3 New CarPlay Features Apple Added In April 2026

Apple CarPlay running on an infotainment screen

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For vehicles that support it, Apple CarPlay offers a more streamlined infotainment experience that also has the advantage of being seamlessly synced with your iPhone. You don’t need to install a separate set of apps in your car or worry about syncing your contacts, creating playlists, or setting up navigation again. CarPlay continues to receive new features — it even got a fresh new look with iOS 26’s Liquid Glass visual overhaul last year.

Over the years, CarPlay has added support for a much wider range of apps beyond just navigation and music streaming services. Lesser-known CarPlay apps like PlugShare get you functionality that the iPhone doesn’t offer out of the box. CarPlay also received support for widgets and Live Activities, and the updated user interface makes it easier to view incoming calls without losing sight of the navigation view.

To enjoy new features in Apple CarPlay, you need to keep your iPhone up to date. Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update and check whether your device is behind. At the time of writing, the iOS 26.4 update brought about a few useful additions to CarPlay — here’s a slightly more detailed look at these changes.

Ambient Music widget

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Perhaps the two most-used aspects of CarPlay while you’re on the road are navigation via Apple Maps or Google Maps, and music playback control via services like Spotify or Apple Music. If you would like to take a break from your usual playlist and instead switch to something calmer and more focused, you should definitely give the Ambient Music feature a shot. It’s not exactly a new feature — it’s been available since iOS 18.4, but was only accessible on the iPhone through the Control Center until recently.

Although it still lacks a dedicated app, iOS 26.4 introduced a new Ambient Music widget you can add to your home screen. Since CarPlay now supports widgets, you can navigate to Settings > General > CarPlay > [Your Vehicle Name] > Widgets > Add Widget, and select the “Ambient Music” widget. This does not require a subscription to Apple Music and offers ad-free playback.

Ambient Music offers serene soundscapes across categories like sleep, chill, productivity, and well-being. You can choose from a few curated playlists for each mood. Alternatively, if you have an Apple Music subscription, you can associate your own playlist with a mood. This is a neat addition for people who prefer calmer background music while driving, or those who simply can’t decide on a playlist before heading out on a drive.

Support for AI chatbots

With the rise of generative AI, it’s become impossible to sit through a product announcement without hearing about a bunch of new AI features. Apple has been promising a supercharged Siri for a while now, but has been struggling to deliver on the AI front in any meaningful way. Meanwhile, Android Auto received a pretty major update with Gemini Live, making it clearly the more capable voice-based car assistant. While we’re still waiting for the big Siri overhaul, iOS 26.4 introduced support for third-party AI chatbots.

You can get started right away if you have ChatGPT installed on your iPhone. Just launch the app on your car’s infotainment screen to start talking to the assistant. It works exclusively in voice mode, so you won’t find yourself distracted trying to type things out while driving. Unfortunately, you cannot really get ChatGPT to control your device actions or car features. It’s more of a companion that you can use to ask questions or converse with while you’re on the road.

It also looks like it cannot access your location in real-time, but you can still get recommendations for nearby places if you just tell it the area you’re driving through. Siri remains the only way to perform hands-free operations like placing calls or sending messages, but if you ever need a friend on a long road trip, you can now boot up ChatGPT.

New apps to try

Most of what you’ll probably use CarPlay for is navigation or music streaming, but it’s always great to see the list of third-party apps grow. After all, they provide a specialized, hands-free interface that a standard iPhone screen can’t safely offer while driving. Those living outside the U.S. will know how big a deal WhatsApp is. Well, following the release of WhatsApp on the Apple Watch, the instant messaging giant finally released a CarPlay version of the app in April, allowing users to stay connected while driving.

It’s designed with safety and ease of use in mind, which is why the primary way to communicate on WhatsApp in CarPlay is via voice messages or calls. The interface doesn’t let you read older messages; instead, it narrows it to recent conversations and unread messages. That being said, you can still send messages to someone who doesn’t immediately appear in your recent chats by tapping on the new message icon.

