CarPlay widgets let you check weather conditions, sports scores, smart home controls, and other useful information without opening a full-screen app.
Introduced in iOS 26 and expanded in iOS 27, they give you more control over what appears on your car’s dashboard.
Widgets appear in stacks, allowing several apps to share the same space. You can choose which ones appear, rearrange their order, and let CarPlay automatically display the most relevant information.
How to add widgets to CarPlay
You can set everything up from your iPhone without navigating through your car’s touchscreen.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Go to General > CarPlay.
- Select your vehicle from the list.
- Tap Widgets and enable Show Widgets.
- Select Add Widget to browse compatible apps.
- Choose the widgets you want to display.
Some apps offer multiple widget styles, so check the available options before adding one.
To change the order, drag the handles beside each widget. Tap the red minus button to remove one, or the blue information icon to customize its settings when available.
For example, the Weather widget can display conditions for a saved location rather than your current position.
Let CarPlay organize your widgets automatically
Two additional settings can make your dashboard more useful:
- Smart Rotate: Automatically switches between widgets based on factors such as your location and time of day.
- Widget Suggestions: Displays potentially useful widgets even if you haven’t manually added them.
Once connected to CarPlay, swipe right to reach the widget panel on the leftmost screen. You can swipe vertically through a stack to see its other widgets.
The best widgets to try first
Apple offers several useful options, including Weather for forecasts and sunrise times, Apple Sports for live scores, and Home for controlling compatible smart home accessories.
Clock provides a simple time display, while Photos can show images from your library.
Third-party apps have expanded the selection, with options for package tracking, Instagram Stories, and AI assistants such as Claude and Gemini.
For everyday driving, weather, sports scores, and smart home controls are sensible starting points. They provide information you can check quickly without navigating through multiple screens.
You can return to Settings > General > CarPlay > Widgets whenever you want to change your selection or rearrange the dashboard.
