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GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

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Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#71

Post by cmrdporcupine »

Tagbert wrote: post #23

I got my first GM vehicle when I got a Volt Gen2. It is very good and that surprised me as I had always had somewhat negative opinions about GM. I’m starting to shop around for a full EV now and had been interested in the Chevy Blazer and Equinox EVS. With this recent announcement, all that is out the window. I would have been a natural customer for GM but now I’ll be looking at Ford, Hyundai, VW, or any of several o…

Same here. I drive a Gen2 Volt and have loved it and the engineering in it is solid, and because of that was considering going GM for my next EV.

Not anymore.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#72

Post by bdcravens »

ashconnor wrote: post #60
tnel77 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally love CarPlay. A requirement for my next vehicle is wireless CarPlay, and I will not even begin to consider it if it does not have that. Some people want ventilated seats or a V8. I want CarPlay. I think this is a very silly move by GM that they will quickly reverse.

CarPlay is also a requirement for me. Wireless not so much. The adapters are pretty good these days.

Recommendations? I purchased a device that lets me watch video in the head unit (runs Android and uses CarPlay protocol), and adds wireless CarPlay. However, it's shocking at how slow it is at going into CarPlay mode.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#73

Post by bdcravens »

rektide wrote: post #33
mritun wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CarPlay and AndroidAuto don’t give the car any access to the phone data and that’s the “problem” GM seems trying to “fix”. CarPlay and AndroidAuto protocols basically treat car’s display as a remote framebuffer.

Wouldn't it be great if cars would just send the car data out to phones? People already have a very well configured device hooked up to all kind of extras with them in their pocket. I don't really known what Android Auto or CarPlay offer but my weak understanding is it's mostly a dumb screen & display... Maybe a microphone? If hvac & lighting & other auxiliary systems were also controllable some really pleasant well…

There's no real standard, though with more cars adopting Android Automotive (not the same as Android Auto), perhaps that will change.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Automotive

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#74

Post by tadfisher »

majormajor wrote: post #48
FractalParadigm wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that's the case, how are 3rd-party head units allowed to use AA? I know for an absolute fact that mine recieves exactly zero data from the car outside a simple +12v signal that tells the radio to turn on/off. Do aftermarket radios exist that require a CAN connection? If so, how could they even be certain the radio even 'understands' the flavour of CAN being used by the car? How about more modern cars that have the…

I would imagine that Google's negotiations with, say, Pioneer are different than theirs with GM. If Google (or Apple) thinks that having it onboard is gonna be worth some data sharing, or whatever else they want, to the manufacturer they're gonna push for that even if they have different terms for aftermarket equipment. "Just buy an aftermarket radio" isn't really a good marketing campaign for an auto manufacturer to…

Well, that and the fact that no manufacturer ships a double-DIN hole in the dash any more, so it's pretty much impossible to get an aftermarket head unit. That said, there was one Chinese Android-based unit that was made for the 3rd-gen Mazda 3, replacement screen on the dash and everything.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#75

Post by duxup »

jacobsenscott wrote: post #38

Android auto and car play are both really bad user experiences. They are just better than what most car companies can build, which is a very low bar. Here's the android auto experience: Take my phone out of my pocket (not that easy when you are already sitting...), turn on bluetooth (I often have it off because it grabs my headphones etc when I don't want it to) and connecting it to usb (where'd the damn cable go? An…

> Here's the android auto experience: Take my phone out of my pocket (not that easy when you are already sitting...)

Somehow people do / handle this situation just fine.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#76

Post by tptacek »

exabrial wrote: post #12

The better option is: remove infotainment completely and _require_ a smartphone for anything other than FM/AM radio. * Support an open protocol for rendering images/video/animations on the screen. Sorta like... you know, CarPlay. * Have controls for what events are allowed to be sent to the connected device. Don't want your phone to know your Throttle Position? Turn that shit off. Don't want your phone to know whethe…

Role play: I'm a car manufacturer, driving 20-40 billion dollars per quarter in revenue. Why am I using a "open protocol" for anything? Pitch me!

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#77

Post by ghostpepper »

ashconnor wrote: post #60
tnel77 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally love CarPlay. A requirement for my next vehicle is wireless CarPlay, and I will not even begin to consider it if it does not have that. Some people want ventilated seats or a V8. I want CarPlay. I think this is a very silly move by GM that they will quickly reverse.

CarPlay is also a requirement for me. Wireless not so much. The adapters are pretty good these days.

What adapter do you use? My car has a USB A port that accepts a regular iPhone charging cable - takes all of five seconds to connect as I'm getting in the car.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#78

Post by crote »

criddell wrote: post #61
mlsu wrote: post #32

How does this business decision make sense? A car is a high-margin item, so the impact of even a handful of consumers choosing not to buy must be huge, right? Whereas, they would need to "monetize" (ugh) many many more units to turn back that lost profit. And as the shakeup due to EVs begins, even loyal consumers will be considering other makes. My girlfriend bought a car recently. CarPlay was not negotiable for her,…

GM is expecting $20-25 billion in annual subscription revenue by 2030. Dropping CarPlay and Android Auto will definitely lose them many sales. They are betting the lost sales will be less than the new subscription revenue.

I genuinely wonder how they justify that figure. They could maybe justify a subscription if they offered a significant service, but they are by definition going to deliver a worse experience than CarPlay/Android Auto - simply due to it not being your own smartphone.

Why would anyone buy an expensive car which is designed to last a decade while it has essential pre-installed features locked behind a subscription? If they want recurring revenue that badly, they should just lease it out.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#79

Post by ghostpepper »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #28
jdlyga wrote: post #5

Car infotainment systems are terrible. That's the reason why everyone wants CarPlay and Android Auto. It's kind of like going back to flip phones after using smartphones for years.

I also trust Carplay and Android Auto security since no data is sent out of the phone.

Are you sure about this? I seem to remember connecting my iPhone to a rental car and realizing that it had transferred my contact list into the car somehow.

Re: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto sparks backlash

#80

Post by gedy »

jeremy_wiebe wrote: post #34

I haven’t looked into this for a long time but is the aftermarket head unit market still thriving? Seems like there’ll be lots of plays for folks like Alpine to cater to all the frustrated folks whose factory unit is trash.

Yeah if I cared that much about this, I'd likely just mount an iPad on my dash. (Understood it's not as nice as CarPlay or the integrated car controls)
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