OS 26 has introduced a new feature that will help CarPlay take better advantage of the shape of your vehicle's display, Apple announced at WWDC 2025. When enabled, the new Smart Display Zoom will shrink down elements on the screen to fit an extra row of app icons.

Along with the redesign of iOS 26, CarPlay is following suit with a new look. The new design extends into the car for a consistent, expressive experience while you drive. This includes icons that look great in light or dark mode, and a more compact design for notifications so you can still see the directions clearly on your screen.

OS 26 brings a lot for the Apple CarPlay experience, particularly the ability to watch videos on infotainment devices.

The new iOS 26 CarPlay feature will allow users to use multi-touch gestures in supported vehicles when using mapping apps, like Apple Maps and Google Maps.

OS 26 is crammed full of upgrades for CarPlay users, including a refreshed Liquid Glass design, support for widgets,

Apple unveiled iOS 26 and, along with it, the new CarPlay features that will change the way you interact with the in-car information system forever. The improved CarPlay will be available for supported iPhone users later this year,

macOS 26 has been given the name Tahoe, after the lake, and it works on Macs as far back as most 2020 models and the 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2019. Several Macs, including the 13-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2019, miss out this time around.

Sometimes CarPlay is trigger happy and starts blasting out your audio before you've taken off your AirPods, or even got into your car. One new setting in iOS 26 should fix that forever.