Apple released an update iOS 26.4 and along with it, several smaller innovations also arrived in the system CarPlayThis is not a major change to the interface, but two features are added that can be quite pleasant in everyday use of the car. CarPlay newly acquired widget Ambient Music and at the same time support for voice conversation applications, i.e. various chatbots that can communicate directly via iPhone connected to the vehicle.
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If you want to try out the news, just iPhone update to iOS 26.4. You can do this in the classic way in Settings in the General section under Software Update. The update is available for iPhone 11 and later models. Once your phone is updated and connected to your car, CarPlay new features are made available automatically, there is no need to install any additional applications or updates directly in the car.
The first news is widget Ambient Music. CarPlay although support widgethas already been acquired in iOS 26, but it is only version 26.4 that adds the ability to view widget with ambient music. Ambient function Music while it is not entirely new – Apple introduced it last year in iOS 18.4. It is a simple system of thematic playlists that are designed to create a certain atmosphere. The music is divided according to mood or situation, for example for relaxation, concentration or quiet evening listening. In practice, it works so that instead of searching for a specific album or artist, you simply start a prepared music stream that runs in the background. Interestingly, listening does not require a subscription Apple Music, so it can also be run on iPhonech, where no subscription is active.
Widget is displayed on the dashboard CarPlay, which you can access by swiping right on the main interface. If it doesn't appear automatically, you can add it directly from the settings CarPlay on the iPhone, where you select a specific vehicle and edit the stack widgetIn practice, it's a pretty handy little thing. When you get in the car and don't want to worry about what exactly to play, just one touch and the music starts playing. This can be very useful when driving, when you don't want to go through entire music libraries.
This is what it looks like CarPlay v iOS 26
The second new feature is expanded support for voice chat apps. According to the updated developer documentation, apps with chatshoes to offer in CarPlay voice interface, so users can interact with these services directly from the car. In practice, this could work for applications such as ChatGPT, Gemini from Google or Claude from Anthropic, if their developers implement this option in their iPhone applications.
Apple At the same time, it maintains its emphasis on driving safety. Communication is to be done purely by voice, so the driver does not have to look at the display. In this respect, the new function actually naturally complements what is already CarPlay offers long-term through Siri. It is available directly in the system and there is no need to open any application. Interestingly, however, according to recent information Apple working on a new version Siri pro iOS 27, which should have more features typical of modern chatbots, including conversation history. If these plans are confirmed, it is not excluded that a similar version Siri over time it will also go to CarPlay.
I thought that in version 26.4 it would be possible to play videos on the car infotainment system,,