WWDC 2025: Three big changes in Apple CarPlay with iOS 26, know the details

American tech giant Apple unveiled iOS 26 in its annual technology conference, Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025, and also revealed significant alterations in most of its products. In this round, too, the company has provided several significant and helpful upgrades to its car connectivity system, Apple CarPlay as well. They will further improve the user experience. 

In iOS 26, there are three new features added to Apple CarPlay. Which include widgets, live activities, and tapback responses. Now users will be able to pin their favorite chats like iMessage so that they do not have to search for them again and again.

Another very useful update is that now, when a call comes, it will not cover the entire screen. Instead, a small notification of the call will appear at the bottom, due to which other functions like navigation will continue. This feature will be very useful, especially when you are driving at a traffic junction and the map does not disappear due to a call.

With iOS 26, the design of Apple CarPlay has also been completely refreshed. It will now get transparent styling under the liquid glass display, which will now also be seen on other iOS devices. The look of icons has also been changed in light and dark mode, and now notifications will look more compact than before. Which will make it even easier to see directions for navigation.

Apple has also confirmed that its new CarPlay Alta feature, which was first seen in the Aston Martin DBX 707 last month, will now be made available in more vehicles. According to reports, auto companies like Hyundai, Kia, Ford, and Volvo are already working with Apple to integrate CarPlay Ultra in their models.

The company will share more feature information with developers in the coming days. And it is expected that all these updates will be rolled out for iOS users soon. With iOS 26, Apple CarPlay has now become smarter, secure, and user-friendly.