Comparison

HUD Widgets vs CarOS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HUD Widgets

This app provides a suite of driving widgets, including speedometers, trip information, and weather, that can be used in standard or head-up display (HUD) mode. It offers features like driving score calculation, fuel consumption tracking, and a land meter for car slope angles.

Highlights
  • Speedometers (classic, digital, retro)
  • GPS trip information (driving score, fuel consumption)
  • Land meter (car slope angle)
  • Weather and clock
  • Eco-driving graphs
  • Internet Radio
Features
Read full description

HUD Widgets app is a set of handy and popular navigation widgets, like speedometers, trip info, landmeter, weather, eco-driving, etc... All widgets work in regular or head-up display (HUD) mode. Speedometers: — Classic digital speedometer — Digital, with compass, odometer, and distance traveled (Chevrolet Aveo style) — A set of retro speedometers: Cadillac style, arched, circular GPS trip information: — See how safely you drive: the app calculates your driving score based on your acceleration, braking, turns, and speeding data. — Know your fuel consumption per each trip and the expenses on it. — Information on your current, maximum and average speed, distance and time traveled — Large compass — Eco-driving. Acceleration and deceleration graphs indicate driving efficiency Other: — Internet Radio — Land meter. Indicates the angle of car slope or tilt — pitching and rolling — Weather and clock Launch the app, select the widget, and place the smartphone close to the windshield (to use it in HUD mode, with the screen image reflected onto the windshield), or fix it in the mount. Attention! 1. On a clear day, the device screen brightness is typically insufficient to give a decent reflection for HUD mode. In that situation, you can use the app in standard mode with the phone fixed with some mount, OR stay HUD using our HUDWAY Glass accessory (more at hudwayglass.com or see bellow). At night, in dusk, or in dull weather the reflection is normally well-discernible. 2. Continuous use of geolocation services (GPS and GLONASS) may drain your device battery fast. 3. When driving, make sure that your smartphone or tablet is well fixed in some mount or on some sticky pad, and doesn't prevent you from clearly seeing the road. HUDWAY Glass car accessory makes smartphone work as a head-up display in any car even in daytime. Removes doubling, offers sharp enlarged reflection image. Learn more: http://hudwayglass.com Privacy Policy http://hudwayapp.com/privacy Terms of Use http://hudwayapp.com/en/terms/

About

CarOS

Transform your mobile device into a powerful car head unit with this app. It offers a safe and intuitive interface for navigation, music, calls, and more while driving. Automate settings and share your location in real-time for a connected and secure driving experience.

Highlights
  • Turn-by-turn navigation
  • Music and radio playback
  • Voice-controlled messaging
  • Smart dashcam functionality
  • Real-time location sharing
  • Automated driving settings
  • Worldwide emergency assistance
Features
Read full description

Your car doesn't have a screen. Your iPhone is one. CarOS turns your iPhone, on its phone mount, into your car's dashboard: maps, music, calls and a dash cam on one screen, with big round buttons you can hit without hunting for them. Nothing to buy, nothing to wire, nothing to install. It works in any car, truck, van or RV. NEW: CAROS 5 Rebuilt from scratch, with a brand-new design: clear by day, dark at night, and a SmartBar that keeps the essentials one tap away on every screen. FREE, FOR EVERY DRIVE • Dashboard: your map, what's playing and your trip on one screen • Radio: thousands of stations from around the world • Listening: one player for every audio source • Road alerts reported by other drivers, shown and spoken • Weather at a glance • Your week: distance, time behind the wheel and trips, ready to share • Impact detection with an SOS screen and local emergency numbers in 238 countries and territories • Live Sharing: let someone follow your trip with a private web link CAROS PREMIUM • Maps: search, Home and Work, places nearby and turn-by-turn voice guidance • Music: your library and Apple Music, with big controls • Podcasts: search, subscribe and listen • Phone: favorites, recents, contacts and keypad, in big buttons • Messages: pick a contact, dictate your text, hear it read back, then send • Dash Cam: continuous recording that keeps the clip safe after a hard impact • Face Control: play, pause or skip a song with a smile (iPhone with Face ID) • Parking: remember where you parked, add a photo and a note, walk back with directions • Calendar: today's appointments, with directions and a call button • Shortcuts: run your favorite shortcuts from the road • Spotify and Google Maps, when their apps are installed • Trip automations: when you start driving, set brightness and volume and start the dash cam or Face Control ON IPAD Turn an iPad into a large in-car screen, in full-screen landscape, with the dashboard always in view. DESIGNED FOR THE ROAD Large text, large buttons and few steps, in light or dark mode. Keep your iPhone on its mount, set things up while parked, and follow local laws. SUBSCRIPTION CarOS is free to download, with Radio, the dashboard and the safety features included. CarOS Premium unlocks everything else, as a weekly or yearly auto-renewing subscription, both with a free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://carosapp.com/legal Made by an independent developer since 2021. Questions or ideas? Write to us from Settings › Report a problem.

