPhone for the reason that expertise is shared.
CarPlay widget stacks may be configured from the iPhone within the Settings app below Normal > CarPlay > My Automobile > Widgets. Along with configuring which app widgets seem, you possibly can toggle widgets on/off, toggle wallpaper on/off, toggle widget recommendations on/off, and toggle rotation on/off.
In my instance, solely a single widget stack is supported. Nonetheless, wider display programs can have extra stacks that may be configured independently. Apple shares an instance:
With the addition of widgets, the default app grid strikes to the third CarPlay dwelling display. Widgets seem on the primary, leftmost dwelling display. Dashboard is second and instantly left of the app grid view. Then the app grid view begins on web page three and extends primarily based on what number of CarPlay apps are put in.
Dwell Actions in Dashboard
Talking of Dashboard, the second dwelling display is the place tiles for Dwell Actions will seem when lively, squeezing in on the underside proper aspect.
That is the half the place I might present you the Uber Eats instance I screenshotted earlier at the moment, however CarPlay screenshots at the moment are off by default. Allow CarPlay screenshots from Settings on iPhone below Normal > Display screen Seize > CarPlay Screenshots.
Luckily, Apple gives an instance of a Dwell Exercise in motion…
Extra
Different modifications embrace a redesigned Music app that displays the navigational construction of the iPhone model, Tapbacks help and pinned conversations in Messages, and extra:
CarPlay — the smarter, safer method to make use of iPhone whereas driving — is used over 600 million instances per day, and now with iOS 26, it receives updates that make it much more stunning and simple to make use of. The gorgeous design features a new compact view for incoming calls, permitting customers to see who’s calling with out lacking key data like upcoming instructions. iOS 26 additionally brings Tapbacks and pinned conversations to Messages in CarPlay, and with widgets and Dwell Actions, customers can keep within the loop with out shedding give attention to the street. These updates additionally come to CarPlay Extremely, which brings one of the best of iPhone and one of the best of the automobile collectively for a deeply built-in, unified expertise throughout each display.
Listed below are extra pictures Apple gives that present how CarPlay in iOS 26 seems on various kinds of shows:
Lastly, for the Aston Martin drivers, that is CarPlay Extremely in iOS 26:
Take a look at these iPhone apps and equipment
FTC: We use earnings incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.
