GM ditches Apple CarPlay: a smart drive or a dead end?

13 July 2023
General Motors stirs the waters, trading Apple CarPlay for Google's integrated infotainment system, leaving dealers and customers in a quandary.

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  • ME

isss, 14 Jul 2023no one buy stupid American cars right nowTesla is American, last year they have sold 1.4m electric cars.

Niki, 15 Jul 2023I have car play and I don’t use it most of the time. Not a game changer for me. I got a porsch... moreComparing GM to the Porsche, are we? That does not make sense on so many levels :-D

  • Niki

I have car play and I don’t use it most of the time. Not a game changer for me. I got a porsche, never asked if it have car play. I never met a girl who said: oh nice car, does it have a car play…

  • Anonymous

Anonymous, 14 Jul 2023You talked like there’s only GM as a carmaker. If GM and “other brands” have nearly identical ... moreLet me rephrase it.

Are you buying a car or an infotaiment system?

Are you gonna buy worse car because it has carplay ?

isss, 14 Jul 2023no one buy stupid American cars right nowTesla is an American brand as well, and they sell really well for EVs.
Around here, they are pretty much second, right behind VW brands ... and VW probably has the only advantage that it is made in this area and is cheaper for people that work there.

John, 14 Jul 2023Of course........ America.......Always looking for capitalistic ways of ruining the lives of t... moreTBH, American brand was probably not the first to take this approach, car manufacturers are doing it for the ages with GPS update subscriptions, some are even charging money for something as essential as eCall.
IMHO, it is nothing new, it's a gradual process with major steps like GPS, Tesla software that does not support phone connection, hardware features limited behind paywall ... it is pretty abysmal, but even the Toyota and other "decent" brands started doing it - not as aggressively, but they might get "there" eventually as well.
In the end, you might not get a chance to choose a car manufacturer without the subscription / "DLC" approach, because every car manufacturer will implement it.

  • isss

no one buy stupid American cars right now

  • Roger

Anonymous, 14 Jul 2023who cares...apple sucks anywayBut Apple Car Play is amazing...the apple eco system is amazing....their devices last longer.....their tech is better.....the interface is more exciting.....Honestly, google, samsung, android, blah, blah are horrible eco systems.......Besides...MacOS is dope......Windows is wretched.....pixel watch doesn’t even last for more than 4 hours......It’s weird......

  • John

Fearghast, 14 Jul 2023It's a logical step for narrow-minded carmakers, as they are afraid of losing revenue pro... moreOf course........ America.......Always looking for capitalistic ways of ruining the lives of the many so the few can get richer....I guess it’s a good thing I find every GM vehicle UGLY.....

  • Rich

Like how bad are all the weird infotainment systems in cars.....But Apple Car Play works flawlessly.......I just don’t get it.....Is GM trying to scare away people? Is the CEO of GM not very bright?

It's a logical step for narrow-minded carmakers, as they are afraid of losing revenue provided by regular ICE maintenance, so they are exploring ways to ensure new cars do not stop generating profit as soon as they leave dealerships.
Some manufacturers are trying extended range, improved performance fees, some are gate keeping seat heating, some are using multiple subscriptions for data, GPS, some security / safety system, some are providing battery health checkups for a fee.

The car is no longer just a car, it is a platform with services you pay on top of regular maintenance.

  • Anonymous

Anonymous, 14 Jul 2023It's a bad move to ditch good infotsiment system for untested. But Car is a car and... moreYou talked like there’s only GM as a carmaker. If GM and “other brands” have nearly identical cars that has the same feature, range, drive quality, and reliability but the other one has carplay / auto, I think I know which one people would choose

  • Anonymous

Anonymous, 13 Jul 2023Instead of getting a feature that lets you sync perfectly with your phone and is always add up... moreNot as bad as allowing another tech titan to cement their status as too big to fail.

  • Anonymous

It's a bad move to ditch good infotsiment system for untested.

But

Car is a car and every automaker has to work with that part first.

Are you gonna buy car which has a worse range and handling, because it has car play over a car who has not?

Who makes $50000+ purchases like this?

  • Anonymous

The buyers those want to use iPhone and driving on GM cars is like......

  • Anonymous

who cares...apple sucks anyway

  • hi

Great job GM no apple no Android no Windows open standards like the internet

  • Broke-driver

If I were to buy a new car, no carplay/android auto would be almost 100% a dealbreaker.

  • Anonymous

Instead of getting a feature that lets you sync perfectly with your phone and is always add up to date as your phone is, you can pay extra to get... GM Software Engineering!


lol

I guess their target audience are folks who... don't have smartphones?