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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

#281
Many car manufacturers actually want you to pay for apple CarPlay / android auto now via a subscription. I won't be buying cars that ditch CarPlay or require a subscription for it. I'd sooner buy a dumb car and fit the necessary components for CarPlay myself.

As noted in other comments, the standard infotainment systems in cars are so poor. Why would I opt for them in place of CarPlay / Android Auto? This is just greed. Plain and simple.

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

#282
post #226

Ideally, my car would look like a BT speaker, possibly with a microphone and some controls, to the phone. I don't want a dedicated satnav, I don't want an elaborate in-car entertainment system. The reason is twofold. The first is that all of these in-car systems are pretty dated even after a couple of years. The second is that they tend to be fairly low quality to begin with. The system in my car that integrates with…

I don't even want the Bluetooth, just put a USB-C hole on the tape deck. That should be a standard size and easily replaceable with aftermarket components anyway.

> That should be a standard size and easily replaceable with aftermarket components anyway.

Remember when that was TRUE for about 15 years in the 90s/2000s?

I'm old-enough-to-have-stopped-believing-tech-progress-goes-only-one-way years old.

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

#283
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,…

Is a car high-margin (as in profit)? I wouldn’t think they would be. Or perhaps you were using the term in the sense of a high dollar price point.

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

#284
post #234
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,…

It makes sense because they can create and roll out their own system. Hell, make it subscription-based, with a premium tier. They don't give a fuck, people will still buy their big ass SUVs and pick-up trucks. How does it make sense to keep making cars bigger and bigger? It doesn't for us, but sure as shit does for them.

Not with the changes the EPA is talking about.

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

#285
post #171
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a bit of a pain if two people share the car. Even worse if two people share more than one car. There never seems to be an option to force use a specific phone when more than one is possible. They all seem sticky to a phone and it always seems to be the other one. I guess a good thing about carplay is that when traveling with someone else, they can use their phone to update things like maps, and we're not complet…

I really liked wireless CarPlay when testing the Enyaq and wondered about the multi user situation. Already today Bluetooth always seems to get exactly the wrong phone. In our current setup we just have a phone holder with plug in which we shove the phone. Then it is done. It takes longer to pull the phone out of the pocket than to connect it. The only downside to CarPlay is that the battery stays at 100% charge. I w…

> The only downside to CarPlay is that the battery stays at 100% charge. I wish I could limit that to 80%. Especially if we take long drives this degrades the battery unnecessarily.

I think that fast charging is just as bad, if not worse.

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

#286
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,…

Is a car high-margin (as in profit)? I wouldn’t think they would be. Or perhaps you were using the term in the sense of a high dollar price point.

Whatever the profit margin of an individual car is, the car manufacturing business is not a high profit margin business. GM/Toyota/Honda/Ford show 5%, to maybe 10% profit margins.

They would definitely benefit from convincing people to pay for 50%+ profit margin software as a service subscriptions.

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

#287
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.

After having wireless CarPlay, not sure I can ever go back. It’s really nice to get in the car and just go, and everything from my phone is automatically on the dash and controllable with the car’s native controls. The last thing I want is for my car to be another device with its own subscription, accounts, applications, configuration, etc.

I ruled cars out of my last purchase that didn’t have CarPlay. I didn’t realize wireless was available now. Having to hook it up is the one major pain. Wireless CarPlay will definitely be a requirement on the next purchase.

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

#288
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

So far my experience with Android Automotive has been a deal breaker. I rented a Polestar for a week and it felt like I was driving an android phone. Absolutely not interested.

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

#289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a Nissan LEAF. In 8.5 years, my expenses have included replacing wiper blades twice, cabin air filter twice, filling the washer fluid bottle several times and I’ve looked at the tires and brakes, rotating tires once. It’s been crazy nice. (As the family wrench-turner, even my wife’s CR-V, which is generally low maintenance, has felt like an inconvenient pig for maintenance demands by comparison.)

You... don't need to change brake pads with an EV? Wheel bearings?

I have never heard of someone needing to change wheel bearings in my 30+ years being alive in the US. And my family has driving 5 or 6 cars to 250k+ miles.

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

#290
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

I dont think you understand what the plan is... Every feature on the car will be a subscription... Heated Seats, Fast Charging, Nav, everything Of course they will be "free" for the first 3-5 years of ownership, the free is non-transferable to a new owner... and you will be able to get the GM+ All Access Plan to "unlock your car's full potential for only $500 a year"..... This is not a GM thing, this is the dream of…

One of the benefits of "economy" cars. More reliable than the high-end models and they can't pull this crap because it would lose them money as their customer base can't afford it.

This is why I'm really skeptical of mandating EVs without consumer protection because this seems to be the point where automakers are seeing dollar signs and can force buyers into higher price brackets.

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