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CarPlay 2.0 may let users add widgets just like on an iPhone

Widgets in CarPlay 2.0 - Image credit: Aaronp613/X


Widgets in the next generation of CarPlay will be very familiar to iPhone users, a leak of the user interface reveals.

Apple is still working on the next generation of CarPlay, despite having missed its self-imposed release deadline of 2024. Whenever it does actually ship, we now may have a good idea of what it will look like.

Images posted to X on Monday by @Aaronp613 claim to depict how widgets appear in the CarPlay 2.0 interface. The four images offer the same general appearance, with the central section dedicated to widgets and core functions.

At first glance, it seems that widgets will function in a similar manner to how they do in iOS and iPadOS. A large empty space on the interface page shows "Add widgets," which brings up a new interface for scrolling through the list and selecting the right widget.

The few shown include a version of the Clock widget, forecasts from Weather, and the Next Event screen from Calendar. All are depicted as squares, but there are other layout options available.

A third screen shows a large widget split in two, with a map in the left half and a Now Playing progress bar in the right-hand half. A fourth shows the same-size large widget, but solely showing the Now Playing interface.

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The left of the screen shows the app column, familiar to existing CarPlay users. The four corners also include elements such as signal strength for the connected iPhone, battery life, and the time.

The screenshots are seemingly for a more conventional rectangular screen interface in an infotainment system. However, with the prospect of CarPlay 2.0 taking over the entire dashboard of a vehicle, it's not hard to imagine the widget interface to be employed elsewhere.

Aaronp613 has a history of accurate leaks when it comes to Apple products. As someone who regularly delves into Apple's software, it's plausible that the widget interface images are genuine, especially considering the existing CarPlay interface.

This is not the first apparent leak of Apple's upcoming CarPlay overhaul. In November, regulatory images showed how CarPlay could manage a car's functions, such as a speedometer, with the interface also adopting the manufacturer's logo.

Apple has also offered sneak peeks of CarPlay's upgrade, including how it could look in luxury Porsche and Aston Martin cars.



3 Comments

apple4thewin 4 Years · 340 comments

I forgot already, is carplay 2.0 standalone in car system or an updated tether experience?

Rogue01 4 Years · 206 comments

I forgot already, is carplay 2.0 standalone in car system or an updated tether experience?

It still requires the phone, either wired, or wireless, if the vehicle supports wireless CarPlay.  This is more on the vehicle manufacturers to decide if they even want to implement this CarPlay 2.0.  When Apple first introduced CarPlay, originally called iOS in the Car, it took almost 4 years before vehicles actually offered the feature.  So I would imagine this would take even longer since it takes over the entire vehicle, including the gauge cluster.  Something I would not want.  CarPlay has enough bugs with connectivity and UI issues.  I had to do a full factory radio reset/reboot to fix the connection issues, the phone constantly disconnected every few minutes.  The UI issues remain.  Listening to music, the next song won't appear on the display unless I track skip.  Now if you tap on the album name, you no longer get the list of songs on the album.  So that is now broken.  So imagine that with your gauge cluster going crazy.  No thanks.

4 Likes · 0 Dislikes
longpath 21 Years · 403 comments

Any chance that CarPlay 2.0 will include APIs to allow OBD dongle applications to display? I don’t normally keep an OBD dongle connected to the port; but it would be helpful when testing or tuning.

1 Like · 1 Dislike