New iOS 26 setting prevents audio automatically jumping from AirPods to car speakers

Sometimes CarPlay is trigger happy and starts blasting out your audio before you've taken off your AirPods, or even got into your car. One new setting in iOS 26 should fix that forever.

There are two things that Apple has created tremendous technology for, but which don't work. One is how when you say "Siri," all your devices compare notes to figure out which one you didn't want, and then make that respond to you.

The other is that there is a brilliant feature across iOS, macOS, and iPadOS, that means your AirPods can automatically switch to whichever device you want to listen to. But while it works and usually works well, there is a problem — or there has been until iOS 26.

Just do this:

1. Open Settings on iPhone
2. Choose General
3. Then AirPlay & Continuity
4. Tap to turn on Keep Audio in Headphones

How to turn on "Keep Audio in Headphones"

It's perhaps the smallest new addition to iOS 26, but it makes such a difference.

"When using AirPods or other connected headphones," says Apple in the Settings app, "keep audio in your headphones when other playback devices like cars and speakers connect to iPhone."

Up to now, you can find that you're listening to, say, your iPhone over your AirPods, but then you get into your car, start the engine, and immediately its speakers take over.

Some users say this has happened as soon as they've unlocked the car with Apple's CarKey and they haven't even opened the door.

Note that this particular scenario only affects you if you're using wireless CarPlay. And when you're trying to make a quiet getaway from an event.

It is routine, though, to find that the connection between AirPods and the device playing back music is oddly delicate. Even if the AirPods don't switch to a Mac when you're near one, that Mac will often display a message that briefly says they are connected.

This new iOS 26 feature doesn't help with that problem, but it's good to see Apple sweating the small stuff. Especially when it is currently trying to push more car vendors into adopting its CarPlay Ultra technology.