How to add widgets to the CarPlay dashboard

Updated 18 September 2026 · iOS 26 and 27

Widgets are added from the iPhone, not from the car. Settings → General → CarPlay → your car → Dashboard. Five taps, once per car.

Add a widget

On your iPhone open Settings → General → CarPlay.
Tap your car. If it isn't listed, connect to it once first; the car appears after the first CarPlay session.
Tap Dashboard (on some iOS 26 builds the section is called Widgets).
Tap +, pick the app, then the widget. Only apps with small widgets are offered.
Drag to order. The first widgets are the ones you see without swiping.

The dashboard updates the next time CarPlay connects; you don't need to restart the car.

Widgets that need setup first

Some widgets show nothing useful until you have entered data in the app: a plate widget needs your plate, a countdown needs a date. Open the app once, fill it in, then add the widget. Otto's widgets are configured per widget, so two clocks can show two faces; long-press the widget on the Home Screen to change one.

The widget isn't on the car screen

Wrong size. Only the small widget goes to CarPlay. If the app only ships medium/large, it will never appear.
Not on this page. The dashboard has pages; swipe on the car screen. Widgets past the first slot are one swipe away.
The app disfavours CarPlay. Developers can mark a widget as unsuitable for the car, and Apple can too. Those never show. Otto marks none of its widgets that way: they are all glanceable and need no tap.
Old iOS. Dashboard widgets need iOS 26 on the phone; the car's software version doesn't matter.
Wired vs wireless. No difference for widgets.

It shows, but looks bare

That is the car stripping the widget's background, not a settings problem. See why widgets look bare on CarPlay.

Otto is a free app that puts a clock, your license plate, inspection and insurance countdowns, parking and the Drive Card on the CarPlay dashboard, Home Screen and Lock Screen. Everything in this guide is how Otto itself works on a real car screen. Get Otto on the App Store.