Hi, I'm Valery Stakarski.
I build addcarwidgets— an independent iOS app for drivers who use Apple CarPlay every day and want to customize the parts iOS doesn't expose: widgets, the connection chime, synced lyrics on the dashboard, and a Mount Mode dashboard for cars that don't have CarPlay at all.
I've been driving cars with Apple CarPlay since 2017 — a 2019 Honda Civic, a 2022 Mazda CX-5, an eight-month stint with a Tesla Model 3 (no native CarPlay), and a 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Across four cars and five iOS major versions, the same customizations kept showing up on my list: pin a custom photo album to a CarPlay widget, swap the connection chime for something that doesn't fade into the background, get time-coded lyrics on the dashboard for Apple Music and Spotify, and run a CarPlay-equivalent dashboard on the iPhone when the car has no CarPlay.
iOS 26 in June 2025 opened up CarPlay personalization for the first time — widgets, wallpapers, a new home screen. addcarwidgets is the customization layer on top, built with the public CarPlay framework. I write the iOS code, run the website, and write every article on this site personally.
CarPlay widgets for iOS 26
Eleven widget templates designed for the actual driving context.
PillarCustom CarPlay startup sound
46 connection chimes tuned for in-car use, plus custom .m4a import.
PillarSynced CarPlay lyrics
Time-coded karaoke-style lyrics for Apple Music and Spotify on CarPlay.
PillarMount Mode dashboard
iPhone-as-dashboard for Teslas, motorcycles, and pre-2016 cars without CarPlay.
Questions, bug reports, feature requests, or just want to share which startup chime you ended up with? Email support@addcarwidgets.com. I read every message.
Try it for one commute.
Free download. Widgets and Mount Mode unlock on first launch.