GM is ditching CarPlay in all future EVs and teaming up with Google instead

[HuntingPudel]

When I was shopping for a car, I could not have cared less about the car having CarPlay. It would be a “nice to have” but not a deal-breaker like the lack of an instrument panel is. That said, I do believe that GM is wrong here. The EV market at this time is more heavily represented by people who are into tech. The lack of AA or CarPlay by design is something I cannot wrap my mind around. Maybe do those to the ICE fleet, but EVs? Ugh. ??

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[leehinde]

https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/04/02/gm-carplay-evs

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

In my inbox today:

Good. Hopefully that just bumped us up in the queue. We reserved on the 1st day back on 7/18 or whatever it was.

 

[SteveEngineer]

Selling my GM stock and buying F.

 

[scoopman]

Good. Hopefully that just bumped us up in the queue. We reserved on the 1st day back on 7/18 or whatever it was.

happy to help you enjoy sooner all that great Android software GM is forcing you to use ?

 

[intensifi]

What was the date of the GM press release?

4/1 ?

 

[MuckyMach-e]

Looks like they’re phasing out Android Auto too and planning to eventually charge subscriptions to use Google Maps and Google Assistant. https://apple.news/AyPyL7OHqSLOC_IHyWEnEzg

 

[ChasingCoral]

This announcement is interesting timing. Just the other day I was chatting at a Charging Station with a Bolt EUV driver. He had led the team at GM who implemented the first application of CarPlay in a vehicle for GM.

 

[Secret Sauce]

I had the same initial reactions to this story as I am seeing in this thread, until I remembered that I was reading a Reuters article. They really aren't very good at news, especially technology and finance. So I thought it through myself, and added in what I knew already was happening. Came up with this:

Both Apple and Google are developing software to drive automative display systems, not just project apps onto the infotainment screen as both CarPlay and Android Auto do now. Apple's version, which they are vaguely calling "next gen CarPlay," has been inaccurately assumed to be phone-resident as CarPlay is now. Obviously, not the case. This could never work if the instrument cluster is involved. The deep integration they are talking about requires much more work being done by the car's systems.

So far more likely this is a version of CarPlay that runs on your car, and can be controlled in the same way an Apple Watch is controlled by an iPhone. Google is doing much the same. Note also in GM's announcement that Android Auto support is also being dropped. That should our first big clue that this story isn't being accurately reported.

Carmakers will be choosing which system to use. This is the obvious and inevitable next step in car automation. It doesn't mean your phone (Apple or Android) won't "work" with these systems, it means they will interact in some other way and will being doing less of the work of putting it where you can see it and interact with it.

How, TBA. Wait for it.

 

[pcgeek]

I canceled my Blazer EV pre-order a few days after the announcement so I could make sure they really meant "no carplay". It's non-negotiable for me and one of the main reasons I got a Taycan instead of a Plaid Model S (that and the yoke nonsense). It's also why we got a Mach E instead of a Rivian R1S and why we never looked at Lucid.

Technically, Waze is the must-have for me and it's possible that Android automotive would allow for native waze but I have no interest in contributing to them building a "$20-25B subscription business". I miss the days where you could buy software and apps and not have to pay every year to just keep using them and I have no interest in encouraging the automakers to think that's a viable strategy.

I was hopeful that the rumored "Corvette" sub-brand of EV's would include more performance-focused vehicles but now I'm just glad this stupidity only applies to their EV's and didn't hit the ERay.

With the Polestar 3, Lotus Eletre, Kia EV9 and other SUV form factors releasing in the near future, there are a lot of interesting alternatives to pick from and this was the last straw that pushed me into "nope" on my order.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

What was the date of the GM press release?

4/1 ?

March 30. The articles appeared March 31.

 

[hprose]

Is Barra touched? I'm an Android user and even I think this is a completely boneheaded move. Of the 17 people in my office exactly three of us have Galaxy devices. The rest all have iPhones. Do the ratio math.

Come on Ford and bring that cool-ass Euro Explorer EV to the states and eat GM's Equinox sales.

Did they specifically say that they would even have the Android version of Car Play. If they are looking to get their own revenue stream it might be their own native system or nothing. Don’t know. I have Apple. Have been using Car Play or a hybrid of it for 8-9 years. I replaced my older Expedition Radio with a setup that would even play videos off my phone. I would venture that 80% of EV buyers have iPhones. I’m not going to re-enter all my contacts, appointments into a car system. That large portion of my life that is administered by my iPhone, iPad and MacAir transfer to my car and aid me while driving. Even listening to hockey or baseball via the app. Very bad move by GM

 

[Mallthus]

If you’re only thinking about CarPlay and Android Auto in their current iterations, then, yes, this is boneheaded.

But future iterations of both products (Apple’s still calling it CarPlay, Google are calling it Google Automotive Services, not Android Auto) are complete infotainment and instrument panel replacements. The vehicle becomes the device and everything from the expected navigation and music to the speedometer and fuel gauge are part of a single unified OS.

Supporting that level of integration requires picking one or the other.

I expect initial reactions when the cars hit the market will be mixed between people who struggle to deal with the level of customization possible (and required), who’ll hate this, and people who are excited for the new opportunities this provides.

FWIW, GM isn’t supporting Android Auto in this change either. There’s no mirroring at all, other than streaming and phone via Bluetooth, which makes sense because the apps will run natively in the car’s OS.

 

[Chicago-E]

So out of curiosity does anyone know someone who didn't buy a Tesla because of the sole reason it didn't have Carplay?

I had a model 3 for 6months and that was the number one reason I got rid of it. I liked a lot of other things about that car a disliked a few more. But no CarPlay drive me nuts. Using Bluetooth audio for podcast app sucked.

 

[scoopman]

Supporting that level of integration requires picking one or the other.

No it doesn't.

Apple's next-gen CarPlay stuff renders to multiple car screens and receives more data from the car, but it doesn't require the automaker to not have a native system. It still also relies on an (optional) iPhone to do the rendering.

GM made a decision that it was "all in" on Google's Android Automotive and "Google Built In" with custom stuff to build their own subscription businesses through data insights on top of this platform. It's a long-term strategic partnership with the G.

Allowing CarPlay (in any guise) would allow their customers to circumvent their plans.

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