- Apple announced upgrades to CarPlay at its WWDC 2025 event
- Includes new look, way to take calls without blocking directions
Apple fans and developers gathered this week for the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference, where it unveils product updates. This year’s big story is a new look interface Apple calls Liquid Glass.
However, the company also announced updates to CarPlay, a system that mirrors your phone on your car’s screen so you can use some apps while driving.
Related: What is Apple CarPlay?
Apple says users engage with CarPlay “over 600 million times per day.” It offers simplified interfaces for some apps so you can stream music, get turn-by-turn directions, and take calls on the road. It will even read text messages and let you compose responses with voice commands.
What It Does Now
- CarPlay can now control smart home devices
- Texting responses get easier through big icons
We like CarPlay but have been annoyed by a few imperfections. In the current version, for instance, an incoming call notification blocks your view of turn-by-turn directions.
Apple will fix that with the update, which keeps call notifications in a compact view that keeps the map on the screen.
Apple also says “widgets” are coming to CarPlay. A press release doesn’t explain what that means, but images show icons for controlling connected devices like smart home lighting and garage door openers.
A new message display lets you pin certain conversations so you can quickly reach the people you interact with most by tapping a big icon without scrolling. “Tapbacks,” TechRadar explains, let you send a quick emoji response with a single tap.
CarPlay will also now offer quick text updates on Live Activities tracked in some apps, like notifying you of a flight change while you’re driving to the airport.
The updates will be part of a new operating system called iOS 26. If you’re an Apple user, you’re probably currently on some version of iOS 18. The company isn’t skipping six updates; it’s switching to a new system that uses the year in an update’s name.
The free software update will be available this fall for iPhone 11 and later.
A Battle for Data
Most automakers now offer CarPlay on almost all of their 2025 and 2026 cars. A rival Google system, Android Auto, is equally common.
The company recently debuted an enhanced version, CarPlay Ultra, that will appear on future cars. It controls all of a car’s screens so that you can see your speed, change climate control, and even adjust the mirrors in Apple’s interface. So far, it is offered only on certain 2026 Aston Martin vehicles.
But General Motors, in late 2023, announced plans to phase out both the Apple and Android systems. It’s part of a growing battle to control your driving data.
Systems like CarPlay give tech companies access to immense amounts of data about your travel and entertainment preferences. Some car companies would rather keep that for their own purposes.
Earlier this year, GM agreed to a 5-year ban on selling driver data for profit. A recent report from a pair of U.S. senators found that many other automakers sell drivers’ data.
