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WhatsApp Launches Native CarPlay App for iPhone

The touch-first design points to growing support for richer in-car apps on Apple's platform.

Overview

  • WhatsApp released its CarPlay interface to all iPhone users through the WhatsApp for iOS 26.13.74 update on the App Store.
  • The dashboard app adds three focused tabs in the car: a recent chat list with brief previews, a call history, and favorites synced from the phone.
  • Full conversation threads are not shown to reduce driver distraction, yet users can start messages or calls with a few taps.
  • The launch follows a brief TestFlight beta and replaces the previous Siri-only setup that did not show on-screen chats or call logs.
  • WhatsApp says messages and calls remain end-to-end encrypted in CarPlay, and the release aligns with new CarPlay upgrades from ChatGPT and Google Meet.