Google Meet is another new addition to CarPlay’s app lineup. You can hop on incoming calls or urgent meetings while you’re on the road without having to pull your phone out. Obviously, you can always use Google Meet for casual calls with friends and family members, too.

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Stephan Dorsey

Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.

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Recent Reviews

What It’s Like to Travel Somewhere That Still Feels Wild

There are places in the world where everything feels accounted for. The roads are smooth, the signs are clear, and the experience has been carefully arranged long before you arrive. Adventure exists, technically, but only within boundaries that make it predictable. Nothing unexpected happens. Nothing pushes back.

And then there are places that still feel wild.

Not reckless. Not uncomfortable. Just untamed enough that you feel like a guest rather than a consumer. Places where the land doesn’t bend to human schedules, where weather sets the tone for the day, and where nature isn’t something you observe from a distance — it’s something you move through, adapt to, and occasionally surrender to. Traveling somewhere that still feels wild changes you in quiet, persistent ways. It slows your thinking. Sharpens your senses. Reminds you how small you are — and how good that can feel.

Alaska is the clearest example we know. But the feeling itself, the pull toward the wild, extends far beyond one place on the map.

The Absence of Predictability Is the Point

Baby bear Pavlovs Bay Alaska — Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.

When you travel somewhere wild, certainty disappears almost immediately. Plans turn into loose outlines. Timelines soften. The assumption that you’re fully in control starts to fade — and that’s exactly where the experience opens up.

In Alaska, weather doesn’t politely cooperate. Flights wait. Boats adjust for tides. Trails change overnight. Wildlife appears on its own terms, not when you’re ready with a camera in hand. At first, this unsettles people. We’re trained to optimize travel, to squeeze value from every hour, to move efficiently from one highlight to the next.

Wild places resist that mindset. They force you to slow down and pay attention instead.

Instead of rushing, you find yourself watching clouds crawl across a mountain range or listening for the distant crack of shifting ice. You wait because someone has spotted a bear across the river, and suddenly waiting doesn’t feel like lost time — it feels like the entire point. In wild places, patience isn’t a virtue. It’s a requirement.

Nature Isn’t a Backdrop — It’s the Main Character

Endless Adventures Await-Moose - Alaska Glacier Lodge Palmer Alaska — Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.

In many destinations, nature plays a supporting role. It’s something you admire between meals and museum visits, a scenic pause before moving on to the next activity.

In wild places, nature is the storyline.

In Alaska, the scale alone recalibrates your perspective. Mountains don’t rise politely in the distance; they loom. Glaciers don’t shimmer passively; they groan, fracture, and move. Rivers aren’t decorative — they’re powerful, cold, and very much alive. Wildlife isn’t something you visit. It’s something you encounter, often unexpectedly, and always on its own terms.

That reality changes how you move through the world. You speak more quietly. You scan the horizon. You learn to read the land not just for beauty, but for meaning — wind direction, cloud movement, water levels. You stop expecting nature to perform for you and start allowing it to lead.

Comfort Looks Different in the Wild

View from my room Homer Inn and Spa — Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.

Traveling somewhere wild doesn’t mean giving up comfort, but it does redefine what comfort actually means. Luxury here isn’t about excess or polish. It’s about warmth after cold. Shelter after exposure. A solid meal after a long day outside.

Some of our most memorable places to stay in Alaska weren’t remarkable because of opulence, but because of where they were. Remote enough that silence felt complete. Close enough to the land that stepping outside meant being fully immersed — weather, wildlife, and all. Comfort in wild places is practical and intentional, and because of that, it feels deeply satisfying.

You notice and appreciate the basics more. Dry socks. Hot coffee. A sturdy roof during a storm. These aren’t assumed; they’re earned. And because you’re more present, they land differently. They feel grounding in a way that polished luxury sometimes doesn’t.

Your Senses Wake Up

Matanuska Glacier, Alaska — Photo Credit: Deposit Photos.

One of the quieter gifts of wild travel is how it reactivates your senses. In daily life, we filter relentlessly just to get through the day — noise, movement, light, information. Wild places strip that filter away.

You smell rain before it arrives. You hear ice shifting miles off. You notice how light changes minute by minute. In Alaska, even the air feels sharper, cleaner, alive. You become aware of your body in space — where you step, how fast you move, what’s happening around you.

This heightened awareness isn’t stressful. It’s calming. It pulls you into the present without effort or instruction. It’s mindfulness without the app, presence without performance.

You Remember What Adventure Actually Means

Hatcher Pass - Gold Cord Lake Trail Alaska — Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.

Somewhere along the way, adventure became a marketing word. But real adventure, especially in wild places, isn’t about adrenaline or bragging rights. It’s about curiosity, humility, and uncertainty.

Adventure means not knowing exactly how the day will unfold. It means trusting guides and locals. It means adapting instead of controlling. In Alaska, that might look like hiking through mist, unsure if the clouds will lift. Kayaking through ice-dotted water where seals surface nearby. Boarding a small plane knowing weather could change everything.

And when things don’t go according to plan, that doesn’t diminish the experience — it becomes the story. Wild places remind you that the goal isn’t perfection. It’s participation.

Time Feels Different Out Here

Yllas Ski Resort Finland — Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.

Wild destinations stretch time in ways that are hard to explain until you experience them. Days feel full without feeling rushed. Hours pass unnoticed when you’re fully engaged. Evenings arrive gently, not abruptly.

Without constant stimulation or packed schedules, your nervous system settles. You sleep more deeply. Wake earlier. Feel less urgency to check your phone. In Alaska, the light itself reshapes time, lingering late into the evening in summer, quietly reminding you that clocks are human inventions, not natural laws.

That shift doesn’t disappear when you leave. You return home more aware of how often urgency is manufactured — and more protective of your time because of it.

You Feel Like You’ve Earned the Experience

Kayaking Glacier Bay Alaska — Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.

There’s a quiet satisfaction that comes from traveling somewhere that isn’t effortless. Wild places often require extra steps — small planes, ferries, long drives, patience. But effort creates investment.

When you arrive, you don’t feel like you stumbled into the experience. You chose it. And that choice creates respect — for the land, for the people who live there, and for the experience itself. In Alaska, simply reaching some destinations comes with stories before the stay even begins.

Wild travel doesn’t hand itself to you. It asks something in return.

Why We’re Drawn to the Wild Now More Than Ever

Waterfall Cove Alaska — Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.

The pull toward wild places isn’t accidental. After years of constant connectivity, crowded destinations, and carefully curated experiences, many travelers are craving something real. Something grounding. Something that doesn’t ask them to perform.

Wild places offer perspective. They remind us that the world is bigger than our inboxes, that discomfort isn’t dangerous, and that awe still exists — no explanation required. Alaska sits at the heart of this longing, but it isn’t alone. You feel it in remote coastlines, high deserts, northern forests, and far-flung mountain towns around the world.

What unites them isn’t geography. It’s restraint. These places haven’t been overly softened or simplified. They still ask you to meet them where they are.

What You Take Home From a Wild Place

Hikers hiking, enjoying the view of Famous Patagonia Mount Fitz — Photo Credit: Deposit Photos.

You don’t return with just photos. You come back quieter, more observant, and more comfortable with uncertainty. You gain a clearer sense of what you actually need — and what you don’t.

Traveling somewhere that still feels wild recalibrates your sense of scale and self. It reminds you that not everything needs improvement, explanation, or monetization. Some things are powerful simply because they exist.

And once you’ve felt that — once you’ve stood somewhere that didn’t care whether you were there or not — it changes how you travel going forward. You start seeking places that ask something of you. Places that feel alive. Places that leave room for surprise.

Because wildness, in the end, isn’t something you conquer.

It’s something you experience — and carry with you long after you’ve left.

Hi! We are Jenn and Ed Coleman aka Coleman Concierge. In a nutshell, we are a Huntsville-based Gen X couple sharing our stories of amazing adventures through activity-driven transformational and experiential travel.

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