Apple just launched iOS 27, and while there is a long list of new features for the iPhone, including a slider for Liquid Glass intensity, improved performance, and Siri AI, which finally brings some of Siri’s long-awaited AI improvements to the table, this year is also a pretty big one for Apple CarPlay.
I always find it odd that Apple sometimes leaves CarPlay out of the limelight, even though so many people use it every day. But with iOS 27, there are a lot of new features that could make your daily commute, or your next road trip, a lot easier. The issue is that not all of CarPlay’s new features are available to everyone. Some are limited depending on which iPhone you have, while others depend entirely on the type of car you drive.
The good news is that there are also a bunch of new CarPlay features that anyone can use, regardless of which iPhone or car you have, as long as you’re running iOS 27.
Here are all the new CarPlay features that arrived with iOS 27, and whether or not they’ll actually work in your car.
New features available to all CarPlay users
Audio scrubbing is finally here
Thankfully, plenty of iOS 27’s new CarPlay features are available to everyone, regardless of which iPhone or car you have.
That said, one of the biggest new features Apple has added to CarPlay with iOS 27 is audio scrubbing. This has long been one of the most requested CarPlay features, and it finally lets you skim the progress bar of a song, podcast, video, audiobook, or whatever you’re listening to, and jump to the exact point you want. I have a habit of skimming through long songs to get to the best part, so I’m pretty ecstatic about this, and I’m even happier I can now easily skip through a podcast too, like when an ad read is happening.
The next big feature in iOS 27 for CarPlay is custom widgets. Before iOS 27, CarPlay was limited to a handful of Apple stock widgets. But now, you can add almost any widget that you can add to your iPhone’s home screen, to your CarPlay dashboard as well. To do this, simply go to Settings > CarPlay, then select your car, then Widgets > Add Widgets.
There are also a handful of other smaller features and improvements available to everyone with CarPlay and iOS 27 (via MacRumors), including new wallpaper options (though, unfortunately, still no custom wallpapers) and Apple Music Filters that let you easily filter your library to sort playlists, albums, and songs by specific categories like Favorites. Apple also says it has made Wireless CarPlay connections more reliable, with better GPS accuracy for navigational headings.
New features with limited support
Not everyone can access these features because they depend on the vehicle
One of the new features that drew a lot of attention in CarPlay with iOS 26 last year was video playback support. However, because practically no cars support it, hardly anyone has been able to use it. But that hasn’t stopped Apple from expanding video support in anticipation of when carmakers finally do.
With iOS 27, Apple has added video browsing capabilities to the CarPlay interface. This means developers can now add video browsers to CarPlay versions of their apps, letting users scroll through and select a video to watch on their car’s screen. But to be clear, video playback only works when your car is parked, for obvious safety and legal reasons.
However, this feature has two big issues. First, developers actually need to add video browsing support to their apps. Second, your vehicle needs to support AirPlay Video integration in the first place. And right now, no cars actually do yet, because the feature needs to be certified by the vehicle’s manufacturer.
This is because iOS needs to know your vehicle’s state to determine whether it’s parked before allowing video playback. It can’t do that without the manufacturer supporting this level of integration, so this is more of a feature for the future than something you can use today.
Aside from video, Apple has added one more vehicle-dependent CarPlay feature with iOS 27: the ability for a navigation app, such as Google Maps or Apple Maps, to send route data to your car’s built-in infotainment system and instrument cluster. However, this only works if your car has built-in navigation.
Quiz
CarPlay and in-car apps
Trivia challenge
From Siri shortcuts to third-party navigation — how well do you really know CarPlay?
CarPlayNavigationAppleAppsFeatures
In what year did Apple officially launch CarPlay?
Correct! Apple launched CarPlay in 2014, debuting it at the Geneva Motor Show in March of that year. Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo were among the first manufacturers to support it.
Not quite — CarPlay launched in 2014. Apple unveiled it at the Geneva Motor Show, with Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo being the first car brands to offer compatibility.
Which navigation app was one of the first third-party options approved for CarPlay?
Correct! Google Maps was one of the first major third-party navigation apps approved for CarPlay, arriving in 2018. Before that, Apple Maps was the only built-in turn-by-turn option available.
The answer is Google Maps. It became one of the first approved third-party navigation apps for CarPlay in 2018, breaking Apple Maps’ monopoly on in-car directions.
What is the name of Apple’s next-generation CarPlay platform, announced at WWDC 2022, which takes over a car’s entire instrument cluster?
