iOS 26 made driving like an idiot a lot easier

There are many ways to drive like a complete and utter douchebag; Tesla, for example! Autopilotthe company’s driver-assistance system, is a quick reminder of distracted driving that has led to some truly Darwinian moments. Case in point: this Porn that was shot While Tesla’s incomplete, almost self-driving software was at the wheel. lovable. There are no notes. Or wait, what about these trucks that…charcoal roll,“Which is crazy code for intentionally blowing black diesel smoke everywhere? Beautiful! Very cool. Thanks, America.”

However, there are more precise ways, such as driving it Wireless earbuds In, it is not only not recommended but In fact it is illegal in some countries. While there’s obviously nothing stopping anyone from putting on their wireless earbuds and driving this way, there is at least one iOS UI feature that nudges potential distracted drivers in the right direction. When you get into a car that you’ve previously connected to via Bluetooth, your phone’s audio will often automatically switch to the car instead of the wireless earbuds if you were listening to something at the time you turned on your car.

Obviously you can just swap them back in and begin your wacky journey of driving with wireless earbuds if you wish, but then at least you really election Being an unsafe driver every time you operate your trusty steel battering ram. Maybe not anymore, though, thanks iOS 26. With a new setting called “Keep Sound Using Headphones,” you can ensure that even when your car’s Bluetooth is within range, your wireless earbuds (whether AirPods or others) will still play in your ears and not on the car’s speakers.

On the one hand, I get it. Sometimes, audio is toggled when you’re not in your car even if your car is running, and you don’t want that all-important call you’re making to be trapped inside your car, where you’re not currently located. Or maybe you are a passenger and want to completely ignore the person driving the car. In this case, I just want to say I’m sorry, I’ve been there. I promise things will get easier once you graduate high school. But, let’s also be honest, for people who want to listen to their wireless earbuds while driving, this is a huge win. Finally, less pulling and more Rogan-style anti-vaccination misinformation It’s pumped straight into the old flesh desert where your mind used to be.

I know there’s less than a 0% chance that Apple intends to release a feature that makes distracted driving easier. If I had to imagine, perhaps engineers are trying to avoid the fear of turning on your car’s audio switch without asking, which is an issue worth addressing, at least in theory. Or, I don’t know, maybe they want us all dead after the mass criticism Liquid glass. Who’s to say, really?

Normally this would be the point where I’d tell you how to activate said new feature, but uh…don’t. Sure, automatic switching won’t always be perfect, but sometimes the inconvenience we face is better than the collective safety risk we’ve invented, and as tempting as it is to tune out all that extremely annoying audio information on the road, a little focus (despite popular opinion) can actually be a good thing.