This isn’t existential for buying a GM product (I could probably just replace the head unit?), but for a rental, I’ll have to avoid GM EVs. Being able to rent basically any car on the lot and just have CarPlay work, with the only question being USB A, USB C, or wireless, is pretty nice today.
GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google's help
231–240 of 386 posts
Re: GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google's help
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not just Gen Z, 79% of all US car buyers would only buy a car with CarPlay: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/22/apple-carplay-could-be-a-tro... GM will absolutely lose this battle. Idiotic move.
> ”GM will absolutely lose this battle. Idiotic move.” I dunno. Lack of CarPlay support has not exactly stopped people buying Teslas. On the other hand, Polestar uses Google’s Automotive OS for it’s infotainment system and yet also supports CarPlay. So the two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.
Tesla's infotainment systems are in a whole another category from whatever the other manufacturers are attempting.
That being said, not supporting CarPlay (and Apple Maps) is a big factor of me not buying a Tesla.
Re: GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google's help
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
On what grounds? Because people like it too much? Apple isn’t forcing anything. They don’t have exclusive contacts. Almost every car with CarPlay supports Android Auto. Customers are just demanding it.
Apple does restrict access to much of their platform for only Apple-based access. There's exactly one company stopping Google or anyone else from building a compatible car system that runs for both Android and ios, and that's Apple. The use of private APIs and preventing competitors from using them, to secure another market (car infotainment systems) certainly should run afoul of anticompetitive laws in spirit, even…
Uh, my Honda's factory radio is literally an Android device.
It happily allows CarPlay from my iPhone.
CarPlay is (very roughly) the phone pushing video to the car's head unit like it's an external monitor (with a UI tailored for the size/location/usage of a typical car display).
Re: GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google's help
#234I really hope this isn't a start of a trend, but I have to wonder if the recent CarPlay taking over the entire car thing that Apple announced is kinda related? Every once in a while I end up renting a car that doesn't have CarPlay support and it sucks. CarPlay is great and it does what I need (music and directions, with the occasional message) while also keeping everything in sync with my phone.
I think this is directly related, furthermore, I think no company should take Apple's deal. "You build the car and screens...we use them to make money/get data instead of you". There's a reason CarPlay licensing is free.
I bet some partners backed out of the next-gen carplay too.
There's a good argument that Apple is the bad guy here too: Their restriction of iMessage APIs and App-data over Bluetooth makes Carplay (and in a like way, the Apple Watch) the only real choice for iPhone owners. One could say they are taking the whole industry over the coals with this lockout which allows them to have people pay them app store subscriptions. There is a running line that "Apple believes they own every dollar that is spent on your iPhone", with carplay, it's every dollar in your car too.
Re: GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google's help
#235I don’t think I would buy a car that didn’t have CarPlay. I’m an iPhone user and have no interest in changing my phone. People reject cars all the time for even more trivial things (oh — this one doesn’t have wireless charging? Next.), so I can’t imagine this being a smart idea for GM.
The reactions in this thread are interesting, because they seem to imply that this is the final straw that has convinced us to not buy Chevrolets and Buicks, as opposed to the last 30+ years of of their products being generally terrible.
Sort of. I know Tesla owners who've bought Bolts as secondary cars but would not otherwise be caught dead in a GM car. There are people who buy Corvettes who wouldn't consider another GM car. I avoid American cars at all costs but was still considering a Bolt before this news.
Re: GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google's help
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
Typically, you see the logo before you get into the actual car. I would say you can tell by the shape, but some brands share too much in the looks department (cough Kia/Hyundai).
Kia and Hyundai are effectively the same company. I assume Kia is South Korea’s lower end offering, Hyundai is their mid tier offering, and Genesis is their luxury offering.
Nowadays Kia and Hyundai target different segments, but quality is about the same. Kia also does more region-specific models, like the Ceed in Europe and the Telluride in US, while Hyundai seems to have a more global strategy where they choose what to sell from a portfolio of global models.
Re: GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google's help
#237Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who is quite concerned that I'm going to have to sell my Kia because insurance companies are refusing to cover them because they're so easy to steal, just... be careful which model you pick.
Its only really the models and years where they didn't have immobilizers. He's looking at an EV, it doesn't even have a cut key for starting the car.
A good point. Also worth mentioned that Kias are (apparently) easy to break in to. Twice over the past year my neighborhood has had a group come around and jimmy just the Kias in the neighborhood to steal stuff from inside. I don't live in a high-crime area, either. It's real problem.
Re: GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google's help
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah yes pissing off your customers because you think they’ll not just accept a worse experience, they’ll actually pay more for it. It’s a bold strategy.
GM is chasing the United airlines and Ryan air business model. United expects customers to be grateful if they get involuntarily rescheduled to arrive a day and a half after the original arrival time, with not so much as a free snack ticket to compensate e even when the flight delay is of their causing, not weather, that made the original connection impossible.
I think you're going after United the wrong way.
It'd be like if United split Economy into say Basic Economy and Economy with the difference being Basic Economy doesn't let you pick a seat. And then in Economy, they charged to pick anything but a middle seat.
Re: GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google's help
#239> Buyers of GM EVs with the new systems will get access to Google Maps and Google Assistant, a voice command system, at no extra cost for eight years, GM said. The lede is buried as usual.
So what’s currently free on both CarPlay and Android auto will be chargeable after 8 years? I’m buying another brand that doesn’t pull this shit.
These articles are paraphrasing all over the place. This line is about 8 years of free cellular data, not app "Access". Point still stands but yeah.
Re: GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google's help
#240Regardless of whether you prefer Apple or Google, the benefit of phone projection is that you can get a good experience with relatively low specs from the head unit because the heavy lifting is done by the phone which can be upgraded independently of the car.
Even powered by Google, the infotainment system is going to age like milk since you’ll be locked into hardware that will be midrange at best, several years old by the time it’s released with no upgrade path.
The only group of consumers that it could possibly benefit is people who want an EV but don’t use a smartphone and thus can’t take advantage of AA or CarPlay. I have a feeling that Venn Diagram is just two independent circles.
This is purely so GM can add subscriptions and harvest more data. Heaven forbid they make their money just selling a car.