Correct! Apple simply calls it ‘next-generation CarPlay.’ Announced at WWDC 2022, it extends the CarPlay experience across multiple screens including the instrument cluster, offering deeper integration with vehicle systems.
Apple actually refers to it simply as ‘next-generation CarPlay.’ Announced at WWDC 2022, it goes far beyond the dashboard screen and can take over the entire instrument cluster and multiple displays throughout the cabin.
What is the minimum iPhone model required to use CarPlay?
Correct! CarPlay requires an iPhone 5 or later. Since the iPhone 5 was the first Apple device to feature the Lightning connector, all CarPlay-capable iPhones use Lightning or USB-C for wired connections.
CarPlay actually requires an iPhone 5 or later. The iPhone 5 introduced the Lightning connector, which is why it marks the starting point for CarPlay compatibility in Apple’s device lineup.
Which music streaming app was among the very first third-party audio apps available on CarPlay at launch?
Correct! Pandora was one of the earliest third-party audio apps supported on CarPlay. It was available at or near launch in 2014, giving drivers a streaming alternative to iTunes before Spotify joined the platform.
Pandora was actually one of the first third-party audio apps on CarPlay. Spotify came later, but Pandora was already there near launch in 2014, giving early adopters a streaming music option beyond iTunes.
Which wireless standard does wireless CarPlay use to stream content from your iPhone to the car’s head unit?
Correct! Wireless CarPlay uses Wi-Fi to stream the screen and audio from your iPhone to the car’s head unit, while Bluetooth is used only for the initial pairing and connection handshake. This allows high-bandwidth, low-latency data transfer.
Wireless CarPlay actually streams over Wi-Fi, not Bluetooth or NFC. Bluetooth handles the initial connection setup, but Wi-Fi does the heavy lifting for transmitting video, audio, and touch input in real time.
Waze, a popular CarPlay navigation app, was acquired by which company?
Correct! Google acquired Waze in 2013 for approximately $1.1 billion. Despite both Waze and Google Maps being Google products, they have been maintained as separate apps with different community-driven approaches.
Waze was acquired by Google in 2013 for around $1.1 billion. Interestingly, Google kept Waze as a standalone app rather than merging it into Google Maps, and both apps remain available on CarPlay today.
Which of these app categories is NOT officially supported on standard CarPlay as defined by Apple’s guidelines?
Correct! Apple does not allow full web browsers on CarPlay, as they would be too distracting for drivers. CarPlay supports carefully vetted categories like audio, messaging, navigation, and parking apps, but open-ended browsing is off the table for safety reasons.
Web browsers are not permitted on standard CarPlay. Apple restricts app types to reduce driver distraction, allowing categories like audio, navigation, messaging, and parking — but unrestricted web browsing doesn’t make the cut.
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SirI AI
You’ll need a newer iPhone to use Siri AI
The feature that has been in the spotlight the most with iOS 27 is Siri AI, Apple’s long-awaited upgraded version of Siri enhanced by AI. It makes Siri much more conversational and a lot smarter, with new features such as on-screen awareness, which lets you ask Siri questions about what you’re seeing on your screen, and Personal Context, which allows Siri to pull information from across multiple apps, such as finding your flight number from your airline app or tracking down a specific photo from a trip you took years ago.
Siri AI has also been integrated into CarPlay, with the biggest advantage being that you can now have more natural conversations with Siri without having to sound like a robot. You can also get quick answers to questions you might have while driving, such as when and where your next meeting is, or ask Siri to help you find an address, like one a friend sent you.
My favorite thing about Siri AI in CarPlay so far, though, is that it’s much more reliable for quickly sending text messages and playing songs on Spotify. I’m always asking Siri to play specific songs on Spotify, and before iOS 27, it was always hit or miss whether it would actually work. But now that Siri is a lot more reliable, it works much better.
The big catch with Siri AI is that it’s only available on iPhones that support Apple Intelligence. That means you need an iPhone 15 Pro or newer.
How to download iOS 27
The oldest iPhone that supports iOS 27 is the iPhone 11
If you want to check out any of these new CarPlay features, you first have to download iOS 27 on your iPhone. Fortunately, iOS 27 support is pretty broad, and as long as you have an iPhone 11, iPhone SE (2nd generation), or newer, you’ll be able to download the update.
To download the update on your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update, then select Upgrade to iOS 27.
