GM’s replacement for CarPlay is due at the end of 2023, but its dealers are in the dark about when that will be and what it will do to sales when buyers figure it out.
I’ve worked in this space in the past, and unless car manufacturers have significantly improved their UX chops this will go terribly. Further, this just seems like an opportunity for GM to further DLC’ify the car. Generally Android Auto and Car Play would be standard on even the lowest models, but now you might have to pay a monthly subscription to access this
And in addition to their terrible UX, they are also horrible software maintainers. This will definitely rot over time.
Yeah. I definitely prefer Android Auto/CarPlay as a car agnostic interface for media and navigation over any built-in thing.
Hmm. I really am struggling trying to predict the outcome here.
On the one hand, we have a ubiquitous FREE interface that is mature and works via your phone (that 99% of people already have and are familiar with with their own custom music playlists) and is updated constantly.
On the other hand, we have a PAID interface that sucks donkey dick in usability with little to no customization or upgrade ability and will need to be managed completely separately from your phone.
The entire executive team should be escorted out of GM headquarters after receiving swirlies.
I predict no car rental companies will buy these cars because renters would demand a different vehicle.
My car has CarPlay where my last car didn’t. I’ll tell you now, I won’t get another car without it.
So says literally everyone I have ever seen comment on the matter. Seriously, is there anyone out there that has tried CarPlay/AndroidAuto and said “eh, I don’t see the point”?
This is even dumber than that. It’s like if they tried CarPlay/AndroidAuto and said, “you know, I like this, but do you have a shittier version that I have to pay extra for?”
Though I might be willing to get one of these cars. They might reduce the price expecting every buyer to pay for the subscription like smart tvs are subsidised because they’ll make ad money. But then I’ll just use my phone with some kind of a phone holder or get it modded to use my phone. Just because they make the car doesn’t mean they control its ecosystem after they sell it.
But I’d probably just buy a car from a different company instead.
My parents don’t care about CarPlay at all. It’s in their GMC truck but they have no interest in using it, and get confused when it pops up. That being said, they also will absolutely not subscribe to whatever service GM tries to launch in its place. I guess just pointing out that there are some people who don’t see the point, but they also wouldn’t see the point of whatever GM launches.
My Suzuki/Bosch headunit is occasionally a bit flakey when connecting to my phone via CarPlay, on the way home last night it gave up so I listened to my music using its iPod mode.
Having a simplistic interface was not too bad, it reminded me of the good old days.
But when a phone call came through and I had to answer it via Bluetooth, all hell broke loose as it tried to switch between iPod mode, A2DP, HFP and HSP.
I pulled over and restarted the car until CarPlay started working again.
Yep, I have multiple friends who have owned CarPlay cars who see how it’s much different than a phone on a mount.
I mean, people who don’t care about their radio that much? Honestly, long as I have Bluetooth or an aux port, I’m good.
Not that I don’t like Android Auto or wouldn’t prefer to have it, but the lack of it wouldn’t be an absolute deal breaker
Being able to use Google maps (which is constantly updated, integrated with my contacts, and actually had a UI/UX team design it’s interface) on the tablet sized vehicle display and car stereo system, in addition to whatever music apps, is pretty nice. As well as Google search via steering wheel controls for managing navigation.
Yeah, I could play stuff with Bluetooth or use the integrated GPS system but the quality of audio is noticably worse and the GPS is absolutely shit but nice to have in a pinch.
Honestly idk what other apps integrate with AA, music and directions pretty much do the trick for me.
The radio means almost nothing to me. The ability to have my choice of mapping app on the dash is 90% of the value and absolutely indispensable.
What if you had to PAY a subscription fee to NOT have Android Auto?
What’s a “radio”?
It integrates poorly in my car and requires a USB cable so I don’t bother. I’m happier just using my phone screen.
Most jurisdictions have either already introduced, or in the process of introducing laws that restrict what you can do with your phone whilst driving. Some have higher penalties for distracted driving than drink driving or speeding!
If you do want Wireless CarPlay, there are cheap USB dongles available that may work to adapt your factory Car Audio to enable it. They are also useful as an alternative if your older car radio is unable to provide sufficient current for your newer device to charge.
Or just don’t play around on your phone while you drive. Pick your podcast/playlist, load the directions, and off you go.
Unfortunately this discipline is too much to expect from for a great percentage of the population. They absolutely must watch TikToks and text their friends whilst driving, otherwise they will die if loneliness!
I built a better solution that doesn’t require plugging anything in, so for me it wasn’t useful. Bought a new car and now I simply use bluetooth for music. I see CarPlay has a wireless option now, I should look into that.
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Oh, how I wish Android Auto was open source (or if there was a FOSS alternative, that’d also be nice)
In other word, you might think that 3.99$/month is a good bargain to get CarPlay with futures updates, but look it’s 2.89$/month right now if you subscribe for 2 years!
