Revamped Phone Call Function on Apple CarPlay: A Long-Awaited Addition That Seems Surprisingly Oversight
Apple has announced a series of new features for its CarPlay system, set to be released with iOS 26. The updates will offer a more interactive and integrated experience for drivers, enhancing usability around calls and messages.
One of the key new features is the compact phone call screen, which will appear at the bottom of the screen during a call. This design is anticipated to be a significant improvement over the current method, where the entire display is taken over by the caller, making it difficult to view navigation details.
The new phone call feature is currently available to try in the iOS 26 public beta, but using a beta build on an iPhone is a risk.
In addition to the phone call improvements, iOS 26 will also bring video support via AirPlay to CarPlay when the car is parked. This means drivers will be able to watch videos on the car’s display through third-party apps, making waiting times like charging an EV or picking someone up more enjoyable.
Live Activities support is another new feature coming to CarPlay. This allows any Live Activity running on your iPhone (such as tracking flights, sports scores, or food deliveries) to show on CarPlay as well, extending Live Activities beyond just iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad.
Messages improvements include support for tapbacks (quick reactions like thumbs up or hearts) and pinned conversations now accessible in CarPlay. The Phone app UI is also updated so incoming calls appear in a compact banner view without taking over the entire screen, letting users keep navigation or other important info visible.
Apple Maps gains multitouch interaction on compatible vehicle displays, allowing pinch-to-zoom and other multi-finger gestures for the first time. Other enhancements involve new UI animations for Live Activities and Siri suggestions, some added first-party widgets, wallpaper options, and the ability to pin songs within Apple Music on CarPlay.
However, the long-anticipated YouTube video streaming via AirPlay in CarPlay has not yet been fully implemented as of beta 5 but remains expected in future updates.
The new features for Apple CarPlay are different from Apple CarPlay Ultra, which is currently limited to a few vehicle models. Apple CarPlay Ultra is a more advanced software that has the potential to take over the entire dashboard and car instruments.
iOS 26 is scheduled to be released in full next month. The new features are expected to be a welcome addition for drivers, particularly those who currently use Apple Maps or Google Maps to navigate. The updates will make CarPlay more interactive, visually rich, and integrated with real-time iPhone data, improving usability around calls and messages.
[1] Apple Insider [2] 9to5Mac [3] MacRumors [4] TechCrunch
- Drivers may find the upcoming iOS 26 update beneficial, as it introduces a compact phone call screen on CarPlay, allowing them to view navigation details alongside incoming calls.
- Besides phone call improvements, the latest CarPlay version will also support video playback via AirPlay when the car is parked, enabling users to enjoy videos through third-party apps on the car's display.
