Device: iPhone 17 Pro Max iOS version: iOS 26.3 CarPlay type: Wired
We are encountering two intermittent UI issues in CarPlay when running our music application. The problems occur occasionally and cannot be recovered without restarting the device.
Issue 1: CPListImageRowItem image not displaying
On the CarPlay home page, some images occasionally fail to appear.
Implementation details:
- The list is updated using
CPListTemplate.updateSections. - Each item is a
CPListImageRowItem. - On iOS versions below 26, images are updated using
updateImages. - On iOS 26, images are provided through
CPListImageRowItem.elements, where each element is aCPListImageRowItemRowElement.
Observed behavior:
- Logs confirm that the data is correctly provided.
- However, in failing cases the
CPListImageRowItemRowElementappears with bothtitleandsubtitleequal tonil. - The image is not rendered in the UI even though the item exists.
Issue 2: Now Playing bottom buttons occasionally missing
On the Now Playing screen, the bottom control buttons sometimes fail to appear.
Implementation details:
- Buttons are updated using
CPNowPlayingTemplate.updateNowPlayingButtons. - The buttons are instances of
CPNowPlayingImageButton.
Observed behavior:
- Occasionally the buttons are not displayed.
- Once this occurs, the UI does not recover.
- Restarting the phone immediately resolves the issue.
Additional observations
- The issue appears to occur intermittently.
- Once triggered, it persists until the device is rebooted.
- Similar behavior has been observed in other music apps (for example, QQ Music).
Questions
- Are there known CarPlay UI rendering issues related to
CPListImageRowItemorCPNowPlayingTemplatein recent iOS versions? - Is there any recommended workaround or lifecycle handling that might prevent these UI elements from failing to render?
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.