Please don’t put those evil ideas out into the universe.
It’s hilarious to me that these car companies think consumers will put up with their shitty infotainment just so they can hopefully open a new revenue stream with subscriptions. Consumers are just going to pass over your shit for competitors that do have Carplay/Android Auto.
What’s even worse is GM hired a VP who failed at Apple.
I wish I could fail upwards like that.
Going from VP at Apple to one at GM feels like a proper fail to me.
For the individual it doesn’t matter what the company name is. It matters what they’re paid.
I assume that’s a reference to Mike Abbott, as he’s a software VP at GM and used to work at Apple. He was only hired this year so I don’t see salary data for him, but other “Executive Vice President” positions are paid ~$8.8m as of 2022. No idea what he was paid at Apple, but it’s hard to consider a salary that is likely in the high 7 digits or low 8 digits to be a “proper fail.” If it is, I would love to sign up for this kind of failure.
Me too, me too.
Especially when you’re GM. It’s already an extreme longshot that I was ever going to buy another GM car, but this is 100% the final nail in the coffin.
I’ve only ever owned GM vehicles. After having had rental cars with Android Auto, I care a lot more about my next vehicle having Android Auto than I do about it being a GM.
Especially for new car buyers. It’s a much more iPhone heavy group than the general population.
At least in countries where I’ve lived, there were two expensive phones that are popular: Samsung Galaxy, and iPhones. The only GM could have boned this harder is if they somehow nerfed the experience on Samsung flagships too.
They did, they aren’t supporting car play or android auto
Idiots. This is a “don’t you guys have phones” moment, but about the GM management and I mean it unironically.
BRB, Resurrecting the aftermarket radio.
Between this bullshit and touchscreen-only controls, I’ve ruled out quite a few models.
When I was at a Holden dealer, CarPlay (and Android Auto) would sell cars.
Customers would wander in, drooling over a cars performance, styling, economy, luxury etc. they’re oils then ask about CarPlay (or Android Auto): if the car did not have it, they would go cold straight away and just walk straight out the door, without even thanking the salesman for their time.
Carplay was on a very short list of requirements for me when I bought my car a few years ago, so I totally understand this.
It was basically:
- Is a standard
- Has Carplay
- (of course some other things, but those two were very high)
No car manufacturer’s in-house stuff will be as useful to me. It just won’t.
Same here after dealing with shoddy infotainment software in the past. CarPlay, AWD and preferably a manual was all it needed
I recently got a Kia with Android Auto and my Tesla-driving brother is jealous that I can use Google Maps on a big screen, with no extra car mount.
My first GM vehicle was a C7 Chevrolet Corvette. I wanted it since it was announced in 2014 but held out until 2016 when it finally got CarPlay. I’ve since traded it in for the 2020 C8 Corvette that also has CarPlay. I bought a dongle that enables wireless CarPlay so I don’t even need to plug it in.
I absolutely love my Corvette and would be interested in buying the next generation. However, I will not consider it or any other GM vehicle if CarPlay is dropped. It is a mandatory feature for me.
How well does wireless CarPlay work?
My '21 Malibu had it out of the box. I can’t speak for Car Play, but wireless Android Auto is 95% flawless. There’s that 5% where I get in and the phone won’t connect automatically. But I think it’s an issue on the phone side. I have to unlock the phone then it kicks in.
I find that it works flawlessly in our Mach E. Obviously not a ‘Vette but I think the early wireless CarPlay issues have been worked out.
Literally everyone in the world can see this is a braindead play except GM
They’re blinded by dollar signs that won’t come to fruition. Complete brain dead move on their part.
GM has previously said that people who buy a new GM electric vehicle will get access to features such as Google Maps for free — for eight years. After that, GM expects people to subscribe for what they used to get free with CarPlay, and ultimately sees it giving GM a potential $25 billion revenue stream.
My ten year old Chevy Volt just lost connectivity a few months ago because of the 3g phase out, leading me to unsubscribe from Onstar. How many years of subscriptions are GM planning to have before the next network phase out?
And anyone who used GM’s in-dash maps knows they can’t be trusted to keep their products updated lol
Yeah that’s some crap. At that point I’d just have my maps on my phone in the cupholder, no chance in hell I’m paying a subscription for something my phone already does, hands free laws be damned.
As someone who dosn’t have carplay but whose next vehicle will 100% have it. Yeah… as much as I dislike using my phone as a GPS sometimes compared to have android auto or carplay in a work truck there is zero chance of me spending money on any kinda of GPS while google maps exists.
It will go bad. For my own part, I will not buy a car without AA/Carplay. The whole benefit of AA/Carplay is that I can take my infotainment with me and share a car or two without having to mess around with more logins/security etc. Especially with an inferior interface…
There is ZERO chance I’d buy a car without CarPlay or Android Auto. Why would I buy GM when other manufactures get it right the first time?
