Technologies

iOS 26 Will Radically Reshape the Look and Feel of Apple CarPlay. Learn All the New Free Features Coming Soon

Apple’s imminent free CarPlay upgrade will finally stop calls from interrupting your navigation.

Originally called «iOS in the Car,» Apple’s CarPlay has come a long way in the last decade. It now supports iPhone connections for more than 800 different models of cars and motorcycles. It’s also about to go through a massive redesign with a bevy of new features.

Apple is updating the CarPlay experience with the newly revealed iOS 26. Apple announced the changes during its annual WWDC event in Cupertino, California, on June 9.

Apple’s iPhone-compatible automobile operating system is used more than 600 million times per day, according to the tech giant. The entire CarPlay system is getting a refresh, including icons in light and dark modes, widgets to give you «quick and glanceable ways to get information» while you’re on the move and live activities like flight statuses.

«We’ve also added new features to help keep you connected while driving, like a compact design when you get a call, so you can still see what’s on the screen, like your upcoming directions, along with tap backs and pinned conversations in messages,» Apple’s Emily Schubert said during the WWDC keynote.

There are also now vehicle controls in Apple CarPlay, including radio and climate controls.

Footage from Apple during the keynote also showed you can send emoji reactions to messages while on the go, without navigating away from your driving directions. You can also see things like calendar reminders and smart home controls in widgets on the side of the display.

Apple launched CarPlay Ultra last month, bringing more customized features for automakers to include.

«It provides information for all of the driver’s screens, including real-time content and gauges in the instrument cluster, while reflecting the automaker’s look and feel and offering drivers a customizable experience,» Apple said in a blog post in May.

All the new CarPlay features coming in iOS 26

Here’s a roundup of the major new features that will be added to CarPlay with the launch of iOS 26.

Liquid Glass design

Just like an iPhone with iOS 26, CarPlay will get the same translucent design overhaul Apple is calling Liquid Glass, with buttons that add a feel of depth. CarPlay icons may not have the same moving effect as on your iPhone, but they’ll have the same shiny, glass-like appearance.

Compact view

One of the most welcome new features of CarPlay with iOS 26 is a new view that doesn’t interrupt your navigation when phone calls arrive. Instead of taking over the whole screen, incoming calls will now appear in a smaller windows at the bottom, so you’ll be able to see turn-by-turn directions.

New features in Messages

Messages on CarPlay with iOS 26 will add the ability to respond with tapbacks like thumbs up, thumbs down, a heart or exclamation marks. It will also let you pin messages to the top of the interface.

New incidents to report in Maps

Maps will soon add three new incident types to report in CarPlay. Along with the existing accidents, speed checks and hazards, the iOS 26 update will also include roadwork, road closures and traffic.

Video streaming while parked

The new CarPlay with iOS 26 will let your stream videos to your car’s screen from your iPhone using AirPlay. As soon as your car starts moving, the feature should be disabled. Whether or not you’ll be able to stream video may depend on your car model.

Live Activities and widgets

Using CarPlay with iOS 26, the same widgets you have on your iPhone should work in your car. Widgets are currently only availble via Apple’s premium version of the service, CarPlay Ultra. You’ll also soon be able to see real-time updates and info from Live Activities like flight trackers.

Smart Display Zoom

When this new feature is enabled in CarPlay with iOS 26, the CarPlay interface will be automatically resized to best use the available screen space, no matter its size. For example a smaller screen will reduce the size of the icons so that two rows of app icons can fit properly.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for April 20, #1766

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for April 20, No. 1,766.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle has a couple of rare letters in it. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has two vowels, and then one of those is repeated, so you will see that one twice.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with W.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with E.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to forming fabric by interlacing long threads, perhaps on a loom.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is WEAVE.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, April 19, No. 1765, was STAND.

Recent Wordle answers

April 15, No. 1761: BEGUN

April 16, No. 1762: CUBIT

April 17, No. 1763: BELLE

April 18, No. 1764: TOADY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 20 #778

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for April 20, No. 778.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle offers an interesting mix of words, and they all begin with the same two letters. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Gloriously glaring!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Shimmery.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

TEAM, MATE, HATE, GATE, LIST, LISTEN, GLEE, LINT, CHEAT, HEAT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

GLOW, GLEAM, GLINT, GLITTER, GLISTEN, GLIMMER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is CATCHTHELIGHT. To find it, start with the C that’s three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind up.

Technologies

Turn up the Volume With These EarFun Air Pro 4 Earbuds While They’re Down to Just $63

The EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds are the perfect choice for budget-conscious shoppers who still want every audio perk available.

Right now we’ve spotted EarFun AirPro 4 earbuds for just $63, which saves you $17 with Amazon Prime. In addition to this discount, shoppers can save an extra 5 or 10% when making other eligible purchases. Though not exactly its lowest price, it’s just $10 previous short of its previous low record price and one best deals on audio gear we can expect right now.

The earbuds are frequently discounted from their $80 list price, but that $63 price is a significant discount. CNET Executive Editor David Carnoy reviewed the Earfun Air Pro 4, noting that its wireless charging, ear-detection sensors and multipoint Bluetooth pairing for using with multiple devices are all very useful perks.

Carnoy does note that voice-calling performance for these earbuds doesn’t come anywhere close to premium earbuds like Apple’s AirPods Pro, but when these earbuds cost a fraction of that, they could be a good value for someone who just wants something easy to use for listening to music and podcasts.

HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones (Black):

$248 (save $152)
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$170 (save $181)
Sony WH-1000XM6 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones:

$398 (save $62)
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Twilight Blue):

$179 (save $170)
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless ANC Over-Ear Headphones (Black):

$200 (save $250)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

This earbuds offer many of the same features as those found in top brands, all for a fraction of the price. Be sure to lock in this low price, as we doubt it will fall any lower anytime soon.