Much has been discussed about Apple’s latest iOS 26 software update, which results in the ‘Liquid Glass’ interface and arguably the most celebrated changes in the ways that users interact with Apple products in recent years.
Another aspect it has affected is the extremely popular Apple CarPlay user interface that allows drivers (and passengers) to mirror their smartphones on a vehicle’s infotainment screen.
Most modern manufacturers now offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Compatibility by default, but if you, like me, are driving an older vehicle, you can also take advantage of the functionality when you behind the wheel with a dedicated aftermarket head unit.
It was on one of these, admittedly, rather small and slightly clumsy, aftermarket head units that I took the latest iteration of Apple Carplay for a spin. Here are my top five new features.
1. The interface just looks better
While the new ‘Liquid Glass’ interface with its almost opaque app icons doesn’t fit right Apple CarPlay (it makes them difficult to see), the standard and dark -mode settings look amazing and really pop.
The app icons now have rounded edges, and they contrast nicely against a choice of slim backgrounds, even on an average screen like mine.
When comparing side by side with previous generations of CarPlay, it is difficult to argue that it does not look more modern. Appicons swing in with a nice animation instead of staying static too.
Above all, there is an impressive amount of consistency throughout the interface, where all app icons get the same rounded update. There is also an app -dock attached to the side of the screen.
In my right driving vehicle, this was easily attached to the right, which allowed quick and easily accessible access to the most recently used apps.
Apple introduces its popular iPhone-widget feature to CarPlay with the iOS 26 update, providing a dedicated screen to display compact ‘Quick-Look’ versions of favorite apps.
On smaller infotainment screens (mine is only about 7 inches), it is only possible to show one widget at a time, which kind of defeats the item to stack them to fast glances.
In the settings on my Apple iPhone 15, I could choose from five favorite widgets, all taken from the apps that have already installed. These can then be mixed around in order of meaning.
There are things like a digital watch, summary of news heading, recent WhatsApp conversations and daily calendar items, all of which are attached to the first page of Apple CarPlay.
As mentioned earlier, I could only see one at a time on my small screen to roll up and down between them, but it’s still a very practical way to get quick access to break news, watch a weather update or shortcut to a WhatsApp conversation.
3. Notifications are less intrusive
Most people connect their phone to a vehicle, start Apple CarPlay and then navigate through Google Maps, Waze or Apple Maps. Having notifications emerges on top of these apps can be confusing and frustrating when driving.
Apple aims to address this with a new ‘Tapback’ feature on incoming iMessages. Now it is possible to respond quickly with an emoji or silence future messages in a small panel that appears.
The number of answers is limited and if you need to explain something beyond a love heartemoji or a question mark, you will have to resort to Siri.
Similarly, incoming phone calls no longer take the entire screen and destroy any chance to see the next navigation instruction. Instead, they slide nicely from the bottom of an app screen. Yay.
4. You can customize things (a little)
Alongside the ability to choose between a handful of slim wallpapers (no access to photos just yet to custom backgrounds), there is a good amount of customization within CarPlay settings.
You can change the text size, which is convenient for less infotainment screens or those with bad vision, choose between standard or dark screens, as well as selecting the full ‘liquid glass’ treatment if you dig that look.
The latter must be less distracting as the ‘ghosts out’ the app icons. But on my screen it made everything almost impossible to see in wide daylight and send distraction levels through the roof.
5. Live activities are truly useful
If you have a larger infotainment screen, the Stackable Widgets page may also include live activities that are very practical if you want to track anything.
The most obvious example is live aircraft information from your favorite CarPlay-compatible app as it allows you to map progress on the way to the airport.
Similarly, there is the opportunity to get live sports results shown in a widget as long as you follow teams or games in the Apple Sports application first.
Other apps that are optimized for this functionality include things like Ringgo parking that can display remaining parking time on screen if you are sitting in your car waiting to pick up someone.
But AirPlay only works with sound
There have been reports that Apple is looking to support AirPlay video in the CarPlay environment so users can enjoy entertainment when parked.
I tried this using my system but could only manage to have the sound of a YouTube video molded to my CarPlay-enabled Head Unit. It is not the end of the world as you could still enjoy a DJ mix or a documentary that does not require the visual, but it is not perfect.
Apple says it will “integrate support for CarPlay with AirPlay video to activate this feature in your car,” but it will be down to the manufacturer to choose how and when they activate it.
Similarly, the new clamp-to-zoom function only works on selected vehicles that allow for control of multiple gesture, which in turn must be decided by the car manufacturer.
