- Apple promised video playback with CarPlay when it first announced the latest version of iOS.
- The feature hasn’t been implemented yet, but developers can now access the functionality.
- Users can watch via a CarPlay version of Apple TV and stream video from other apps to the vehicle.
If you’re bored of waiting in the car and can resist the doom scrolling, maybe watch a video. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could use that large screen in your dashboard for this? Folks with an iPhone and a vehicle that supports CarPlay will soon be able to do just that, likely when the next minor version of iOS arrives. That could make waiting for public EV charging or the school pick-up line a little more bearable.
Soon available on a touchscreen near you
When Apple announced iOS 26 in June 2025, it told developers that the new iPhone operating system would support video playback. This feature was not included in the initial release nor in the few releases that followed, but is now available to developers in the iOS 26.4 beta. There is a brief mention of it the CarPlay developer page.
A developer named Thomas Dye has a nice overview and demo using a CarPlay simulator, appropriately in video form. He shows that a version of the Apple TV app appears on the CarPlay home screen and functions much the same as the one on iPhones, iPads and real TVs. You can view your watch list, search for TV and movies and of course view your selections. App developers will also be able to enable a form of phone-to-car AirPlay that supports video sources for apps that don’t have a CarPlay implementation. When Dye plays a video from such an app, the interface will show the prompt ‘Show Video on iPhone’.
A few important notes
However, two things need to happen before you can watch videos on the big screen. First, the automaker will likely have to enable the feature by setting a key in its software that talks to CarPlay. (Some companies may choose not to do this for liability reasons.) That would require an over-the-air or other update. And second, the feature is locked unless the vehicle is parked. Safety first.
Android Auto, that other smartphone integration feature, doesn’t natively support video playback, but there are some questionable workarounds if you really want to make it happen. Google-based infotainment systems support video, including via (you guessed it) YouTube.
There is no guarantee that a feature in an iOS beta version will be included in the next software release. Sometimes they are taken out to allow for more development and testing. That said, this one seems relatively simple, so we’re hopeful. iOS versions generally go from beta to public release within weeks or months, so we don’t have to wait too long before we have something better to watch in our car while we wait.
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