This iOS 26 upgrade fixes one of the most irritating things about wireless CarPlay for AirPods owners

• Apple has released a fix in iOS 26 for an annoying CarPlay audio issue
• Now users can keep their listening habits private
• It works with other Bluetooth audio devices, too

Apple has added a new iOS 26 feature that gives owners of AirPods and other Bluetooth headphone greater control over the automatic handover to wireless devices, including Apple CarPlay.

Picture the scene: you are gleefully enjoying the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack as you approach the car, only for Apple CarPlay to fire up and automatically steal your audio stream, broadcasting your guilty pleasure to whoever else is riding shotgun.

Okay, so that’s probably not the end of the world, but it can be frustrating when, in the middle of an important phone call or Zoom meeting, Apple CarPlay decides to take over and the microphone mutes and you fumble to remedy the tech issues.

Thankfully, Apple has made it a lot easier to prevent this from happening, thanks to a new feature in iOS 26 that was originally spotted by MacRumors. It works with any wireless headphones, not just AirPods.

In the iPhone’s Settings app, there is an AirPlay & Continuity section that resides under the General tab. Apple has added a 'Keep Audio with Headphones' toggle option (see below) that does exactly what it claims to do.

After selecting the option, it’s possible to fire up Apple CarPlay, a vehicle’s Bluetooth sound system or Bluetooth speakers without having the audio automatically switch.

No more audio handovers

We’ve all been there: idly watching a YouTube video, only to have the audio annoyingly broadcast to a Bluetooth speaker in the home or an Apple CarPlay-enabled system in a car. Anyone indulging in anything more nefarious can be left very red-faced.

The new 'Keep Audio with Headphones' function prevents that from happening, while allowing manual audio handover via the iOS Control Center.

However, it is worth noting that driving with headphones is illegal in many US States and frowned upon in many other European countries, seeing as it reduces situational awareness.

So automatically handing audio over to wireless Apple CarPlay could actually save your bacon.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

You might also like

• iOS 26’s enhanced boarding passes have finally arrived – here’s how they work
• Apple Maps on iOS 26 could finally turn my head away from Google Maps
• iOS 26.1 should make it harder to sleep through your alarms