GM Plans to Drop Apple CarPlay and Android Auto From All Its Cars (theverge.com)
- Reference: 0179879320
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/10/26/2342252/gm-plans-to-drop-apple-carplay-and-android-auto-from-all-its-cars
- Source link: https://www.theverge.com/transportation/804562/gm-apple-carplay-android-auto-gas-cars-mary-barra
In an episode of the Verge's Decoder podcast, GM CEO Mary Barra [2]confirmed the upcoming change to "phone projections" for GM cars:
> The timing is unclear, but Barra pointed to a major rollout of what the company is calling a [3]new centralized computing platform , set to launch in 2028, that will involve eventually transitioning its entire lineup to a unified in-car experience.
>
> In place of phone projection, GM is working to update its current Android-powered infotainment implementation with a Google Gemini-powered assistant and an assortment of other custom apps, built both in-house and with partners. GM's 2023 [4]decision to drop CarPlay and Android Auto support in its EVs has proved controversial, though for now GM has maintained support for phone projection in its gas-powered vehicles.
[1] https://www.theverge.com/transportation/804562/gm-apple-carplay-android-auto-gas-cars-mary-barra
[2] https://www.theverge.com/podcast/803379/gm-ceo-mary-barra-sterling-anderson-cadillac-iq-ev-autonomy-interview
[3] https://www.theverge.com/news/802452/gm-forward-ai-robot-level-3-autonomous
[4] https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/31/23664814/gm-ev-restrict-apple-carplay-android-auto-google
Lame. (Score:5, Interesting)
I understand their stock driven desire to monetize everything. And want to be in control of the user experience. But I just want to use my pocket computer to run things. I don’t want another unintegrated computing platform. This is anti- customer and no one is asking for this. It is enshitification. Pure and simple. However, I’ve never bought a GM product outside of their stock, which I sold on their resent peak before this announcement. So I only care insofar as I don’t want my brand of choice following suit. This is bad example. I sh!t on enshitification.
Re:Lame. (Score:5, Interesting)
I currently own two GM cars, a Malibu and an Acadia, and I like them a lot. But like you said, there is NO value to ANY consumer in dropping CarPlay and Android Auto, since they could even offer it side-by-side with their proprietary and most likely subscription-based garbage that nobody wants if they thought it could compete.
Re: (Score:3)
The value isn't for you. It's to be able to firstly charge a subscription for being a middleman on your phone interaction, and secondly for slapping on a pile of surveillance of your phone activity that Carplay doesn't allow.
Then I will never buy one. (Score:2)
Ever
Distracted driving (Score:1)
In-car entertainment is a safety hazard and must be eliminated.
Re: (Score:3)
Bored drivers are a safety hazard and must be eliminated. If you've ever driven for 4 hours without so much as a car radio you'd realise how dangerous it is. Maybe not to others, but to yourself because you'll likely just look for the nearest tree to drive into after the first 3 hours of nothing but engine noise.
Re: (Score:2)
I do it often.
Not everyone needs to entertain themselves with some shit of some kind making some racket.
Plenty of us are very comfortable being alone with our own thoughts.
Re: (Score:2)
And you have the option of turning the entertainment system off.
Dont be a prick and think that you should force that on the rest of us - you have your option, we want ours.
Re: (Score:2)
What the fuck are you talking about?
At what time, anywhere, did I EVEN HINT of taking anything away from anyone????
I don't care what you do. Listen, don't listen, spank it while driving down the road for all I care.
AM radio (Re:Distracted driving) (Score:1)
> Bored drivers are a safety hazard and must be eliminated.
Uninformed drivers are a safety hazard, that is why there was a fight over AM radio receivers being required in new vehicles. Having the means to get weather reports, traffic reports, or whatever else may impact travels, is important for keeping drivers safe and traffic moving smoothly. Anyone driving down an interstate should be familiar with the signs that indicate a frequency for tuning an AM radio for traffic information. I rarely listen but the few times I have the information was helpful in avoidin
Let me rewrite that for you... (Score:2)
GM plans to sell vehicles only to boomers and the Amish.
Re:Let me rewrite that for you... (Score:4, Interesting)
Boomers won't buy one either, they are old and cranky and not interested in learning new ways that turn out to be worse than the old ways.
