GM Ditches Apple CarPlay on EVs as Fight for Your Car's Screen Intensifies

[Zorro]

Move to drop the popular app highlights battle that could be worth billions

Apple Inc.’s CarPlay, the app that allows drivers to use their iPhones through the car’s display, has become a staple in millions of cars and trucks sold each year and a mission-critical feature for some buyers.

Now, General Motors Co. is ditching the popular app on many of its new electric models, along with a similar one made by Alphabet Inc.’s Google for Android phones.

GM surprised many in the auto industry when it said earlier this month that it was dropping the apps in favor of new software for the multimedia display. Executives said its software offers more built-in functionality than what drivers can now get through smartphone connections.

GM’s strategy, which aligns with those of Tesla Inc. and other EV makers, is the latest turn in a battle between car and tech companies over a vehicle’s digital real estate and services—a fight with billions of dollars in future revenue at stake.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/gm-ditches-apple-carplay-on-evs-as-fight-for-your-cars-screen-intensifies-29b51de8?st=k88yxo62v2gsh7d&reflink=share_mobilewebshare

[emulatorloo]

1. Sounds like a dumb move. Most people want to use their iPhones or Android phones for navigation

and music etc. I would not buy a car with a proprietary system.

[Tetrachloride]

2. My guess is GM will allow more corporate spyware.

[Mosby]

3. I think you will still be able to connect

But what they and other manufacturers don't like is how the apps take over the entire display. The apps probably collecting a lot of data as well.

[OldBaldy1701E]

4. And, what will you do when they have nothing but cars of that type available?

I agree with you totally, but they are just going to phase out any vehicle that does not have one and make sure those older cars cannot be repaired by ceasing manufacturing of any parts for them. The auto industry does things like this all the time. The fight is to make sure they offer options, which they hate because those options are not as 'cost effective' (read: do not make us massive profits) as the ones they want us to use.

Personally, I do not even allow my phone GPS to be on unless I am using something that needs to use it. I am not going to make these shysters lives any easier by being complacent in their intrusions on my life.

[emulatorloo]

5. We had proprietary GPS systems before. Most of them were obsolete in a couple three years.

I just don't see the market accepting this kind of ill conceived nonsense.

If some manufacturers insist on this, Sony and other car stereo manufacturer make retrofit units with car play et cetera.

Additionally other manufactures are fully committed to providing CarPlay and Android built into their dashboard systems.

I currently drive a Ford Escape 2011, which is in excellent condition. I replaced the old stereo with a Sony carplay unit and my mechanic believes I can get another 5 years out of it. Fingers crossed.

[OldBaldy1701E]

6. Yep.

We have a 2010 Santa Fe and it allows us to connect via bluetooth, but it is nowhere near as interconnected as the more modern cars are. Which is fine by me. It doesn't even allow control of the phone other than answering calls because the system is too old to handle the newer phones. Again, no problem. Besides, if I wanted to, I could re-wire the thing to be all kinds of cool. Of course, then you run into the value of doing that against the value of the car and its projected lifespan. It has been a good one but it IS old for a car. (Not the really old ones. They were not built to collapse within ten years like the cars of the past 20-25 years.)

Did you get to see the remake of Battlestar Galactica in 2004? The premise was that the interconnectivity of their systems was their weakness. I agree. It is why I always rail against the central power grid. Every structure would have been self sufficient as far as power is concerned if we had put the effort into creating the means to do this as opposed to creating new war machines that are obsolete before they are even completed. But I digress...