There’s a lot of alarmed talk right now because General Motors announced it’ll be phasing out support for the wildly popular phone-to-car infotainment systems Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all future GM electric vehicles. In keeping with GM’s long and storied history of baffling, self-defeating product-planning decisions, what we have here is a move that absolutely nobody who buys cars wants GM to do. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are incredibly popular, with a vast number of car buyers demanding the systems as a prerequisite to even consider a new car. This seems, to me, like a stellar act of not just stepping, but actually stomping, with golf shoes, on one’s own metaphorical dong that I feel confident in predicting that even GM will, at some point in the near future, walk this back. I mean, I hope they do. Or that they prove me wrong about this being a bad idea and I have to eat my own socks.
The decision to abandon CarPlay and Android Auto on all upcoming EVs (gas cars will keep the features) starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV was outlined in this Media Fact Sheet:
In there you can see where GM comes out and says:
“As a result of this strategic approach, we will be moving beyond phone projection systems, namely Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.”
Here’s page two of the Fact Sheet, which mentions the four 2024 electric GM vehicles that will offer Android Auto and Apple Car Play:
Now, it’s not like there aren’t entirely valid reasons for wanting tighter integration between a car’s infotainment system and its other systems; there are plenty of solid engineering reasons for that, including the ability to easily pass important data about things like state of charge or speed or other internal sensor data from the car to applications in the infotainment system. Also, I bet GM will save a bit of cash by not having to pay for Car Play or Android Auto. But, importantly, nobody gives a shit. People want the user experience they use nearly nonstop throughout the day on their cars as well, with full access to all of their relevant data and preferences, because of course they do.
Just look at some of the comments on the Verge’s article about this:
And this is not specific to commenters on The Verge — this has been the general response of, pretty much, the whole internet.
Way to read the room, GM.
This is such a baffling bit of news on every single level that I’m really a bit awestruck. To me, it seems almost like GM conducted extensive and comprehensive consumer research and then decided that it’d be a real hoot to just do the exact opposite of whatever it learned. Because people sure like CarPlay and Android Auto, and absolutely nobody has ever demanded that GM partner with Google to make some new, different car OS that isn’t like the system everyone is already used to and just wants to keep using on their cars, already.
GM’s stated reason for dropping phone mirroring systems like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto has to do with what the company claims is the need to more tightly integrate the in-car UX with other features like Level 2 semi-automated driving system, Super Cruise, which I suppose is more important than offering in-car infotainment systems that customers, you know, actually want.
Mike Hichme, executive director of digital cockpit experience for GM, explained this in an interview with Reuters, saying,
“We have a lot of new driver assistance features coming that are more tightly coupled with navigation. We don’t want to design these features in a way that are dependent on person having a cellphone.”
I’m excited to meet this new owner of a GM EV who doesn’t have a cellphone! I’m especially excited to feed the unicorn this non-cellphone-owning GM EV buyer would have to have ridden in on a magic carrot, too, because that’s what imaginary things like unicorns and EV buyers who don’t have cellphones like, you see. Of course, I don’t for one moment believe that GM’s digital cockpit experience executive director thinks there’s any significant number of non-Amish smartphone-free potential EV buyers, but this was one of the statements directly quoted, so we can’t just ignore that.
I suspect the actual motivations for what seems like a comically risky plan are closer to what Edward Kummer, GM’s chief digital officer, told Automotive News:
“We do believe there are subscription revenue opportunities for us.”
That seems about right.
The context of the quote about subscription revenue in the Reuters article seems important:
Buyers of GM EVs with the new systems will get access to Google Maps and Google Assistant, a voice command system, at no extra cost for eight years, GM said. GM said the future infotainment systems will offer applications such as Spotify’s (SPOT.N) music service, Audible and other services that many drivers now access via smartphones.
That sounds like GM wants to get some revenue from subscriptions to applications people already use on their phones or other devices, but perhaps there’s more to it than that. In fact, I think this other bit of speculation from the same article could give more explanation:
GM’s decision to stop offering those systems in future electric vehicles, starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, could help the automaker capture more data on how consumers drive and charge EVs.
Gathering data is, of course, very important for so many companies, so the idea that GM would want to be in a position to gather as much as possible directly could be a factor in this otherwise strange decision.
Sure, there are other carmakers who have decided to not support these popular phone mirroring systems, most notably Tesla, but a quick glance at Tesla forums and websites reveals a widespread and powerful desire to use these systems, to the point of finding workarounds or even hacking Tesla’s in-car operating system. But GM isn’t Tesla, which has a large pool of bordline cultlike fans who will forgive almost any shortcomings Tesla may have, and Tesla enjoys a status in the greater culture far beyond what GM has, at least currently.
Of course, it is possible that GM will come up with a system that is so much better, so much more intuitive and easier and enjoyable than what Apple or Google are capable of releasing – well, Google is working with GM here to develop this but, it seems, outside of the context of the Android OS – that this will all make sense and it will be better for everyone involved. It’s possible. But is it likely that GM is going to, say, beat Apple at UX design? GM, the company that has recently made you open a glovebox by navigating on-screen menus? That GM? I might not choose to hold my breath.
If GM wants this to work, it can’t just be as good it has to be better — much better — in order to get people to not just switch over, but even be aware of it at all. Because as it stands, a vast number of consumers will just see that the Car Play or Android Auto checkboxes are empty and move on. I’m confused why GM decided they needed to completely eliminate the two largest, most desired options while they’re developing their own system; wouldn’t it make more sense to develop their own system in parallel, and, you know, hedge their bets? Then if they actually do manage to pull off making something better and more desirable, they can still get people to buy in, without losing potential customers in the first place before their system has had a chance to prove itself.
[Editor’s Note: Apple Car Play and Android Auto are just such big names right now that to even talk about phasing them out seems like bad PR. If GM can somehow develop something that’s competitive with these two — a tall order — that’d be amazing, though it’d take some time to get consumers used to it. You’d almost want to offer it in parallel with Car Play/Android Auto, at least until people warmed up to it. These two are just too important to consumers right now. GM is doing this with lower-volume cars (EVs) to start, but these aren’t that low volume, so it does seem risky from my vantage point. -DT].
I reached out to GM for comment, and I’ll update if I hear back anything interesting. In any case, I don’t believe GM is going to actually do this, as it is just seems too high risk. The company has some exciting-looking new EVs coming, and I’m pretty sure at some point it’s going to realize that it can’t just ignore what consumers actually want, because wanting something is why people buy one car over another in the first place.
Or, this may be yet another Vega or EV1 or Hy-Wire or whatever. I’m just hoping it won’t be.
This magical new GM consumer will also pay for their EV with NFT artwork.
I used to think that Carplay or Android Auto weren’t necessary until I got a daily that supported them. Now I don’t think I could go back to having a daily driver that doesn’t support it. I tried both Carplay and Android Auto and both of them just work so well.
Sure it’s possible that GM has some genuinely good to use replacement on the way but I don’t want any part of everything else that’s surely going to come with it. I don’t want to download apps on my car, I already have them on my phone. Then when those apps need to be updated, I’ll have to use my phone as a hotspot since I don’t get good wifi reception in the driveway and I absolutely do not want to pay for a data plan for my car. That’s not even mentioning the subscriptions they’re certainly planning to offer too.
The general public as a whole is starting to become more and more aware of how garbage subscritpion services are. Companies are going to keep forcing them down our throat and I don’t see that easing up in the immediate future but there has to be a breaking point eventually. If GM does go through with this, I could see them losing out on far more sales than they were predicting they’d lose.
April Fools?
I still don’t know why a dash-mounted phone cradle/docking station isn’t the standard. There is absolutely no app in your car that your phone can’t do better. Oh, but you want a bigger screen? How about a touch screen monitor that simply does what your phone tells it to do, connected through Bluetooth?
This would also leave room to, you know, PUT THE GODDAMN KNOBS AND BUTTONS AND FADERS BACK ON THE GODDAMN DASHBOARD.
That’s literally what wireless apple carplay/Android auto is. Well it’s actually an ad-hoc wi-fi connection initiated by bluetooth, but still.
Yeah, there should be a slot for phones something like an old cassette. I made one in the blank off plate under the HVAC dials on my GR86, wire and all contained within the felt-lined slot—works great, keeps it out of the way, and prevents it from flying around.
I think what’s missing here is the technical context of what is actually being offered in the place of AA or Carplay.
Those of us already using 3rd party Android head units know that AA and Carplay are unnecessary if the apps you want are already on the head unit.
I’m wondering if this will impact the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX that are based on the Ultium battery. The initial photos Honda released of the Prologue seem like it leans more to GM-based switchgear, so while it could could go either way seems like it would need to be more based around GM’s tech. I would think that the functionality is still designed in to it just GM is opting to exclude it in theirs; Honda’s photos also clearly show an Apple CarPlay tile on the screen. If Honda has it…will people hack or jailbreak the GM versions to get it?
Regardless of functionality there are a lot of people out there that don’t have CarPlay now in still fairly recent vehicles and are set on having it in their next car, so it’s asking some people (if they’re comfortable enough moving to EV anyway) to leapfrog into a newer less-known tech. Techy people probably won’t care, but then that goes back to the question of how many of them are going to shop Chevy.
All this does is continue to show me how valuable my current car is. I have heated seats, remote start, steering wheel paddle shifters (that I admittedly never use), and an actually pretty good infotainment system. And none of that is tied to a subscription. My guess is that if this is the way cars are going, we’ll eventually see used cars being higher priced than new ones. And people will be chomping at the bit for the used ones. Will be wild to see I’m sure.
Yeah, I’m in the market for a newer car and the tech on some of the very newest cars is a bit of a turn off. I’d rather live in the sweet spot of 2018, apparently.
I know there’s a lot of outrage here, but let me correct some of the misunderstanding being demonstrated here about Android Automotive Services OS (AASOS), which I believe GM is going to be using for these EVs. My Polestar 2 uses that same operating system and it is one of the major reasons I chose the Polestar over the Mustang MachE. All of my comments are based on this assumption
I get Jason’s skepticism about the non-phone-using car driver, but believe it or not, some of us would rather not depend on our phones or use them as automotive assistance devices. I sometimes (gasp) leave my phone at home when I go for a drive! I want my car to be self-sufficient and independent of whether or not I have my phone. This is NOT an interface designed by GM. It is designed by Google/Android and it looks and acts remarkably like Android Auto. The difference is that the OS is specifically tailored to the car itself and completely integrated so that it gets data feeds from the cars systems. For example, if I’m using it to navigate and it tells me to turn left and I put my right blinker on and begin to turn right, it will reroute based on the knowledge that I’m turning right instead of left.AASOS is remarkably easy to use and has access to all the popular music apps (Pandora, Spotify, etc.) as well as Google Maps, and lots of others and you can download them from the Play Store right there in the car.Contrary to one of the other comments here, you can verbally enter items on your to-do list or whatever using the voice interface, as long as you’ve signed into the car with your Google account (which you only have to do one time when you set up the car).And it works in the other direction. If I use Google Maps on my phone to set up a trip plan, that same plan is available in the car for me to use.Even if I have my iPhone with me, I never connect it to the car. Yes, I’ve used Apple Car Play, and it’s fine, but the AASOS system is vastly superior in every way, and it knows the car itself.With an EV, the complete integration of the car with the OS is extremely important. When I use the car’s system to navigate to a charging station, it tells the car to optimize the battery for charging. The OS also takes driving style, AC/heat demand, elevation changes, etc. into account when predicting the range remaining in the battery. The phone can’t do any of that.GM can put a service subscription system into action whether or not you’re using Android Auto or Car Play.All that being said, my Polestar still allows phone mirroring if I wanted to do that. Other than what seems to me to be a minor cost savings (although maybe it isn’t), I’m not sure why GM is planning to drop support for that. In my opinion, most people who try using a car with integrated AASOS will quickly ditch using their phone because the experience is so much smoother and better integrated.
My biggest qualm is the 8 year free trial for basic connectivity. I already pay a phone bill; I don’t want (and won’t pay for) my car to have its own connection. Car Play/Android Auto are great because they utilize long-term standards and don’t require any additional subscription (except in a few stupid and rare cases).
“All that being said, my Polestar still allows phone mirroring if I wanted to do that.”
Which negates the need for anything you described in every previous sentence. I don’t know why that’s not what all cars do these days, allow your phone to stand in for their proprietary garbage that doesn’t do anything as well as your phone does.
You didn’t read my comments, I guess? I pointed out that Android Automotive Services OS does EVERYTHING better than my phone does when it comes to driving related functions.
And as I pointed out, the interface is not proprietary; it’s just like the Android Auto interface for the most part. The only “proprietary” part is the integration with the car’s systems, which is all in the background.
So it integrates with WAZE to alert me of traffic cops better than my phone does? Press X to doubt.
“Object in road ahead” has saved me from a copay at least twice.
It’s supposed to be on its way: https://9to5google.com/2022/12/06/waze-android-automotive-app/
Gahh – the system didn’t preserve the bulleted structure of my post, and editing is apparently only available for a short time after posting because it won’t let me edit it again 🙁
I have a Volvo BEV with AAOS, and the number of apps available is less than Polestar, and what is there doesn’t do anything for me. The only AAOS built-ins I use are Google Maps and the settings apps for the car. In CarPlay, I run the apps I like, for example, Overcast, Apple Music, and Waze. Volvo has been -so slow- with upgrades and additional approved apps that I’d be suspicious of any car that’s just going to support AAOS or equivalent.