I just bought a new car two weeks ago for my college aged son. Android auto/carplay was required to purchase the vehicle. I looked at one that didn’t have it and said hell no. The dealer sighed and said that model had been on the lot for 6 months and nobody would buy it. They were likely going to have to mark it down massively to eventually move it in the next year.
My work truck is a Chevy. If they drop android auto or carplay my fleet manager has told the dealership they will drop them as a supplier. This combined with having 7 trucks in the shop this year for faulty lifters. It’s been a big issue. They are about done with them.
I have a Chevrolet. I won’t buy another vehicle that I can’t use my Android phone in.
My Miata shipped without CarPlay. When Mazda added support it later they had to replace one USB port ($12 part) and an hour of labor.
They charged $350. I didn’t hesitate for a second. I haven’t met an OEM interface that didn’t make me want to stab myself in the eye.
Can someone explain what exactly carplay/Android auto do? I’ve seen a lot about them recently but have yet to fully understand what they are, besides that they are for interfacing with a car.
My experience with connecting phones to my (parent’s) cars is just using Bluetooth to connect and play music from the car speakers and receive calls and texts over it but that’s about it. The cars are both Toyota RAV4s, one fully ICE one hybrid.
It lets you use the apps from your phone on the screen in the car, instead of having to download separate apps for the car system if that is even possible. The apps are installed on the phone but used through the car touch screen.
This is handy for navigation, music selection and phone calls and texting (using voice to text), because you can continue your stuff from where you were on the phone before entering the car.
You can also use the Google Assistant while driving, so you can do everything that it can do. Some people use Google home for various stuff, so f.i. it’s possible to start your coffee maker and set the temperatures in your house by talking to your car while driving home. Technically you could do that with the assistant without any connection whatsoever but it makes sense to have it on the screen.
And its legal. Touching a phone is illegal while driving, but touching the car screen is not… so there’s that.
Personally I think it would be easier to just use the phone in a holder. However android auto or Apple car play lets you use the buttons on the steering wheel though. Bluetooth also does that to some degree, but not for all apps.
I think it’s a fad, but as of now it’s the most complete integration between the car and whatever services you normally use on your phone.
I feel like a big plus of it too is not requiring additional subscriptions to internet, especially to get live info. Once you reach 2-3 years of your included internet with cars then, its time for the subscriptions for internet and other services to begin. IMO most would want to avoid paying for more subscriptions when you have a perfectly good phone in your pocket that can be hooked up to do everything the car is asking you to pay for monthly. Another thing for me is being able to use your phone or phone keyboard to look stuff up, before you start driving, to find stuff much quicker rather than typing on the infotainment system. Also updates don’t rely on the car manufacturer to continue updating their system.
This is a way to get consumers to go to a subscription based system for getting features they already have on the supercomputer in their pocket.
Other articles about GM’s plan include things like “Google Maps included free for 8 years!”
Well what happens after 8 years? What about if I sell the car? Tesla already has AutoPilot as a non-transerrable item. Even though you might have paid for it, the person you sell the car to has to pay for it again.
“Free” to you likely just means that GM has paid Google for access, and that cost is built into the cost of the car. So it’s not really free.
OnStar costs like $30/mo and is probably required for an internet connection so you can use the “free” Google Maps. Or they’ll sell you some overpriced cellular plan. Or you’ll need to add your car as a separate device on your cell plan for some extra monthly fee.
Do I have to sign in to the car’s version of Google Maps?
What if you prefer Apple Maps and have locations saved there?
The car integration lets me use hands free to initiate streaming music. Using a Bluetooth connection for that means I might need to pick up my phone and unlock it while driving in order to be able to.
But really they want to sell you a Sirius XM plan instead.
Thanks, that seems pretty cool! Not a whole lot more than what I can currently do with my phone on a holder, assuming it isn’t using Android auto for the Bluetooth connection and I just don’t know. it already reads texts aloud and can do calls from the car screen, and music can be controlled through it too. I think there is a way to speak back to it too but we’ve never bothered to do the voice recognition training on it
All that bullshit goes away with android auto and carplay. Your car simply is your phone UI, so no more needing to train it, integrate it, sync it, etc… It just does everything as well as your phone does, because it is your phone.
yeah that does seem pretty nice. definitely looking forward to it on any future cars i own!
My daughter has it. It makes the cars touchscreen a customized extension of the apps interface. So maps or whatever is running on the car’s screen. Some of the controls on the side of the screen also interact with the phone. It’s more integrated than a bluetooth connection.
They really should get together and come up with some standard protocol, instead of having cars use proprietary protocols tied to a specific mobile OS.
If they did, Apple wouldn’t adopt it and we’d be in exactly the same place as we are now.
Probably. At least it would allow connecting to your car without iOS or Google apps.