The odds of the Amish putting GM Play in their buggies is very low.
This is also the same GM that while you are driving randomly puts up a warning on the screen that your should not read the screen while you are driving. And you can't clear the screen while wearing gloves.
Re: (Score:2)
> This is also the same GM that while you are driving randomly puts up a warning on the screen that your should not read the screen while you are driving. And you can't clear the screen while wearing gloves.
And you can't disable from the settings menu either. You can disable the warning that you might have left your kid in the backseat, but you can't disable the "Don't take your eyes off the road." message that is likely to pull your attention from the road.
Boomers want CarPlay (Score:2)
Peak Boomer here. I own a GM car with CarPlay, and will not consider one without it. Perhaps youâ(TM)re thinking of our parents, who served in WWII?
Unified experience (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't want a unified experience across the entire GM line-up. I want a unified experience across the things I use such as my phone and car.
Re: (Score:2)
This. If it doesn't have Amazon music then I'm not interested.
Note Android users, no big change. (Score:2, Informative)
GM uses Google Built-In. You don't need Android Auto for this. The experience is already largely synced by your google account. I use Android Auto everywhere, except for my own car which has Google Built-in as the primary interface. It's like Android Auto except native, fast, and works without the damn phone.
That said Apple users, you're left in the dust, but then if you have a GM car you should be used to this. Apple CarPlay has always been abysmal or non-existent on GM vehicles.
Re: (Score:2)
What are you blathering on about? I am on my third corvette and CarPlay has been working perfectly in each car.
Re: (Score:3)
> GM uses Google Built-In. You don't need Android Auto for this. The experience is already largely synced by your google account. I use Android Auto everywhere, except for my own car which has Google Built-in as the primary interface. It's like Android Auto except native, fast, and works without the damn phone.
Do you have to pay a monthly fee, either for the service or the cell phone connection? If so, that's not a plus. I've read that GM strongly pushes paying for its OnStar data plan and that although its possible to connect to the phone via a hotspot, it's also not turnkey.
Also, I assume that you have to give the car the credentials for your Google account. That means that you have to trust that GM is going to do the right thing, both in terms of not selling your data and in terms of keeping your data safe
Re: (Score:2)
> GM strongly pushes paying for its OnStar data plan
I think this is a line I would draw legally, much like every car has to include an ODB2 port if it's equipped with a cellular modem it must include a SIM slot or a user programmable eSIM. No technical excuse otherwise on that one, that's pure lockin for money.
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly, it's pretty much the same experience except you're paying extra monthly for it
Re: (Score:2)
That assume what you're using is Google apps. Personally I use the open source AntennaPod for podcasts for example which I can't imagine will be available. Not to mention is it even going to work without the privacy invading OnStar
Re: (Score:2)
Not exactly. First, you're likely going to have to now pay a data subscription for the pleasure of using those Android apps. Second, not all apps are available and may never be. Third, upgrading a few years old aging Android infotainment to current hardware is going to require buying a new car, vs. just buying a new phone. Last but not least, is GM truly committing to patching the car's system for life of the car? Try running Android on a 15 year old device today, see how secure it is.
Re: Note Android users, no big change. (Score:2)
All the downsides of the Cloud and Google surveillance ... now in cars aka cellphone on wheels. You say that like it's a good thing.
Re: (Score:2)
I'll have to disagree with that last part.
CarPlay was about the only thing on our Buick that DIDN'T suck. It worked great!
That said, I'm very glad to be rid of that piece of shit car.
Infoteinment in car are pure shit. (Score:4, Insightful)
I just pass from a subscription base on a Ford Mach-E 12 inch screen to a non subscrption base Outlander PHEV with a 9 inch screen and buttons for sound, HVAC and everything else. Man never again I will get a car without physical button for sound, screen, HVAC, and so on. And never subscrption.
Guess I'll never own a GM. (Score:3)
I will not buy a car that does not have Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. Car systems always suck, and they don't have all the apps/accounts/settings/cellular connection/data plan that my phone does.
Literally the only reason that any car manufacturer tries to force you to use their own system is to sell you subscriptions.
Re: (Score:2)
Buy a phone for phone things. Buy a car for car things.
Or do we need to extend Zawinski's Law to automobiles?
