iOS 26 adds a new Smart Display Zoom setting to CarPlay.
When the setting is enabled, CarPlay will be automatically resized to better fit the shape and size of your vehicle's dashboard screen, if possible.
The images below show what CarPlay looks like before and after the Smart Display Zoom setting is enabled. With the setting turned on, all of the user interface elements become smaller, allowing for an extra row of app icons to fit on the screen.
"Vehicle screens come in many shapes and sizes," said Olivia Hess, a CarPlay software engineer. "In iOS 26, some screen configurations allow drivers to adjust their display scale with Smart Display Zoom configurable within Settings in CarPlay. When Smart Display Zoom is enabled, your CarPlay app will be automatically resized to the new display scale."
To see this new CarPlay setting, you will need to be using an iPhone running iOS 26, which is currently in developer beta. A public beta will be available next month, and the update should be released in September for the iPhone 11 and newer.
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The images below show what CarPlay looks like before and after the Smart Display Zoom setting is enabled. With the setting turned on, all of the user interface elements become smaller, allowing for an extra row of app icons to fit on the screen.
Making the app icons smaller means this is a Smart Display Zoom Out setting.
I am very much looking forward to the updated CarPlay, but I won't be installing iOS 26 until maybe dev beta 4 / pubic beta 2 or so. I have iPadOS 26 dev beta 1 on my iPad Pro M4 and not surprisingly, it's not really suitable for everyday mainstream use.
Perhaps in Carplay 3 we can use the windscreen as a touch screen.
FWIW, current CarPlay turn-by-turn navigation in Apple Maps shows up on my car's headup display.
You really want a windshield full of fingerprints?? ?
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Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
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