Interestingly, you don’t have to drive an Aston Martin to enjoy a revamped CarPlay experience in 2025. With iOS 26, everyone gets fresh features and a stylish redesign for CarPlay.
Liquid Glass Aesthetic
The most striking update is the introduction of a new theme that aligns with Apple’s Liquid Glass design approach seen on the iPhone. In CarPlay, this Liquid Glass style influences app appearances, buttons, and other UI components.
CarPlay icons now feature various appearance modes: Default, Dark, and Clear. The Clear mode offers an ultra-glossy look with options for Light, Dark, or Auto. I’m particularly fond of the new Clear Dark setting.
Here’s a snapshot of the Can-Am Pulse electric motorcycle I’m currently testing…
New widgets are now available on CarPlay, including those from third-party apps on the iPhone without native CarPlay support. These widgets resemble the StandBy feature on iPhone since the underlying technology is shared.
Widget stacks on CarPlay can be configured through the iPhone’s Settings menu under General > CarPlay > My Car > Widgets. Users can choose which app widgets to display, as well as toggle settings for widgets on/off, wallpaper, and rotation.
Currently, a single widget stack is supported in my setup. However, vehicles with wider screens can accommodate additional stacks configured separately. Apple has provided a demonstration as well:
With widgets now included, the default app grid shifts to the third CarPlay home screen. Widgets occupy the first home screen, while the Dashboard takes a position directly left of the app grid view, which starts on screen three and grows based on installed CarPlay apps.
Live Activities in the Dashboard
Speaking of the Dashboard, the second home screen will display tiles for Live Activities when they are active, appearing in the bottom right corner.
I would show you my Uber Eats example from earlier, but CarPlay screenshots are disabled by default. You can enable them from your iPhone’s Settings under General > Screen Capture > CarPlay Screenshots.
Thankfully, Apple illustrates an example of a Live Activity in action…
Additional Features
Further enhancements include a redesigned Music app that aligns with the iPhone’s navigation structure, support for Tapbacks, and pinned conversations in Messages, plus plenty more:
CarPlay — the smarter, safer way to use iPhone while driving — sees over 600 million usages daily. With iOS 26, it now features updates that enhance both its aesthetics and usability. The elegant design includes a new compact view for incoming calls, allowing users to recognize who’s calling without compromising critical information like upcoming navigation. Further, iOS 26 introduces Tapbacks and pinned conversations in Messages within CarPlay; coupled with widgets and Live Activities, users can remain informed without diverting their attention from the road. These updates will also be available for CarPlay Ultra, aiming for a seamless integration of the iPhone and car experience across all displays.
Here are additional examples provided by Apple showcasing how CarPlay looks in iOS 26 on various display setups:
And for those driving Aston Martins, here is a glimpse of CarPlay Ultra featured in iOS 26:
