iOS 26 will fit CarPlay to better match the shape of your car's screen

iOS 26 has introduced a new feature that will help CarPlay take better advantage of the shape of your vehicle's display, Apple announced at WWDC 2025. When enabled, the new Smart Display Zoom will shrink down elements on the screen to fit an extra row of app icons.

"Vehicle screens come in many shapes and sizes," CarPlay engineer Olivia Hess explained in a developer video spotted by MacRumors. "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."

Though the change is relatively small, it should make CarPlay less of a hassle to use if you have a lot of apps. The feature is only available in a developer beta for now, but will appear in ...