Reference · iOS 26 and iOS 27
Published · Updated · N5 Labs, maker of Car Play Widgets: Dashboard
In short
This glossary defines 20 CarPlay terms that Apple's settings and guides use on iOS 26 and iOS 27. Each definition is one or two sentences and links its source. For 19 of them that is an Apple page. The entry for Car Widgets is about the app we make and links its official page. The Apple pages were read on October 6, 2026. Where Apple names a setting and does not explain it, the entry says so.
CarPlay is Apple's way of using an iPhone from a vehicle's display: turn-by-turn directions, phone calls, music, the calendar and more. Apple says it is available on select automobiles and select aftermarket navigation systems, and not in every country or region.
CarPlay Dashboard is the name Apple's iPhone User Guide uses for the CarPlay screen where Live Activities, suggestions and the navigation app you are using appear.
Sources Apple iPhone User Guide: View Live Activities in CarPlay; Apple iPhone User Guide: Change settings in CarPlay; Apple iPhone User Guide: Use other apps with CarPlay
On this site How to Customize CarPlay: Dashboard Settings (iOS 26 and iOS 27)
CarPlay Home is the CarPlay screen of app icons. Compatible apps appear on it automatically, and you change the icon order on the iPhone under Settings, General, CarPlay, your vehicle, Customize.
Sources Apple iPhone User Guide: Rearrange the icons on CarPlay Home; Apple iPhone User Guide: Use other apps with CarPlay
On this site How to Customize CarPlay: Dashboard Settings (iOS 26 and iOS 27)
A CarPlay widget is a small iPhone widget that iOS 26 or later can show in CarPlay. You add one on the iPhone under Settings, General, CarPlay, your car, Widgets, then Add Widgets.
Sources Apple iPhone User Guide: Customize widgets in CarPlay; Apple iPhone User Guide: What's new in iOS 26; Apple Developer: Adding StandBy and CarPlay support to your widget
On this site How to Add Widgets to CarPlay (iOS 26 and iOS 27)
A widget stack is a group of widgets in CarPlay. Widgets appear in one or more stacks, and Apple says the number of stacks you see depends on your vehicle's CarPlay screen.
Sources Apple iPhone User Guide: Customize widgets in CarPlay; Apple Developer: Adding StandBy and CarPlay support to your widget
On this site Widgets Not Showing Up in CarPlay? 7 Checks
Smart Rotate is a switch on the Widgets screen of the iPhone's CarPlay settings. Apple's guide names the switch and does not say what it does.
Source Apple iPhone User Guide: Customize widgets in CarPlay
Widget Suggestions is a switch on the same Widgets screen, beside Smart Rotate. Apple's guide names the switch and does not say what it does.
Source Apple iPhone User Guide: Customize widgets in CarPlay
A dimmed widget in CarPlay belongs to an app that has no CarPlay app. Apple's developer documentation says the system dims the widget to show that a tap has no effect, and that widgets are inactive on a display without touch input.
Apple does not say whether such a widget looks dimmed all the time or only when it is tapped. We have not checked it on a CarPlay screen.
Source Apple Developer: Adding StandBy and CarPlay support to your widget
On this site Widgets Not Showing Up in CarPlay? 7 Checks
A Live Activity is an app activity whose progress you can follow as it happens, such as directions in Maps, live sports updates or a food delivery estimate. Apple says Live Activities show on CarPlay Dashboard, and you set them per app on the iPhone under Settings, Apps, the app, Live Activities.
Sources Apple iPhone User Guide: View Live Activities in CarPlay; Apple iPhone User Guide: What's new in iOS 26
On this site How to Customize CarPlay: Dashboard Settings (iOS 26 and iOS 27)
The CarPlay wallpaper is the background of the CarPlay screen. You change it in Settings in CarPlay under Wallpaper by choosing one of the available options, and Apple's guide has no step for using your own photo.
Source Apple iPhone User Guide: Change settings in CarPlay
On this site CarPlay Photo Widget: Put a Picture of Your Car on the Screen
Appearance is the CarPlay setting for its dark and light look. Apple says CarPlay is dark by default in most vehicles, and its guide describes an Always Dark option and automatic switching between dark and light.
Source Apple iPhone User Guide: Change settings in CarPlay
On this site How to Customize CarPlay: Dashboard Settings (iOS 26 and iOS 27)
Driving Focus is an iPhone Focus meant to keep your attention on the road. Apple says that while the iPhone is connected to CarPlay and Driving Focus is on, notifications and text messages are silenced or limited.
Suggestions in CarPlay is a switch in CarPlay's Settings. It shows or hides suggestions on CarPlay Dashboard.
Show Album Art is a switch in CarPlay's Settings. It shows or hides album art.
CarPlay Screenshots is a switch on the iPhone under Settings, General, Screen Capture. With it on, a screenshot taken on the iPhone while connected to CarPlay also captures the CarPlay screen.
A CarPlay app is an iPhone app that appears on the CarPlay screen itself. Apple's guide names audio, navigation, messaging and voice-calling apps, apps made by your vehicle manufacturer, and apps for fueling, parking, EV charging and quick food ordering.
Sources Apple iPhone User Guide: Use other apps with CarPlay; Apple Developer: CarPlay
On this site How to Add Widgets to CarPlay (iOS 26 and iOS 27)
Car Widgets is the name the iPhone shows for Car Play Widgets: Dashboard, the app made by N5 Labs, which publishes this site. Its widget is listed as Car Widget.
The app has no CarPlay app of its own. Browsing and customizing are free, and saving a widget requires Pro.
Source Car Play Widgets: Dashboard: official app page on n5labs.io
On this site Widgets Not Showing Up in CarPlay? 7 Checks
A Shortcuts automation is a shortcut that runs by itself when a trigger happens, such as the iPhone connecting to CarPlay. On iOS 27 you add an automation to a shortcut, and on iOS 26 you create a personal automation.
Sources Apple Shortcuts User Guide: Add automations to Shortcuts (iOS 27); Apple Shortcuts User Guide: Create a new personal automation (iOS 26)
On this site CarPlay Startup Sound: How to Play a Custom Sound on Connect
The CarPlay trigger is a travel trigger in the Shortcuts app with two options. Connects runs the automation when the device connects to CarPlay, and Disconnects runs it when the device disconnects.
Source Apple Shortcuts User Guide: Travel triggers
On this site CarPlay Startup Sound: How to Play a Custom Sound on Connect
19 of the 20 definitions restate the Apple page linked under them. The entry for Car Widgets is about the app we make and links its official page. We add nothing from memory, and we do not explain a setting that Apple only names. Terms change with iOS, so the page shows the day the sources were read. The full method is in the editorial policy.