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

Tinder Users Must Start Logging In With Their Faces, Starting Nationwide

The social app now has new US requirements including face identification to help quell longstanding problems with catfishing and more.

US Tinder users will find a new feature when they open up the dating app starting Wednesday: A mandatory Face Check on their phones will be required before they can log into their profiles.

The Face Check step will begin with a new request to record a video of your face, a more casual version of setting up Apple’s Face ID login. Tinder will then run checks comparing your face data to your current profile pics and automatically create a small face badge for your profile. We already know how it works, because Tinder has already launched the feature in Canada and California before the full US rollout.

The technology, powered by FaceTec, will keep biometric data of the user’s face in encrypted form but discard the scanning video for privacy. Tinder will be able to use the face data to detect duplicate accounts, in an effort to cut down on fake profiles and identity theft.

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Tinder’s facial recognition rollout is also made to prevent catfishing, or people pretending to be someone else on Tinder to scam or blackmail them. But that also points to a deeper problem on the rise in dating apps — a growing number of bots, many controlled by AI, are designed to glean personal information or fool users into scammy subscriptions, among other problems.

Tinder’s working against these bots on several fronts, including this Face Check push as well as ID Check, which requires a government-issued ID and other types of photo verification.

The dating app also recently released a feature in June to enable double-dating with your friends, which Tinder reports is especially popular with Gen Z users. If you’re worried about the latest hazards on Tinder, we have guide to safety practices.

A representative for Tinder did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Oct. 23

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 23.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Like some weather, memories and I.P.A.s
Answer: HAZY

5A clue: Statement that’s self-evidently true
Answer: AXIOM

7A clue: Civic automaker
Answer: HONDA

8A clue: What fear leads to, as Yoda told a young Anakin
Answer: ANGER

9A clue: Foxlike
Answer: SLY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Verbal «lol»
Answer: HAHA

2D clue: Brain signal transmitter
Answer: AXON

3D clue: Hits with a witty comeback
Answer: ZINGS

4D clue: Sing at the top of a mountain, maybe
Answer: YODEL

6D clue: Name of the famous «Queen of Scots»
Answer: MARY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

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 might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough 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: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

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:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

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: