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iOS 26 Supercharges Live Activities on iPhone, CarPlay, Mac and iPad — What’s New as of December 5, 2025

December 5, 2025
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iOS 26 Supercharges Live Activities on iPhone, CarPlay, Mac and iPad — What’s New as of December 5, 2025

Apple’s latest round of software updates turns Live Activities from a Lock Screen novelty into a real-time status layer that now spans iPhone, CarPlay, Mac, and iPad. Here’s everything you need to know today, 5 December 2025.

Why Live Activities matter more than ever in iOS 26

Live Activities started as a way to keep score updates, timers, and deliveries pinned to your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. With iOS 26, Apple is quietly turning them into a core part of how you follow what’s happening in your apps — across multiple devices. [1]

A new deep-dive from 9to5Mac outlines how iOS 26 expands Live Activities in five big directions: Fitness workouts, scheduled activities, Wallet boarding passes, CarPlay, and full support on Mac and iPad via macOS Tahoe and iPadOS 26. [2]

At the same time, Apple’s own documentation and early reviews confirm that CarPlay and the desktop platforms now treat Live Activities as first‑class citizens rather than iPhone-only extras. [3]

Fitness app now starts a Live Activity for your workouts

On iOS 26, starting a workout no longer means burying progress inside the Fitness app. The app now automatically creates a Live Activity whenever you begin a workout, whether you start it on your iPhone or on an Apple Watch paired to that iPhone. [4]

Key details:

  • Automatic Live Activity for workouts – As soon as you start a workout, a Live Activity appears on your Lock Screen and, on supported models, in the Dynamic Island.
  • At‑a‑glance controls – You can quickly check duration and pause or resume the workout without re-opening the Fitness app. [5]
  • Ties into AirPods Pro 3 and iPhone workouts – Apple previously brought full running workouts to the iPhone itself when AirPods Pro 3 added heart‑rate monitoring; Live Activities are a side benefit of that expansion. [6]

In practice, this turns your Lock Screen into a lightweight workout dashboard — especially handy if you’re running with just your phone and earbuds.

Developers can now schedule Live Activities in advance

Last year, Apple’s Sports app gained the ability to schedule a Live Activity so it would appear automatically when a game started. In iOS 26, that capability is no longer exclusive. Apple has opened a new scheduling API so any third‑party app can trigger a Live Activity at a specific future time or event. [7]

Possible use cases developers are already exploring or considering include:

  • Transit and travel – A Live Activity that appears when your train is due to depart or when boarding begins.
  • Deliveries and pickups – Automatically start a Live Activity when an order is out for delivery or ready for collection.
  • Events and streaming – Show a countdown or “live now” status when a livestream, sports match, or concert begins.

Because this API is just rolling out with iOS 26, expect more apps to adopt scheduled Live Activities over the coming weeks and months as updates ship. [8]

Wallet boarding passes become shareable, real‑time Live Activities

Apple has also upgraded the Wallet app’s boarding passes, and Live Activities sit at the center of the experience. Refreshed passes now support real‑time flight Live Activities on your Lock Screen, with richer details than before. [9]

According to Apple and recent coverage:

  • New Wallet boarding passes can show flight progress, key times, and other travel information as a Live Activity. [10]
  • These Live Activities are shareable — you can send one to a friend or family member who needs to keep an eye on your flight without constantly asking for updates. [11]
  • The updated passes also integrate with Maps and Find My to surface directions inside the airport and baggage tracking. [12]

For frequent flyers, this effectively turns Live Activities into a live flight status board that fits on your iPhone screen.

CarPlay puts Live Activities right on your dashboard

One of the biggest shifts this year is in the car. With iOS 26, Live Activities now appear directly in CarPlay, alongside a refreshed design, widgets and new messaging features. [13]

Apple says CarPlay users can now see widgets and Live Activities in a redesigned dashboard view, helping drivers stay on top of navigation, music and real‑time information without leaving the main interface. [14]

How Live Activities behave in CarPlay

From Apple’s documentation and hands‑on guides:

  • Automatic mirroring – If a Live Activity is active on your iPhone, it can now appear on the CarPlay Dashboard when you’re connected, both wired or wirelessly. [15]
  • Subtle alerts, then dashboard placement – When a Live Activity starts or updates, it can briefly show as a small banner at the bottom of your CarPlay screen. Then it lives on a dedicated dashboard view you can reach by swiping. [16]
  • Examples in the car – Tracking a food delivery, following a sports score, or monitoring a flight (with apps like Flighty) can all be done on the car’s display instead of picking up your phone. [17]

Safety and reliability concerns

Reviewers point out that while Live Activities in CarPlay are convenient, they can also risk drawing too much attention away from the road if misused, especially for dense sports or stats‑heavy activities. [18]

There have also been scattered reports of Live Activities not reliably appearing in CarPlay or on macOS Tahoe, which Apple will likely try to address in upcoming point releases. [19]

Apple still allows drivers to opt out entirely (more on controls below), and many experts recommend limiting in‑car Live Activities to simple, glanceable information such as navigation, deliveries and basic flight status. [20]

Mac and iPad get their own version of Live Activities

Live Activities are no longer iPhone‑only. With macOS Tahoe (version 26) and iPadOS 26, the feature now shows up on Apple’s larger screens, but each platform handles it differently. [21]

Live Activities on Mac (macOS Tahoe)

Apple’s new iPhone Mirroring feature for the Mac means your iPhone’s notifications and Live Activities can appear on your Mac even when you’re not actively mirroring the phone. [22]

  • Live Activities appear in the menu bar, either as a small icon or a compact widget depending on available space.
  • Clicking the item expands it; double‑clicking can open iPhone Mirroring so you continue the task on a mirrored iPhone screen. [23]
  • In System Settings > Notifications, you can toggle Allow Live Activities from iPhone on or off, or disable them per app. [24]

This setup is particularly useful for tracking things like rides, deliveries, or timers while you’re working on a laptop or desktop.

Live Activities on iPad (iPadOS 26)

On the iPad, Live Activities play a more focused role: they integrate with Background Tasks, a feature aimed at managing long‑running jobs such as video exports. [25]

Instead of cluttering the Lock Screen, these iPad Live Activities help professionals keep an eye on resource‑intensive tasks while continuing to work in other apps — for example, monitoring a 4K export while browsing or sketching. [26]

What you need to use the new Live Activities features

To take advantage of the new capabilities announced and expanded in iOS 26:

  • iPhone – You’ll need a compatible iPhone updated to iOS 26 or later (Apple lists iPhone 11 and newer among supported models). [27]
  • CarPlay – A car or aftermarket head unit that supports CarPlay; Live Activities appear when you’re running iOS 26 and using the new CarPlay dashboard. [28]
  • Mac – A Mac running macOS Tahoe 26 with iPhone Mirroring set up, signed into the same Apple ID as your iPhone. [29]
  • iPad – An iPad updated to iPadOS 26 for Background Tasks and Live Activities integration. [30]
  • Airlines and other partners – The refreshed Wallet boarding passes with Live Activities are rolling out through partner airlines, so availability will vary by carrier and region. [31]

How to control Live Activities on iPhone, CarPlay and Mac

Live Activities are powerful, but you may not want them everywhere. Apple offers several layers of control.

On iPhone

You manage Live Activities per app:

  • Go to Settings > Apps > [App Name] > Live Activities to enable or disable them, or change whether they show on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island (where supported). [32]
  • For cross‑device mirroring, iPhone’s notifications settings also determine what can appear on your Mac via iPhone Mirroring. [33]

In CarPlay

If you don’t want Live Activities to show on your car’s screen:

  1. Connect your iPhone via wired or wireless CarPlay.
  2. Open the Settings app on the CarPlay display (not on the iPhone).
  3. Turn off the Live Activities switch. [34]

After that, Live Activities remain on your iPhone but won’t appear in CarPlay.