They are working on this interface with Google, but it is not Android Auto? It sounds to me like they are using Android Automotive OS (thanks, Google, for the similar and easily-confused names) like Volvo/Polestar did. Though I thought that Android Automotive OS still allowed Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
To quote a favorite movie from long ago: “This is bad comedy.”
I’m sure the folks that brought us Cadillac Cue are experts in this. /s
More of the same old shit here. Of course this is going to sub based entertainment. As a Sirius addict, there’s no way I would/will ever do a manufacturer based audio thing. But good on GM for finding another genius way to screw the general population. Fuck GM.
GM is my most hated car company, Ill never buy one and I will talk smack to anyone who does. They hate their consumers and are blatant about it, but people keep praising them on these car sites. Blows my mind.
Whoah dude, did your dog get run over by a Silverado?
No, the one scheduled to hit it was held back for more profit taking.
I added a head unit to my GTI that includes CarPlay, and due to unforseen events, I ended up moving south along the eastern seaboard not long after I installed that head unit.
Having easy access to maps (that are also easy to navigate and use) without having to look at a tiny screen has been a godsend.
If my next car also has a screen (99% chance at this point) then it must have CarPlay. Peace out, GM.
We got my fiancé’s HR-V Sport because it was the cheapest way to get an HR-V with it. Not that it is a life or death feature(that said, we both love it) but for a leased vehicle that we were otherwise not too particular about, it was a major selling point.
As good as uConnect is in my Ram, CarPlay is just better. Google maps is better, the audio display for Spotify is better than streaming through Bluetooth, using Siri is better than the vehicle’s voice commands. It is just vastly better than anything automakers have been able to cook up this far. Hell, you can take an older vehicle and plop a CarPlay capable head unit in it and you’ll have totally modern infotainment. That all holds true for Android Auto too, which I’ve used and is fine, but not quite as good as CarPlay is.
I work at a GM store, a GM vehicle is likely in our future. Or at least it would have been, but I wouldn’t support this with my own money in the same way I won’t support Ford price gouging or making cars repo themselves.
That Google maps will only work for 8 years is the icing on the cake. Granted, I doubt one of their EVs will last that long but still.
A blatant grab for data and money via subscriptions. The reason CarPlay and Android Auto are so popular is because the automakers have proven they can’t make a UI to save their lives, they update software too slowly, and because of development times for build cars their hardware and software is always ancient on release day. Plus, any services on my phone are already paid for; why would I pay again?
Did GM forget the lesson of OnStar? You used to be able to buy cell phone minutes with OnStar (I think you got a token 5 or 10 minutes a month included and could get more). Once cell phones became ubiquitous, no one was buying minutes (they were pretty expensive) and they were eventually dropped from the plans. So why do they think I will want to pay again for any services already paid for on my phone? My phone, with hardware years ahead of anything in the car (even on day 1) and that I can upgrade without having to mess with the car?
This has got to be one of the most stupid decisions ever from a company with a history of stupid decisions.
Ugh and I have a reservation for the 24 Chevy Blazer EV. Only Google Maps will be included for 8 years, what about Spotify, Tidal, Youtube Music, Waze, Apple Music, Podcasts, etc? They need data to work on the car screen. Of course this will another subscription to OnStar… I hope they allow to share mobile data from my phone to act as a hot spot
Since this is a money grab, the will not, you can bet on that.
cancel it, they hate you.
I’m not believing any of this.
I heard Ford is replacing the dash with a cell phone mount, so you can bring your own device.
Assuming this is true, the real question is, why did it take literally any major automaker 16 years to figure this out?
I made up the bit about Ford it was the morning of Poisson d’Avril and in light of the GM thing I could not resist. I agree consumer phones and tablets are typically more advanced than the auto dashboard interface. A rudimentary display, USB-C interface, a wireless charger and an app should suffice.
“GM is doing this with lower-volume cars (EVs) to start, but these aren’t that low volume…”
I disagree… If they hold to this decision, they will be low volume, very low volume. For the few they do sell, I can imagine the service requests from the confused customers, who aren’t aware of this boondoggle, when they ask why they can’t seem to get their phone to connect to the screen. As for Tesla, I’ve really wanted one, but this has been the deal breaker for me, and I bet I’m not alone.
I love the assumption from GM that, going forward, your car is more important than your phone. Especially when you can pretty much buy a car using your phone…no so much the other way around.
