GM says it's dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because they're unsafe

> It wasn't the full Autopilot, just the lane following/adaptive cruise control kind of thing but we almost did go off the road at least once.

Your friend should have warned you that there are conditions where AP is expected not to work well, they're also clearly stated in the manual. I tend to agree that Tesla oversells the AP/FSD functionality just by the name, AP should be renamed to "vision lane assist", or something along those lines.

> But in general with the UI, there was a lot of, "Hey, how do I do [elementary car function]" and he'd be like "Oh I think they changed that [or moved it in the menu] in the last update, uh let me have a look"...

As an M3 2019 owner, I recall 2 instances since 2019 where stuff was moved around a lot, otherwise it's pretty stable.

While the first big update sacrificed some navigator real estate space for non-FSD users as well, it also grouped speed, speed limit and AP limit better at the top left corner, which used to be placed further away (now I don't need to turn my head anymore, I just glance bottom-right). The second one introduced dynamic tiles at the bottom for the less used stuff (things which were otherwise hidden behind non-intuitive areas, like the T Tesla logo at the top center of the screen).

After 6~10mo ago (can't recall) they grouped all car commands in the same panel when you bring up the settings to make it easier and more consistent to access those when required.

UI has gotten much snappier since I got the car, even though it's still running on a very low-end Intel Atom chip.

My feeling is that some breakage is sometimes required to achieve better solutions, and while there's the usual outrage of "changing my workflow" ® in the beginning, Tesla UI updates are usually for the better in the long run.

> GM is now claiming that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto actually cause safety issues.

I remember when I first saw these in-cockpit infotainment mobile integrations deployed and thinking "man, that's dangerous". I have a car with physical buttons, and even then I struggle to dial numbers for example whilst driving.

> And when CarPlay and Android Auto have issues, drivers pick up their phones again, taking their eyes off the road and totally defeating the purpose of these phone-mirroring programs.

A number of times I have had to pull up at the side of the road just to get bluetooth music playing correctly. I dread to think how people solve that whilst driving. This software is for sure dangerously awful.

> Essentially, the thinking is that if a car’s in-built infotainment system is good enough, drivers will be less likely to use their phone for what they’re trying to do while they’re behind the wheel, — though Babbitt admits that GM hasn’t exactly tested this in a controlled setting to see whether or not it’s true.

My suggestion to GM would be not to compete in the same way. When driving you need a simple, clean, reliable interface. Nobody wants a steering wheel to change location or the numbers on the gear stick to randomly change.

Ignoring the private video on the web page [1]:

> Designed in-house by GM engineers, Ultifi has been designed with third-party developers in mind. It runs on Linux and the Red Hat in-vehicle operating system, allowing GM to grant access to external developers to create apps and programs for customers.

I really hope it's all sandboxed to the heavens with external monitoring (they'll probably want to re-write the OOM and scheduler to ensure their processes are always given priority). Don't make the same mistake as Tesla with logging to flash [2].

[1] https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/general-motors-services/gm-u...

[2] https://www.tomshardware.com/news/flash-memory-wear-killing-...

I mean I have one for wireless android auto and it does just work, it's plugged in, I never have to think about it or worry about it, it just pops up on my screen as if it was built into the car. Maybe the CarPlay ones are more fiddly, I'm not sure.

The idea that I have to upgrade my perfectly working phone to get a better infotainment experience sounds ridiculous.

Also, as I stated, I'm perfectly fine with the out-of-the-box experience of the infotainment in both my cars.

There's radio, there's maps, that's all I really need.

GM has many development centers, including Roswell, Georgia, but it should be pointed out that like most American metros, Metro Detroit has a wide variety of cities and towns for different lifestyles. You don't have to live in Robocop to work for GM, which has facilities spread about both the Detroit metro area and the country.