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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

#81

Post by hamburglar »

beardedscotsman wrote: post #50
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…

So entirely different experience for me. So 5 years ago I travel to California. Out of all the cars I picked a crappy GM car when there were better cars to pick from the rental lot, why, because I had my iPhone with navigation. Every time I rented cars since I would always make sure it had apple CarPlay so I could drive any with a familiar experience. Now today, my car has wireless CarPlay. My experience goes like th…

Same for me. I had gotten rentals with CarPlay before, and I considered it pretty neat but kind of a hassle to have to plug the phone in and find a good place to set it and get the wires situated. Now I own a car with wireless CarPlay and I just never take the phone out of my pocket and it automatically connects and continues the music where it left off and has my google maps ready to go. The car’s infotainment system is passable but not stellar for either maps or music, and I basically never even see it.

I won’t buy another car without wireless CarPlay. Or maybe android auto if it’s also good; I haven’t tried it in years. But I want nothing to do with a car manufacturer’s crappy outdated infotainment systems ever again.

Edit: one fundamental problem with what GM is attempting is that the software embedded in a car is on an extremely slow development cycle and is never upgraded in any significant way. If they want to impress me, they need to keep the CarPlay/Android connection technology and then sell me a super slick GM device that connects to that and is better than my phone. I would gladly buy that, and possibly even pay for some subscription services, but it has to be separate from the vehicle that realistically gets upgraded only when I replace my car every 10 years. A 10 year upgrade cycle for the type of software we are talking about is pathetic.

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

#82

Post by ghostpepper »

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…

Why do you need a cable _and_ bluetooth?

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

#83

Post by AceJohnny2 »

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.

"expecting"

We'll see how that pans out.

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

#84

Post by jerrysievert »

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…

I'm guessing you didn't drive an early ford with the windows experience. my favorite was driving a rental car where a popup popped up over my speedometer while driving. there was no "touch", so I couldn't press the "OK" button, and there were no buttons on the steering wheel I could ever find to press it either (there were in later model ford cars).

I ended up having to power the car off to get the dialog to go away, but in the meantime, drove in the right lane because I had no idea if I was speeding or not, and couldn't imagine trying to explain that to a cop if I were pulled over.

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

#85

Post by hamburglar »

Tagbert wrote: post #21
travisporter wrote: post #4

Rivian doublding down on this is also a bit disappointing. Not that I can afford one

It’s not clear yet if Rivian is really doing this on principle or if they are trying to get subscription fees like GM or if they just have a lot to deal with right now and don’t want to bother with it.

Rivian can’t even deliver on floor mats and spare tires. I’m not holding my breath for actual product improvements for quite a while.

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

#86

Post by kotaKat »

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.

GM is /forcing/ the revenue.

GM previously attempted to force an additional upfront 3 year OnStar purchase on top of the vehicle purchase on some Buick/GMC/Cadillacs. They walked it mostly back, but they still rolled that stupid-ass idea out.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/gm-makes-1500-onstar-subscript...

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

#87

Post by pornel »

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.

Even if the infotainment OS was better than my phone’s OS, I’d still prefer to connect my phone.

It’s because I already have all the apps and data there. I don’t want to retype addresses into the car, I want to click them in my email or calendar. And I don’t want to set up my emails in my car’s OS, especially not one that has a lucrative contract with Google.

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

#88

Post by ireflect »

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…

Me too. Love my gen2 volt. And CarPlay.

I don’t mind having to plug in my phone for CarPlay. It’s one of the only times I remember to charge my phone!

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

#89

Post by rainsford »

maxerickson wrote: post #37
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,…

They may well be more or less production limited on the EVs (not saying that they are, pointing at the possibility). If it actually works good people might not care in the medium term. Generally the problem people have with the automaker systems is that they sucked, not that they weren't CarPlay.

> Generally the problem people have with the automaker systems is that they sucked, not that they weren't CarPlay.

I think that's part of it, but definitely not the entire story. People have a lot of their life on their phone, so the tighter the integration between their phone and other products, the more appealing the experience with that product is. No matter how good the automaker system is, if it's not basically your phone with a different screen, it's going to feel like an awkward disconnect, especially when there are plenty of alternative cars that do offer that seamless experience.

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

#90

Post by iamerroragent »

userbinator wrote: post #47
Waterluvian wrote: post #41

Detaching the entertainment system from the car and making it just a dumb touchscreen and speakers must have really grinded the gears of auto makers. I can now upgrade my entire entertainment system, GPS, phone, etc. by replacing a phone. They’d prefer you get another car when your system is feeling old. I don’t even understand why my 2020 car had an optional GPS add-on for thousands of dollars. Android Auto / CarPla…

had an optional GPS add-on for thousands of dollars I guess it's for people who don't know better. Even a standalone GPS won't cost that much, and as a bonus, you can take it with you.

Corporate contracts.

Cheaper to have everything wrapped up in one vendor sometimes than having a third party install and service gps.

My guess at least. I don't really know.

However unrelated to this computer vendors I've noticed charge a ton for more data and memory relative to buying from part stores. So perhaps maybe just taking suckers for a ride.

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