5 Surprise CarPlay Features Coming in iOS 26 You Didn’t Hear About at WWDC

by Emily Clarke June 13, 2025

Apple is finally giving CarPlay the attention it deserves. While the big reveal at WWDC focused on major updates like widget support and CarPlay Ultra, the iOS 26 developer beta has unveiled some under-the-radar improvements for the classic CarPlay experience. Here are five hidden gems that are coming your way.

1. Clear Icons and Custom Themes

iOS 26 brings Apple’s new "Liquid" design language to CarPlay, adding more visual polish and modern UI elements. You’ll be able to choose between day, night, and clear themes for home screen icons, making the CarPlay interface feel fresh and updated.

Where to find it: Settings > Appearance > Customize Icons

2. Disable CarPlay Screenshots

Previously, taking a screenshot on your iPhone while using CarPlay would capture both your phone and your car’s display. Now, iOS 26 adds a new toggle that lets you disable CarPlay screenshots for more control over what you capture.

Where to find it: Settings > General > Screen Capture

3. Swipe Gesture to Go Back

A usability win: CarPlay will now support the familiar swipe-right gesture to go back to the previous screen, just like on iPhone. This intuitive update makes navigation easier, especially for touchscreen-enabled infotainment systems.

4. Multi-Touch in Navigation Apps

CarPlay is finally catching up to your iPhone’s map gestures. iOS 26 adds multi-touch support in navigation apps, allowing users to pinch, double tap, rotate, and slide with two fingers in apps like Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze (if supported by the app developers).

5. Smart Display Zoom

Whether your car has a compact or widescreen display, Smart Display Zoom ensures that CarPlay elements are resized appropriately. Icons and menus will now scale to better fit the screen, making for a cleaner, more efficient layout.

Optional feature, can be toggled manually

Compatibility

iOS 26 will support iPhone 11 and newer models. Older devices won’t get these updates, but CarPlay will still function as usual.

Final Thoughts

These features aren’t headliners, but they represent meaningful steps toward making CarPlay more intuitive and customizable. While there’s no guarantee all of them will make it into the final iOS 26 release, they’re currently available in the developer beta and expected in the public beta coming next month.