How to customize your CarPlay dashboard on iOS 26 and iOS 27
Updated October 6, 2026 · every setting checked against Apple's own pages · written by N5 Labs, maker of Car Play Widgets: Dashboard
You can customize the CarPlay dashboard in six main ways on iOS 26 and iOS 27. Add and reorder widgets in stacks, change the wallpaper, switch the appearance, reorder the app icons, choose which apps show Live Activities, and play a sound when the iPhone connects. Widgets, icon order and Live Activities are set in Settings on the iPhone. Wallpaper and appearance are set in Settings on the CarPlay screen. Sounds run through an Apple Shortcuts automation. Two things have no setting in Apple's guide: the dashboard layout, and using your own photo as wallpaper. Widgets are how your own content, such as a photo, a clock or a countdown, gets on the screen. Change settings only while parked.
Where each setting lives
| What you change | Set on | Path |
|---|---|---|
| Widgets and stacks | iPhone | Settings, General, CarPlay, your car, Widgets |
| Wallpaper | CarPlay screen | Settings, Wallpaper |
| Appearance | CarPlay screen | Settings, Appearance |
| App icon order | iPhone | Settings, General, CarPlay, your vehicle, Customize |
| Live Activities | iPhone | Settings, Apps, the app, Live Activities |
| Suggestions and album art | CarPlay screen | Settings |
| Text size, bold text, color filters | CarPlay screen | Settings, Accessibility |
| Connect and disconnect sounds | iPhone | Shortcuts app, an automation with the CarPlay trigger |
| Dashboard layout | No setting | Apple's guide lists none |
| Your own photo as wallpaper | No setting | Apple's guide lists none |
Apple gives the same steps for iOS 26 and iOS 27, except in Shortcuts.
Widgets and widget stacks
- While you are not driving, open Settings on the iPhone.
- Tap General, tap CarPlay, then tap your car.
- Tap Widgets, then tap Add Widgets, and follow the onscreen instructions.
- Back under Widgets, drag a widget to move it, or remove one. Smart Rotate and Widget Suggestions are switched on or off here too.
Widgets sit in stacks, and the number of stacks depends on your vehicle's CarPlay screen. Apple lists CarPlay widgets as new in iOS 26.
Apple source: Customize widgets in CarPlay and What's new in iOS 26. More: How to add widgets to CarPlay.
Wallpaper
- Open Settings in CarPlay, using your vehicle's built-in controls.
- Select Wallpaper, then choose one of the available options.
Apple's guide has no step for using your own photo as wallpaper. A photo goes in a widget instead.
Apple source: Change settings in CarPlay. More: How to put a picture of your car on the CarPlay screen.
Appearance
- Open Settings in CarPlay.
- Select Appearance, then choose the option you want.
Apple says CarPlay is dark by default in most vehicles. Its guide describes an Always Dark option and automatic switching between dark and light.
Apple source: Change settings in CarPlay.
App icon order
- While you are not driving, open Settings on the iPhone.
- Tap General, tap CarPlay, select your vehicle, then tap Customize.
- Drag an icon to move it, or tap the remove button beside it. Removed icons wait below More Apps.
Your changes appear on CarPlay Home the next time you connect.
Apple source: Rearrange the icons on CarPlay Home.
Live Activities
- Open Settings on the iPhone.
- Tap Apps, tap the app you want to change, then tap Live Activities.
Apple says Live Activities show on CarPlay Dashboard, and gives directions in Maps, sports updates and food delivery estimates as examples.
Apple source: View Live Activities in CarPlay.
Layout
Apple's CarPlay guide has no layout setting. It describes two screens: CarPlay Dashboard, with items such as directions, audio playback and Siri suggestions, and CarPlay Home, with your apps in pages. You control which widgets sit in the stacks, the icon order, and whether suggestions and album art show. Apple source
Sounds, through Shortcuts
Apple's CarPlay guide lists no setting for a connect sound. The Shortcuts app has a CarPlay trigger with two options, Connects and Disconnects, and an automation with that trigger can play a sound. On iOS 27 you add the automation to a shortcut. On iOS 26 you create a personal automation. Apple source. Steps: how to play a custom sound when CarPlay connects.
What apps can and cannot add
Apple's developer pages give an app two ways onto the CarPlay screen: a CarPlay app in a category Apple supports, such as audio, navigation or parking, or a small widget or Live Activity. Neither changes CarPlay's own icons, wallpaper or layout. So an app that says it customizes CarPlay supplies widgets, and sometimes sounds for a Shortcuts automation. Apple source
On October 6, 2026 the car widget app with the most US App Store ratings was myCar: Car Widgets & Dashboard, with 12,926 ratings averaging 4.6. The roundup compares nine apps, and the free apps page lists what each charges for. We make one of the nine, Car Play Widgets: Dashboard. It ranks last on rating count.
What our own app costs and cannot do
Browsing and customizing are free. Saving a widget requires Pro, a weekly or yearly subscription with no free trial. On October 5, 2026 the weekly plan was $4.99 in the US, and the app shows the current prices before you buy. The app has no CarPlay app of its own and reads no vehicle data. Its widgets need iOS 26 or later and a CarPlay display that shows widgets. On the iPhone the app is listed as Car Widgets. Car Play Widgets 1.5 has no synchronized lyrics. Its text cards show words you type yourself.
Frequently asked questions
How can I customize my CarPlay dashboard?
On iOS 26 and iOS 27 you can add and reorder widgets, change the wallpaper, switch the appearance, reorder the app icons, choose which apps show Live Activities, and play a sound when the iPhone connects. Widgets, icon order and Live Activities are set on the iPhone. Wallpaper and appearance are set on the CarPlay screen. Sounds use a Shortcuts automation.
What are the best apps to customize Apple CarPlay on iOS 26?
Apps cannot restyle CarPlay itself. They add widgets for the dashboard, and some add sounds through Shortcuts. Among dedicated car widget apps, the one with the most public evidence is myCar: Car Widgets & Dashboard, with 12,926 US App Store ratings averaging 4.6 on October 6, 2026. CARFACE is the one whose listing offers synced lyrics, and CarSkin and AutoDash list a lifetime purchase. Our own app, Car Play Widgets: Dashboard, is the newest of the nine we compare and has 7 ratings.
Can I change the CarPlay wallpaper to my own photo?
Apple's guide does not describe a way. It says to open Settings in CarPlay, select Wallpaper and choose one of the available options. To see your own photo on the CarPlay screen, put it in a widget.
Can I change the layout of the CarPlay dashboard?
Apple's CarPlay guide has no layout setting. You choose which widgets are in the stacks and in what order, and you can hide suggestions and album art. Apple gives no number of widgets: the number of stacks depends on your vehicle's CarPlay screen.
Is customizing CarPlay different on iOS 27?
For widgets, wallpaper, appearance, icon order and Live Activities, Apple's iPhone User Guide gives the same steps for iOS 26 and iOS 27. Shortcuts changed: in iOS 27 you add an automation to a shortcut, and in iOS 26 you create a personal automation.
Add your own widget
Car Play Widgets: Dashboard is free to download. Saving a widget requires Pro.
Sources and disclosure
N5 Labs develops Car Play Widgets. Every Apple behavior on this page comes from an Apple page linked in its section, read on October 6, 2026. Where Apple is silent we say so. More Apple pages used: widgets on iOS 26, settings on iOS 26, accessibility, automations on iOS 27, automations on iOS 26 and widgets for developers. App figures come from US App Store listings, and the other apps were not tested. Ours: Car Play Widgets: Dashboard.