I think I understand GM’s real motivation here: it’s going to be cheaper for them to design a fully self-contained system than to try to integrate the Android and Apple systems with their proprietary system. I have a BMW and it’s a freakin’ circus between “Hey BMW”, Siri, Alexa, and probably somebody I’ve forgotten. Each handles some functions but won’t hand you off to the correct system for things it doesn’t do. Further Apple Carplay doesn’t play well with others; it pushes to dominate music, phone calls, navigation, and other functions.
I am confident that GM’s software people sold the 5th floor the canard that they could do it cheaper, faster, and better. Okay then, do it!. Months into the project, they start whining about how hard integration is and how long it will take. “However if you will just remove these interlopers, we could have it done next week”. And you’ll save money!
Tomorrow is March 32nd, so perhaps this is just a bid for some cheap publicity?
Seems like a stupid way of generating buzz, but this is GM we’re talking about…
Sounds like GM no longer want to pay Blackberry / QNX for the screencast functionality. That solution has been a crutch for far too long (and now cars have more 1 screens, 3 or more seems to be the norm). Hopefully the more unified approach allows them to bring parity to all screens, not just the drivers but passengers etc too.
I hope they will be like Polestar and eventually figure out a way to bring CarPlay back. Lucid is able to bring CarPlay in its OS. Tesla manage to bring the sound apps, Spotify / Apple Music to its OS.
I don’t see it as all bad, but progress.
21 years later, the Delco AM/FM radio in my truck still receives both AM and FM. In 2045, I doubt a 2024 Blazer will work at all.
Is GM management tone-deaf or are they actually stupid?
They did such a great job supporting OnStar users with non-upgradeable hardware that I’m sure everyone trusts them to make a system that won’t be obsolete before the end of the warranty period. (Oh, you were planning on keeping your GM EV more than 5 years? Silly us, we never considered that possibility when we designed our service.)
And they’re partnering with Google, the original Silicon Valley Short Attention-Span Theater product development company, that never met a product they didn’t want to cancel, as long as they could capture all your user data first.
Remember Google Hangouts? How about Picasa? Google Spaces? Google Buzz? Google Checkout? These are the same people who’ll be designing your telematics. Good luck with that, GM.
Having an old car that doesn’t support any of this, can someone please explain what is so magical about either one?
Speaking from CarPlay’s user’s POV:
It just works extremely well. If I had an older car I’d definitely update to a radio that has CarPlay capability. Nav and music streaming are important to me when I drive.
You’d definitely benefit.
I like what the Porsche did some time ago. They released a unit for older models called Porsche Classic Communication Management so that you can retrofit it to your car and have (at least on paper) a seamless fit with the car on the dashboard. Aftermarket units are fine, but it’s good to have a first party option too, even for the looks.
All of that. Also, and I know it seems almost irrelevant, but almost every commute I push the voice button and say something like “Hey Siri, add lemons and garlic to my Grocery list. Siri, add contact lens saline to my CVS list.” And then, when I arrive at the grocery store and at CVS I just unplug my phone and take my reminder lists inside with me, where I can check off every item. And, Mac, so all my commuter thoughts are also on my laptop at home. SUPER useful to me, and doesn’t seem like it will happen with GM plan.
“OK. I will add LeMons to your Gaelic Playlist. Ok, I here’s a phone number to learn more about contact lenses”
I have never had voice interactions work reliably.
https://youtu.be/JepKVUym9Fg
Thank you! That is the context I lacked.
The way I see it, it projects a modified screen of the phone OS of your choice, so you don’t have to configure something new, nor get caught looking at a device that is not part of your car, which is a no no to a lot of law enforcement.
Yeah, I don’t really understand why do we even need all this crap in a car?
I’ve never, ever missed any of these.
I tried Carplay in a rental, a nice toy, but isn’t too useful, basically you put your phone screen on your infotainment display, hooray.
I put a phone holder with a charging cable on the dashboard of the car, navigation covered, calls or music via Bluetooth covered, what else is even there to do while driving?
Most people don’t want to carry a phone with a 10 or 12 inch screen in their pocket. And most people don’t want to deal with navigating a small screen, that’s harder to reach than the built in screen, while driving. And most people don’t want the same app organization / ux experience while driving vs while not driving. This is why most people need “this crap” in their car.
If someone can’t see a 6+ inch smartphone display mounted on the dash, maybe they shouldn’t be driving.
Also, why would you touch it while driving?
Sorry, but a 5” screen is too small to be navigating while driving, I don’t care how old you are. While I get annoyed that CarPlay insists on using Apple Maps (they suck), I usually use Google or Waze in my F150. I hate that EVERYBODY is trying to move consumers to a subscription model (continuing revenue stream). I just want to buy a car, pay for the options I want (once, no thx BMW or GM) and drive it.