One of AirPods’ best features has long been absent from CarPlay, but that’s finally changing in iOS 26. Here are the details.

Apple recently announced iOS 26, and the upcoming software update includes many new features and changes for CarPlay in vehicles. To try out

Apple has confirmed iOS 26’s public launch this fall, following the release of beta 4 to developers and testers with major UI and Apple Intelligence updates.

The Wallet app is already home for using Apple Card, Apple Pay, electronic car keys and for storing tickets and passes. In iOS 26, you can create a new Digital ID that acts like a passport for age and identity verification (though it does not replace a physical passport) for domestic travel for TSA screening at airports.

Hot on the heels of its introduction of CarPlay Ultra, Apple announced new upgrades to standard CarPlay at its 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference.

As with every iOS update, iOS 26 will bring with it some changes for the CarPlay interface that appears when your iPhone is connected to your vehicle – and Apple has now quietly confirmed that one of those changes will be support for video playback.

The fourth developer beta of iOS 26 introduces 12 new CarPlay wallpapers. The new CarPlay wallpapers are based on the official iOS 26 wallpaper