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

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

#21

Post by Jtsummers »

garciasn wrote: post #17
tree_enjoyer wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yes, it's basically just an I/O device. When your phone is disconnected from it, there's no data left in the car except whatever is needed for wireless pairing (if you use wireless pairing) in the future. With wired CarPlay, it retains as much as a dumb touch screen display would.

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

#22

Post by bigstrat2003 »

al_borland wrote: post #4
zjp wrote: 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…

Yeah exactly. My wife's Volvo runs Android as its entertainment OS, and I still choose to use Android Auto. Because my phone has my music, has the music player I like to use, etc. The car has none of these things. There is no scenario where the car's software is going to be a superior experience to plugging in your smartphone, IMO.

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

#23

Post by seanmcdirmid »

Unless you are Tesla, I just don't think you can do software well enough to forgo Apple or Google's auto stacks. And people will argue that Tesla isn't that great at it either, but it definitely does it better than all of the other auto manufacturers (disclaimer: I've heard, I don't own a Tesla).

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

#24

Post by 486sx33 »

acdha wrote: post #20
listenallyall wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

[dead]

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

#25

Post by AlotOfReading »

listenallyall wrote: post #13
syntaxing wrote: post #2

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.

There aren't really any licensing fees for Android Auto. Apple charged a few dozen dollars for the right to produce a car with the integration, rather than a license as such. There's integration costs and hardware, so it's not free, but generally it's cheaper than the alternative.

Android automotive, the system GM is discussing here, is more expensive in every way than Android Auto. The reason they're switching is that Android Auto/carplay don't give GM enough additional monetization options for customers.

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

#26

Post by tehwebguy »

acdha wrote: post #20
listenallyall wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I don’t know but my best guess is in the low hundreds given the Vline sells for $679. Just installed one in a 2008 Lexus with a resistive touch screen and ancient interface, now I’ve got CarPlay.

https://gromaudio.com/store/vline/

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

#27

Post by Casteil »

syntaxing wrote: post #2

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.)

Yep.

Manufacturers ditching Apple Carplay/Android Auto support will, if not immediately, inevitably pursue rent-seeking behavior in the form of paid subscriptions for services people could otherwise just have for free (and likely better) via phone.

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

#28

Post by listenallyall »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #25
listenallyall wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

There aren't really any licensing fees for Android Auto. Apple charged a few dozen dollars for the right to produce a car with the integration, rather than a license as such. There's integration costs and hardware, so it's not free, but generally it's cheaper than the alternative. Android automotive, the system GM is discussing here, is more expensive in every way than Android Auto. The reason they're switching is th…

Is it possible Apple/Google initially charged a nominal fee when the technology was brand new, and now that it has widespread acceptance and is mandatory for many car purchasers, they turned the screws and are now charging an exorbitant price?

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

#29

Post by dangus »

jbm wrote: post #19
dangus wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ill…

Yeah that’s a Toyota problem, not a typical experience of old wired CarPlay systems at all.

And again I’m not making some kind of pro-consumerism buy a new car right now argument, I’m just saying that in 2025 CarPlay and Android Auto are high demand features that a lot of people insist upon.

I’m not making some kind of profound statement on the state of the car industry or whether infotainment is too deeply integrated into vehicles.

I’m just saying if it was time for me to buy a new car I’m thinking twice about buying something that’s not giving me phone mirroring, just like I want my car to have FM radio even if I rarely or never use it.

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

#30

Post by laweijfmvo »

I have a Tesla. Fancy big screen, but one of the first things I did was stick an ugly phone mount right next to it. My phone has everything I need, which are mainly reliable maps and audio. And I’m certainly not paying for another data plan to use the same apps on my car when they work fine on my phone.
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