CarPlay widgets put more iPhone apps on the dashboard, and drivers can add or remove them from Settings
Apple's CarPlay widgets, introduced with iOS 26 and expanded in iOS 27, let drivers see information from additional iPhone apps on the car screen. Engadget's guide covers adding, arranging, customizing and removing them.
Engadget draws a distinction between a CarPlay app and a widget. An app such as Maps or Spotify is fully optimized for CarPlay and takes up most or all of the display for easier interaction. Widgets instead appear in customizable stacks and surface specific details from the app they represent, which allows information from apps that were not built for the car screen to reach it.
To add widgets, the guide says the driver should be parked or not driving, then open the Settings app on the iPhone, go to General, select CarPlay and tap the name of their car. From there, choosing Widgets opens a page where Show Widgets must be enabled before selecting Add Widget. The resulting screen lists recommended options at the top, followed by a list of compatible apps installed on the phone. A single app may offer several widgets, so Engadget advises browsing all of them. How many widgets appear at one time depends on the size of the car's infotainment display.
Removing or rearranging widgets uses the same settings page. Handles on the right side of each entry allow items to be dragged into a new layout, and a red minus button deletes a widget the driver no longer wants. Some widgets carry a blue information icon for further configuration, such as picking one of the locations saved in the Weather app.
At the bottom of that page are two automation options. Turning on Smart Rotate switches a stack to the widget deemed most relevant based on factors such as the time of day or the car's location. Widget Suggestions displays potentially useful widgets even if the driver has not added them manually.
Inside the car, widgets are reached by swiping from left to right, which brings up the leftmost page of the display. Once a stack is on screen, swiping up or down moves through the widgets it contains.
Among the uses Engadget suggests are a Photos widget tied to any album, and an Apple Home widget that can switch off a lamp that may have been left on. Other first-party options include Reminders, Weather, Clock and Podcasts; the guide notes that an analog clock suits moments when navigation is not needed, while Weather shows sunrise and sunset times. Apple Sports is also available for following teams while driving. Third-party choices grew with iOS 27, and the guide points to Instagram stories, an Amazon widget for checking order status and AI chatbot widgets such as Claude and Gemini.
Engadget cautions that some widgets are more useful than others in a moving car. It advises sticking to widgets that deliver easily glanceable, non-distracting information rather than activity such as a Duolingo streak or LinkedIn updates.
Editor's Summary
CarPlay widgets arrived with iOS 26 and were expanded with iOS 27, giving drivers access to information from a wider range of iPhone apps on the car's display. Setup, layout changes and removal are handled through the iPhone's Settings app, with optional Smart Rotate and Widget Suggestions controls. Engadget recommends limiting widgets to glanceable information rather than content that could distract a driver.