Screenshots

HUD Widgets4 screens
CarOS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: HUD Widgets at 55% against CarOS's 14%. HUD Widgets also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. HUD Widgets sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and CarOS sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
HUD Widgets versus CarOS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHUD WidgetsCarOS
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (110 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews55.0% of reviews — better14.5% of reviews
Number of ratings110 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHUDWAY LLCOh My Software

Customer experience

HUD Widgets

All ratings109 ratings
Positive62.4%
Neutral6.4%
Negative31.2%
Written reviews211 reviews
Positive55.0%
Neutral9.0%
Negative36.0%

CarOS

Written reviews76 reviews
Positive14.5%
Neutral13.2%
Negative72.4%

User reviews

HUD Widgets

From 110 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Clean and modern UI design
  • 🎯 Highly customizable widgets and displays
  • 📊 Accurate speed and distance tracking
  • 🆓 Ad-free experience
  • 🌙 HUD mode for daytime visibility

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes on startup
  • 🔋 Excessive battery drain
  • ⚠️ Settings reset after closing app
  • 🌞 Poor visibility in bright sunlight
  • 📱 Landscape-only orientation support

CarOS

From App Store reviews

What we love

  • 💡 Good idea for older cars
  • 👍 Convenient touchscreen interface
  • 🎶 Access to music library

Room to improve

  • ❌ Poor execution of core features
  • 💸 Expensive subscription/purchase
  • 🚫 Navigation launches external apps
  • 👎 Clunky and unintuitive design
  • 📉 Limited functionality in free version

Bugs and requests

HUD Widgets

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • App crashes before starting on latest iOS versions
  • Settings reset to default when app is closed
  • GPS data inaccuracy error persists after GPS recovery
  • Crashes after 3-4 uses
  • Compass displays backwards
Show 8 more
  • Speed readings significantly inaccurate (10mph shows as 57mph)
  • App crashes on older iOS versions (iPhone 4S)
  • Cannot get past initial setup screens
  • App becomes unresponsive in certain orientations
  • Screen burn-in after extended use
  • Notification permission requirement blocks app launch
  • Incompatibility with certain iOS versions
  • Volume control unavailable when using CarPlay simultaneously

Requested features

12 requests
  • Apple CarPlay support
  • Portrait mode (vertical orientation)
  • 180-degree screen rotation capability
  • OBD2 adapter support for real vehicle data
  • Truck vehicle type option
Show 7 more
  • Widget support for home screen
  • iOS widget integration
  • Improved screen rotation for left-hand drive countries
  • More speedometer skin options
  • Navigation feature integration
  • Persistent settings after app close
  • Secondary display support for CarPlay head units

CarOS

Reported bugs

24 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Random logouts
  • Video recording not working
  • Messages app crashes
  • Adding apps is not intuitive
Show 19 more
  • App shuts down unexpectedly
  • Constant disconnects and reconnects
  • GPS locates phone, not car
  • App closes when trying to access music
  • Subscription issues (not recognized)
  • Music navigation lagging
  • Spotify crashes
  • App forgets login
  • Camera settings crash
  • Cannot scroll in Spotify playlists
  • Podcast not updating
  • Cannot log into account
  • App doesn't reflect on car screen
  • Camera crashes when changing settings
  • App crashes when changing settings
  • App crashes when trying to use Spotify
  • App crashes when accessing music
  • App crashes in many menus
  • App crashes after Spotify authentication

Requested features

13 requests
  • Integrated navigation within the app
  • Support for Waze and Amazon Music
  • Ability to edit widgets
  • More app integrations
  • Speed limit display on map
Show 8 more
  • Split screen functionality
  • Improved iPad interface
  • CarPlay recognition
  • Direct integration of Coyote or Waze
  • Direct integration of Spotify music
  • Direct integration of Shopify
  • Turn-by-turn navigation within CarOS
  • Allow portrait mode

In-app purchases

1 purchases

HUD Widgets

One-time1
  • Premium$2.99
3 purchases

CarOS

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Subscription3 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$3.491 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is HUD Widgets free?
HUD Widgets is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CarOS free?
CarOS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do HUD Widgets or CarOS have ads?
Neither HUD Widgets nor CarOS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HUD Widgets or CarOS?
HUD Widgets ships an update every 2 months, and CarOS every 2 months. Most recently, HUD Widgets was updated on November 1, 2026 and CarOS on October 30, 2026.

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