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GM will ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all its cars, not just EVs

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11–20 of 83 posts

Re: GM will ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all its cars, not just EVs

#11
post #3

That's a real dealbreaker. I've never seen an in-house media/nav system better than Apple's, and I don't expect GM's to be any different.

It’s not only that, but your phone already has all your data. Calendar appointments, addresses of contacts, music, podcasts, etc. Do replicate this, you’d either need to sync all of that to your car, or migrate to Google’s ecosystem… maybe both. With the track record of automakers and data privacy, I don’t know who would knowingly do that. It also seems like a giant pain when nearly every other car doesn’t ask the bu…

Also, doing the communication would require cooperation from Google and Apple. Who have their competing systems, and don't want to cooperate with every car makers who wants to build their own system.

Re: GM will ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all its cars, not just EVs

#12
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They will 100% reverse this decision. Surprising it made it past engineering strategy & leadership at a company as large as GM and that they would even float this publicly without the details... but this will be walked back. How large companies can make it so far and still have such insane decision-making (management by instinct?) is so wild to behold.

I think that'll only happen when and if the corresponding drop in sales offsets increases in revenue from the subscription services owners will be forced to use. When they announced this originally for EVs it was clear the underlying motivation was to convert owners from a one-time source of income into an ongoing stream by forcing them into a subscription model for features they would get from CarPlay/Android Auto.

I don't drive so I just look at the whole industry from afar

Re: GM will ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all its cars, not just EVs

#13

CarPlay is probably the top of my list of features when I buy a car. I can careless about performance specs after a certain threshold. But not having CarPlay would straight up go into my do not buy list (yes, I wouldn’t buy a Rivian or tesla either.)

I think this may be the dilemma GM and others are in. Given that it's a must-have, how much can Google and Apple charge the manufacturers for a license? $2000 per car? 5000? More? I dont think you can necessarily criticize GM's decision (and making a public announcement that all other car manufacturers will read) without knowing the upstream costs.

Re: GM will ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all its cars, not just EVs

#14
post #3

That's a real dealbreaker. I've never seen an in-house media/nav system better than Apple's, and I don't expect GM's to be any different.

It’s not only that, but your phone already has all your data. Calendar appointments, addresses of contacts, music, podcasts, etc. Do replicate this, you’d either need to sync all of that to your car, or migrate to Google’s ecosystem… maybe both. With the track record of automakers and data privacy, I don’t know who would knowingly do that. It also seems like a giant pain when nearly every other car doesn’t ask the bu…

My Pre-Carplay car handles all of this (well, except calendar) just fine. It's all still handled on my device.

Additionally, even if Toyota were to get breached, they would not get my data

Re: GM will ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all its cars, not just EVs

#16
post #10
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to feel this way, but nowadays I've come to realize that Carplay's UX is inferior to my iPhone's UX on a mount. As long as I have Bluetooth or Aux-in, I'm fine. (That isn't to say that I think GM will somehow produce anything other than a captured rent extraction tool)

You might as well be making the “I’m okay with my 2004 Honda accord with a tape adapter” argument. There is no cost reason to exclude the option. Even if I don’t use it, if I’m buying a $30-50k new vehicle it better have it, even if that’s for the sake of resale or future family members I might pass the car down to. My 2016 has it, why am I tolerating the removing of such a feature? If you want unscientific evidence…

I think it's hilarious that I can upgrade my 2004 Honda Accord and add CarPlay into it with a myriad of screen sizes and options, features, cameras. There's an entire world of car stereo / infotainment gear out there that is cheaper and better than ever. Meanwhile, everybody with their new cars are just stuck with the terrible built in systems, or can only upgrade with a $1000 worth of audio processing gear and multi-channel amplifiers.

Re: GM will ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all its cars, not just EVs

#17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not only that, but your phone already has all your data. Calendar appointments, addresses of contacts, music, podcasts, etc. Do replicate this, you’d either need to sync all of that to your car, or migrate to Google’s ecosystem… maybe both. With the track record of automakers and data privacy, I don’t know who would knowingly do that. It also seems like a giant pain when nearly every other car doesn’t ask the bu…

My Pre-Carplay car handles all of this (well, except calendar) just fine. It's all still handled on my device. Additionally, even if Toyota were to get breached, they would not get my data

I won’t claim to be a CarPlay expert, but it is my understanding that it just mirrors your device on the infotainment system of the vehicle.

Re: GM will ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all its cars, not just EVs

#19
post #10
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to feel this way, but nowadays I've come to realize that Carplay's UX is inferior to my iPhone's UX on a mount. As long as I have Bluetooth or Aux-in, I'm fine. (That isn't to say that I think GM will somehow produce anything other than a captured rent extraction tool)

You might as well be making the “I’m okay with my 2004 Honda accord with a tape adapter” argument. There is no cost reason to exclude the option. Even if I don’t use it, if I’m buying a $30-50k new vehicle it better have it, even if that’s for the sake of resale or future family members I might pass the car down to. My 2016 has it, why am I tolerating the removing of such a feature? If you want unscientific evidence…

My "real lived experience" with a CarPlay device that I installed into my 2016 Toyota Sienna is that it was slow, annoying, and I actually removed it. You can have it for free if you are in the Calgary area, my email is in my profile.

The UX difference compared to my phone, and the change in speed / etc.. was infuriating. The experience with my phone was ALWAYS better.

An argument based on the desires of fiscally illiterate people with 19.99% APR loans on oversized cars would make more sense if I worked for an auto company, thankfully I don't.

Re: GM will ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all its cars, not just EVs

#20

CarPlay is probably the top of my list of features when I buy a car. I can careless about performance specs after a certain threshold. But not having CarPlay would straight up go into my do not buy list (yes, I wouldn’t buy a Rivian or tesla either.)

I think this may be the dilemma GM and others are in. Given that it's a must-have, how much can Google and Apple charge the manufacturers for a license? $2000 per car? 5000? More? I dont think you can necessarily criticize GM's decision (and making a public announcement that all other car manufacturers will read) without knowing the upstream costs.

Is there any public data on how much those licenses cost?
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