Re: (Score:2)
I don't use those modern thingies, so your post was very informative to me, but one question came to mind. If the objective of "Apple CarPlay/Android Auto" is to let you stream audio from the phone to the car, then wouldn't it be enough for the car to integrate behave as a generic bluetooth speaker? Or are there other uses where an Apple/Android bridge to the phone is necessary?
Re: (Score:2)
It doesn't just stream audio. It lets you use select apps from your phone on your car screen, already synced with your account. I.e. you can use Google Maps to navigate while you listen to Spotify, without needing any extra substription, and using your phone's mobile data.
Re: (Score:2)
Necessary? No.
But listening to music is probably the LEAST useful thing about phone mirroring. You can do that with a simple BT connection.
A better use case is navigation, getting info on the car's much larger display screen (compared to the phone). That's certainly the main thing I use it for, when driving my wife's car (mine does not have CarPlay).
I bought a third party CarPlay unit for my Jeep. It's supposed to be super simple to hook up and use. It has been several months and I haven't gotten around to
Re: (Score:3)
> Literally the only reason that any car manufacturer tries to force you to use their own system is to sell you subscriptions.
Not the only reason. They'd also like a window into your life: [1]https://www.mozillafoundation.... [mozillafoundation.org]
[1] https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/blog/privacy-nightmare-on-wheels-every-car-brand-reviewed-by-mozilla-including-ford-volkswagen-and-toyota-flunks-privacy-test/
On Brand (Score:2)
This seems on brand for their shitty vehicles?
Guess I won't be buying any GM products. (Score:2)
The Equinox EV would have been on my shortlist for my next car, but not if have to pay a subscription fee for the privilege of handing GM all my data, when I already have a perfectly good phone.
doesn't have to be bad (Score:2)
I thought the same about brand specific UIs before I got my Y. But must be said that I don't really miss CarPlay in it. The Y has a nice UI that is more sophisticated than the CarPlay UI. Yes I do play a little per month for connectivity, but not much really, and it allows me to see live traffic conditions in the gps or play my music and podcasts even if I don't have my phone with me.
Re: (Score:2)
Five years from now when the updates to your in-car UI have ceased and your new phone does things the in-car UI cannot... you will feel differently. Cars age like cellphones - badly.
Re: doesn't have to be bad (Score:2)
If I may offer a modification to your statement, it would be that car infotainment systems age poorly. Not the cars themselves. I currently own three examples that have aged quite well. All are near or over 20 years old. New enough to have OBD-2 and great reliability and repairability, old enough to be focused on real utility and avoid the invasion of useless (or worse) tech and complication. No $700 LED tail lights or $1500 mirrors with cameras, or everything-is-a-module-connected-to-the-canbus. Now get
Re: (Score:2)
You're right, of course, but manufacturers are doing their damnedest to make everything dependent on the infotainment system - as you said "everything on the canbus" - what you omitted was "and won't turn on unless you're paying the monthly subscription".
Re: (Score:2)
So... you're paying a monthly fee for features your phone already has?
Honestly, lack of Android Auto is the main reason I steer clear of Teslas.
Re: (Score:2)
There's no way Tesla's live traffic rivals Google Navigation.
I find it funny that you're OK with paying a monthly fee for something that's completely free on CarPlay or Android Auto.
Re: (Score:2)
There is no way GM will put the same level of effort (money) into their UI, that Tesla, Google, or Apple does.
Ah, a return to the bad old days (Score:2)
I happen to have recently bought a 2017 Buick, the last model year before the entertainment center included CarPlay/Android Auto. I had forgotten how bad the bad old days were - $150 updates to maps (that were always out of date anyway), weird clunky proprietary in-dash UIs, the existence of OnStar, etc. It all made sense before all these things were free/ad-supported on your cellphone. None of it makes sense now. GM simply wants those thicc revenues from their own online services, in exactly the same way
This Hurts Me To The (Apple) Core (Score:2)
I'm a long time GM buyer; I've only ever purchased their vehicles from Corvettes, to performance Cadillacs, to pick-up trucks. I currently have a '24 GMC 2500HD that I take off-roading, and a '24 Z06 that I'm selling to move to a new '26 CT5 Blackwing. Cut my arm and I bleed little blue GMs. But this move makes me seriously re-think that fanboi'ism.
The built-in Google system in the Corvette and pick-up is, how to put this nicely so I don't offend the Google fans...
Hot trash. Google Automotive sucks. Ba
Well, nothing new here (Score:2)
My last GM vehicle was enough to ensure I'd never buy another GM vehicle.
But if that wasn't the case, lack of Car Play would certainly do the trick.
Aux In (Score:2)
I have a Honda with an obsolete "infotainment" system, but at least it has an Aux In next to a USB port that provides power, so I can plug in an $11 UGreen dongle and listen to whatever I feel like. If I cared there are some nice 7" 1080p screens for cheap in the Raspberry Pi space that could be shoehorned in and run at 12V. But I'd rather have no screen at all.
Funny thing is that UGreen pairs faster than any other bluetooth device I have and never doesn't work. For eleven bucks.
With the fickleness of Go
Re: (Score:2)
> Funny thing is that UGreen pairs faster than any other bluetooth device I have and never doesn't work. For eleven bucks.
As a simple audio device, it only connects an audio stream and no control or data streams. It also doesn't need to perform checks like "does the host want me to send it my list of contacts?"
So, Gemini, huh? What could go wrong? (Score:2)
So, they're going to put AI at the heart of a rolling ton of metal. AI hallucinates, remember? Sounds like an accident waiting to happen!
Won't buy one (Score:2)
My current vehicle is a GM - a 2017 Chevy Colorado. If this is the case I won't buy another. I have no desire to be locked into a proprietary system.
My last corvette (Score:5, Interesting)
I guess my current 2022 corvette will be my last one. I will not buy a car without CarPlay. That they already talk about "monetizing" this, confirms to me the correctness of my choice.
Re:My last corvette (Score:4, Insightful)
This is a foolish move by GM. I'd rather just link my phone to the equivalent of a dumb-screen and let Google or Apple handle my "tech".
Re: (Score:2)
> This is a foolish move by GM. I'd rather just link my phone to the equivalent of a dumb-screen and let Google or Apple handle my "tech".
I thought so too at first, but wholly shit was I wrong, and now having a car with Google Built-in is a must feature for me from the moment I used it in a Volvo. It's like Android Auto except it works. Always. Without a phone. No disconnecting, no wire or wireless bullshit, no "why the fuck is my phone not showing up in the list" rubbish.
Also Google doesn't "handle the tech", just the backend. It's still largely in control of the car manufacturers except down to individual apps (and having actual real Google
Re: (Score:3)
> It's like Android Auto except it works. Always.
Android Auto does work. Always. And I won't buy a car without it. I already pay for a phone; why should I pay twice?
Re: (Score:3)
Same. I trust Google and Apple a lot more than I trust car manufacturers to keep my maps updated and respond to bugs. I also carry my phone on with me and it can transfer from car to car with a consistent level of quality and consistent interface. AND I won't pay for these features twice.
Not that I'd be eager to buy a GM product anyway.....but this takes them off the menu for me entirely.
Best,
Re: (Score:2)
No it doesn't. It disconnects at random, and autoplay still happens even if you disable it in both Android Auto and whatever app you use to play music and in the bluetooth settings. Yeah, three fucking settings for autoplay, and all of them are ignored, and the first thing that happens when you turn your car on is something you didn't ask for starts blaring out the fucking speaker.
I'm done with Android Auto for anything but GPS. It's shit, the programmers behind it are morons, it's yet another case of Googl
$100 down (Score:2)
Hope that we can go a la cart and opt out of the hundreds (thousands?) of extra dollars these infotainment systems add to the price of a car, from the extra screen cost, software programming costs, extra copper wiring, extra computer chips, lifelong extra pollution due to extra weight carried, ...
First job should be to be a car.
Technology equivalents of gameplay skins, which you cannot opt out of paying for, remembering your seat position, should be optional..
Try to by a Ford or GM full size truck for farm
Re: (Score:2)
Can you play music locally stored on your phone on your car? Because that's 99% of what I do with Android Auto and VLC.
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You don't need AA to do that, just a bluetooth connection.
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I don't want to navigate the apps using my tiny phone screen though - Android Auto gives a great car-appropriate interface to my device.
At the end of the day why someone wants to use the feature really isn't an issue. You don't explain to their customers how to avoid doing something they want to do. Its a simple feature thats already available that they're removing to try and charge more for their proprietary alternative that many don't want.
CarPlay may be optional but not Bluetooth. (Score:1)
If GM removes Bluetooth for hands-free use of a phone then that's just corporate suicide. How many people will buy a new car today without that feature? How many have added that feature to older cars by means of swapping the in-dash radio? Or wiring something in to some accessory audio input on the factory installed radio? If there is Bluetooth for hands-free phone calls then there is audio from the phone for music.
If there's Bluetooth then I don't much care if there's no CarPlay. I'd be happy with jus
Re: CarPlay may be optional but not Bluetooth. (Score:2)
I would. In all the cars I onwed in the last 10 years, the phone's handsfree captured my voice clearer than my cars' Bluetooth, to the point that, for phone calls, I would switch the sound from Bluetooth to speakerphone.
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed. The Volvo Android system is solid but a bit busy. I just want more physical controls. It's the only car where, when I navigate, I trust the in car maps, since they're google.
Re:My last corvette (Score:5, Insightful)
For me, a car is an 8 to 10 year purchase. By the time I'll be ready to get rid of that car, GM's proprietary infotainment system will be obsolete and half of the 3rd party integrations on it will likely be deprecated.
Also, I'd imagine that the security and software updates for it will likely run out right around the time that the car's warranty runs out. So, at that point, you'll either need to disconnect it from the internet and lose a TON of functionality or risk your car's infotainment system being turned into a Chinese botnet.
Re: (Score:3)
This... Both of my older Fords came with their proprietary Sync crap. It's a nightmare trying to navigate on a system that uses predictive text for street names that are newer than the last update ($$$). At least Ford saw the light and now let you use your phone with newer models.
Re: (Score:2)
I have a 2020 Toyota, it had the whole proprietary ecosystem. I tried it a bit, never got it to work even half-way decently, and they ended up shutting it down in 2024, to my understanding leaving a lot of people hanging with even newer vehicles than mine.
Integration was bad enough that just putting a cell phone holder to use google maps on it was better.
It was the last year before Toyota folded and put in android auto and apple carplay.
I would have never bought the car - but, well, a different family memb
Re: (Score:2)
> For me, a car is an 8 to 10 year purchase.
My car is a 2007..,,making it almost 19 years old. I'm so very glad it does not have any kind of "infotainment system" that would long since be out of date by now.
You know what it DOES have? A dashboard. I've used that to install a phone mount. My phone is the "infotainment system". Plus, it's portable. I can transfer it to my motorcycle and use it there too. Most importantly, it is easily updatable and replaceable, without depending on the vehicle manufacturer.
Re: (Score:2)
"Foolish move" seems to exemplify pretty much any action coming out of Detroit since around 1970.
Re: (Score:3)
"Twice the quality" - LOL
Re: (Score:2)
> The Corvette and the heavy duty pickups are, IMHO, what is any good from GM. Perhaps the Tahoe or Suburban. However, if I'm paying top dollar for a vehicle (last time I inquired about a 3500, the salesperson wanted sticker + $5000 before he would even reach for a key to show off anything on the lot), it better have a good entertainment system. No Android Auto or CarPlay? No sale.
The Corvette (especially the C8) is the only GM product of any interest to me, and I'd personally be more interested if they were planning to make it more raw sports car and less cell phone on wheels, but it sounds like this is not that.
Re: (Score:2)
I do recommend the C8. Love mine. And current models still have CarPlay. Get it while you can.
Re: (Score:2)
I sat in the C6. It was awful. Heard the C7 was better but never tried it. Sat in a C8. Even worse. Like sitting in an elephant. It's just too big for a sports car. Way wider and almost as long as my BMW.
Re:My last corvette (Score:4, Insightful)
Same here (except I don't have a Corvette). iPhones receive iOS updates for many years after the handset is release - do we really trust a car company to mimic this?
Re: (Score:2)
Well, and even an iPhone eventually is out of date and needs to be replaced. I keep vehicles a long time. My current one is a 2017 Chevy Colorado I bought new back in early 2017. I've had it 8 years. My vehicle before that I bought new in 2006 and I kept it for 11 years.
Both have lasted much longer than any standard computing device will. All I want is a dumb screen a la Android Auto to sit there and adapt to whatever phone I happen to be connecting.