apple
Years ago, Toyota said it didn’t want to give up interior real estate to Apple’s CarPlay. Automakers felt losing that space to tech companies would be a big mistake. Fast forward a few years and after what I presume was some internal struggles it fell apart and now you can have his CarPlay and Android Auto in your gorgeous new Highlander Prius Tacoma or Camry increase. A ridiculous decision seemed to be reversed. Now it’s GM’s turn to follow the same path.
News broke today that GM will be phasing out CarPlay support in future EVs. With a partnership with Google, we hope his Android Automotive feature will replace all the features you get from mirroring your iPhone. GM, like Toyota before it, wants to control the digital assets of its vehicles. It’s a decision for Walled Garden (ironically for Apple) on a revenue basis, and it costs them.
A software-driven vehicle should be about choice. Instead, GM is making short-sighted decisions based on pittance under the guise of better integration. Owning all the data a car generates while driving can be a great source of funding. The problem is that potential customers have grown accustomed to choosing which device they use to move around in the car, chat, text her, and lock out. They are tired of having their data mined at the expense of their choices and are less enthusiastic about in-car subscription services.
For years, automakers have shared a vision of a future where cars can drive themselves. Passengers are kept entertained by a host of features to keep their attention while rolling worry-free to their destination. In this distant future, if a person were to get into their car and be restricted from using the service of their choice (CarPlay in this scenario), why would they buy that car? It makes no sense to tell people that they can use
GM’s move is based on a desire to offer tighter integration with navigation and other in-vehicle systems. Charging along the route is not really possible with the predictive versions of Apple or Google Maps for many vehicles. This is a solid reason for GM to improve its mapping solution. This is no reason to reduce the choice available to consumers. Yes, GM offers Spotify, but if you want to use Apple Music, you’ll need to use Bluetooth.The car’s touchscreen.
And sometimes apps that GM never wanted in their cars are lost. Alternative EV route-planning apps, navigation apps, messaging apps that read messages and support voice-to-text replies, podcast apps, and anything else that GM and Google decide they don’t want to offer drivers currently available. .
Does this decision hurt Apple? Of course. But it also hurts GM’s reputation and potentially its bottom line. Because it will stop people who are part of Apple’s ecosystem (for better or worse) from buying a car. The news may be that GM is phasing out his CarPlay support for his EV, but the average person thinks “GM is killing his CarPlay.” As a result, they look elsewhere.
The decision is especially strange when new players have worked hard to make sure their vehicles support CarPlay. What may have taken (something auto journalists have repeatedly pointed out) has finally happened. Lucid announced that CarPlay is coming to his Air sedan and will be part of future vehicles. Both of these automakers saw what the market asked for and delivered.
The software-driven automotive revolution should be the place to choose. If the hardware can handle it, car manufacturers can provide it. GM is very proud that the Hummer EV supports his Unreal engine. I don’t know if people wanted intense graphics for drive mode but you can get it with GM products I know a lot of people use his CarPlay It means that It’s easy to set up and use, and more importantly, familiar.
Nearly all modern vehicles support CarPlay, making it easier to move from vehicle to vehicle without learning a new UX while driving. That’s a big win for safety.
GM has submitted a fact sheet for the decision that states:
“This forward-looking strategy strengthens our focus on designing the best integrated infotainment solutions, reduces complexity and feature duplication, and continuously innovates by adding more features and apps over time. and help manage the overall in-vehicle experience in a more holistic way.”
This sounds like good news. But it doesn’t have to sacrifice what people already use, and often prefer. GM needs to create a better infotainment system that integrates well with information from the vehicle, but gives customers choice. Because if GM doesn’t listen to people’s wishes, many other automakers will be happy to rush in and offer his CarPlay support.
