GoKawiilHere's how the new CarPlay video feature will work, as Apple explained to developers in its WWDC 2026 "Rev up your CarPlay app" video. The idea is that devs can add video playback for apps in new cars that support its upcoming "video in car" feature. This requires AirPlay streaming, something that Apple introduced last year with iOS 26.4 to allow video mirroring from an iPhone. More on that shortly.
The new iOS 27 video feature takes this to the next level, letting users not only play back but browse videos. In its demonstration, Apple uses a fictitious "Landmark" app as an example, but this could presumably apply to any video streaming app, like Apple TV or YouTube. The demo is aimed at developers, but gives end-users an idea of what to expect as well.
If your app and CarPlay system support video playback, you'll see an option for "Videos" at the top left of the display. Selecting that will show a list of video thumbnails you'd typically see in video streaming apps, along with a mini player at the top right with basic controls. When a video is playing, the thumbnail also shows the remaining time and current progress, along with badges for newly added or live streaming videos.
In Apple's demo, pressing a thumbnail brings up a list view showing the selected video on top with a "Play" button and "+" button to add to a playlist. Tapping Play will then show the video at full screen, with controls to let you skip ahead or back 10 seconds, see subtitles and go back to the previous page. Apple emphasized that video will only work when the car is parked, for obvious safety reasons.