On Mac (macOS Tahoe)

On your Mac:

  1. Open System Settings > Notifications.
  2. Under iPhone mirroring settings, toggle Allow Live Activities from iPhone on or off.
  3. You can also close an individual Live Activity directly from the menu bar. [35]

Where iOS 26.2 fits into the picture

Although the big Live Activities upgrade arrived with the initial iOS 26 release, Apple is actively polishing the platform via iOS 26.2, which reached the Release Candidate stage on December 3, 2025. [36]

Highlights of iOS 26.2 RC include:

  • A revamped Sleep Score scale with recalibrated thresholds.
  • AI‑powered podcast chapters and related content in Apple Podcasts.
  • Offline lyrics in Apple Music and tweaks to the Liquid Glass Lock Screen slider.
  • An option in CarPlay Messages to turn off pinned conversations — which can make the in‑car UI less cluttered when combined with Live Activities. [37]

Apple and independent outlets expect iOS 26.2 to launch publicly in mid‑December, following its pattern of x.2 releases landing just before the holiday break. [38]

Quick FAQ: Live Activities in iOS 26 (as of December 5, 2025)

Which apps already support the new features?

Right now, Apple’s own Fitness, Sports, Wallet, and CarPlay‑enabled system apps are the main examples showing off the new Live Activities behavior. Travel and utility apps like Flighty, Uber, and delivery services are frequently highlighted in Apple’s demos and third‑party guides as strong use cases, with more developers expected to adopt the new scheduling API over time. [39]

Why don’t some activities show on CarPlay or Mac?

Not every status indicator is a Live Activity. For example, stopwatch timers or file transfer banners don’t always qualify, and many users have noted that these do not appear on CarPlay or in macOS Tahoe’s menu bar. Only apps that implement proper Live Activities and allow mirroring will show up consistently. [40]

Do Live Activities affect battery life?

Live Activities are designed to be power‑efficient, updating at controlled intervals and using system frameworks rather than constant polling. However, if you rely on many Live Activities (especially those with frequent updates like sports scores), they can contribute to overall background activity.

iOS 26’s power tools — including enhanced Power Modes and Apple’s own guidance on reducing background usage — remain your best line of defense if you notice battery drain after leaning heavily on new features. [41]

Live Activities started as a clever way to pin a single live tile to your Lock Screen. With iOS 26, they’ve grown into a cross‑device feature that follows you from your wrist and iPhone to your dashboard, desk, and couch. As developers adopt the new scheduling API and Wallet partners roll out richer passes, expect Live Activities to become one of the most visible parts of the iOS 26 era. [42]

iOS 26 CarPlay is Awesome #ios26beta
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References

1. 9to5mac.com, 2. 9to5mac.com, 3. www.apple.com, 4. 9to5mac.com, 5. 9to5mac.com, 6. 9to5mac.com, 7. 9to5mac.com, 8. www.gearpatrol.com, 9. 9to5mac.com, 10. www.apple.com, 11. 9to5mac.com, 12. www.apple.com, 13. www.apple.com, 14. www.apple.com, 15. www.idownloadblog.com, 16. www.idownloadblog.com, 17. www.idownloadblog.com, 18. www.macstories.net, 19. www.macstories.net, 20. www.idownloadblog.com, 21. 9to5mac.com, 22. support.apple.com, 23. support.apple.com, 24. support.apple.com, 25. 9to5mac.com, 26. 9to5mac.com, 27. www.apple.com, 28. www.apple.com, 29. www.idownloadblog.com, 30. 9to5mac.com, 31. www.apple.com, 32. support.apple.com, 33. support.apple.com, 34. www.idownloadblog.com, 35. support.apple.com, 36. 9to5mac.com, 37. 9to5mac.com, 38. 9to5mac.com, 39. 9to5mac.com, 40. www.idownloadblog.com, 41. www.techradar.com, 42. 9to5mac.com

Mateusz Brzeziński

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