Apple Sports adds CarPlay widget for live scores
▼ Summary
– Apple’s latest Sports app update now supports widgets in CarPlay, allowing users to follow live scores.
– The CarPlay widgets come in two types: one for following specific leagues and another for tracking favorite teams.
– These widgets do not update in real time, as observed during a live Premier League match test.
– The author prefers these new widgets over the previous Live Activities feature for being less cluttered and stackable.
– The update also adds Formula 1 race weather tracking and World Cup team-following features to the app.
When Apple introduced its new Sports widget for iOS last year, a notable omission was its lack of support for CarPlay. That oversight has now been corrected. This week’s update to the Apple Sports app finally brings widget functionality to the CarPlay dashboard, enabling drivers to monitor live scores for their preferred teams and leagues directly through the new widgets interface in iOS 26.
Users can select from two primary widget types. The first is a league widget, which displays live scores and schedules for an entire sport or competition. The second is a teams widget, dedicated to tracking a user’s chosen favorites. Both widgets present live scores, though they do not refresh in real time. During a test run of the feature, observing a Crystal Palace versus West Ham Premier League match, the on-screen game clock did not advance instantaneously, indicating a slight delay in updates.
Despite this minor lag, the new integration offers a significant improvement over the previous method. It replaces the Live Activities feature, which would generate a small, persistent notification widget on the CarPlay dashboard. The updated widgets interface is far less intrusive, providing a cleaner look. In many vehicle models, drivers can even arrange up to three widgets side by side for a comprehensive, at-a-glance view.
Beyond CarPlay, Apple has enhanced the Sports app with additional capabilities for motorsport enthusiasts. New F1 tracking features now provide detailed race data, including current weather conditions, track temperature, and wind speed for each Grand Prix. The app is also prepared for major upcoming events, having added support for this year’s World Cup. Fans can now follow their national teams and view the tournament’s group listings ahead of the competition’s start in June.
(Source: The Verge)
