Watching videos on your car’s main screen has always felt like an obvious next step for Apple CarPlay – but not while driving. Obviously.
But when you’re parked up waiting for someone, killing time on a road trip, or charging an EV with time to spare? That big centre display could sure come in useful for keeping boredom at bay. And the feature could land sooner than you think.
Code spotted in the iOS 26.4 beta by leakers and developers suggests that Apple is preparing to bring video playback to CarPlay. Apple previously confirmed on its developer site that “AirPlay video in the car” would let people watch videos from their iPhone directly on their CarPlay display – but only when the vehicle isn’t moving.
Apple TV meets CarPlay
The latest details come via Thomas Dyre, a developer who managed to get CarPlay video running in a simulated CarPlay environment using the iOS 26.4 beta, as demonstrated in a YouTube video.
According to his findings, Apple seems to be working on a dedicated version of the Apple TV app tailored for CarPlay. Early demos show a simplified interface designed for in-car use, with access to Continue Watching, featured content, and personal libraries.
Beyond Apple TV, apps that already support AirPlay might be able to beam video straight to the car’s display when CarPlay video is enabled. In testing, opening a YouTube video triggered a prompt asking whether to play it through CarPlay. Switching it back to the phone was just as straightforward.
Naturally, and rightfully so, there are important limits to watching videos in your car. Video playback is restricted to when the vehicle is parked, and Apple has made that restriction clear in its developer documentation.
Either way, this is good news for CarPlay users, though it might be up to car manufacturers to enable support, which could mean the feature won’t arrive on every existing CarPlay-equipped vehicle.
Oh, and because this is all based on iOS 26.4 beta code, there’s no guarantee it ships exactly as seen – or ships with 26.4 at all. Apple could delay it, refine it, or roll it into a later release.
Still, if it does land as expected, CarPlay screens are about to get a lot more interesting during downtime.
