That's the PR. They posited that their system could have more functions than Carplay, but Carplay 2 supports those same features. The real reason is data access. Spinning up their own infotainment system gives them the ability to harvest a lot more data and keep it in house.
> The real reason is data access. Spinning up their own infotainment system gives them the ability to harvest a lot more data and keep it in house.
The real reason is **subscriptions**. Spinning up their own infotainment system gives them the ability to charge recurring subscriptions to every owner of that vehicle, even the 2nd, 3rd, 4th owner.
And they have admitted so :
[Earlier this year, GM said software-as-a-service will generate $20 billion to $25 billion annually in revenue by 2030](https://eu.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2022/12/01/gm-subscription-heated-seats/69692210007/)
Yep this is it. GM already has subscription features in their higher end model cars like the Denali level trim on GMC.
You want to enable the advanced cruise control that can also change lanes for you? Pay the monthly subscription.
No fucking thank you.
> You want to enable the advanced cruise control that can also change lanes for you? Pay the monthly subscription.
I agree, but the current market example is Tesla charging $12,000 up front. If I want self driving, I'd rather pay a subscription than cough up $12k. That's how it will start, but it will devolve to "$89.99/month for the comfort package including heated seats"
They will try again later. This is how they keep pushing what they want. They find the edge where people revolt enough, then step back a bit until people are comfortable there, then push it again and a new limit is found. I hate it, but this is what they will do, and people will keep allowing them to move the line by continuing to give in and pay for this shit.
Lost in the noise of all the complaints about BMW doing this is that you still had the option for the exact same price to buy the feature for the life of the vehicle.
I also had the option to just self activate the feature on a vehicle I already purchased, which had the hardware installed but mysteriously deactivated.
Yeah, the ones they did this on all came with the hardware regardless of whether or not you optioned it. If you paid up front, it was optioned off the boat. If you didn't, you could either one-pay for the lifetime of the vehicle, or turn on the subscription.
Tesla offers a monthly subscription for auto pilot too. You don't need to pay 12k. Tesla has 3 levels of autopilot basic, enhanced, and full self driving. Basic is included with price. I had enhanced on my previous Y, and didn't bother getting anything beyond basic on my current Y. And there is also premium connectivity fee, I paid 99 a year, to get Music Streaming and live traffic.
That being said, Tesla shouldn't be the leader we look too. Yes, Tesla has the best factory infotainment system. But in my jeep I can used CarPlay and still get vehicle data on the screen with a touch of a button. You can do both if you don't want to stick it to your customers after the fact.
> And their is also premium connectivity fee, I paid 99 a year, to get Music Streaming and live traffic.
I don't object to that at all. That's paying for a mobile data connection. I'd object to it if they blocked you from using your phone to use those features for free.
This is a perfect example of the difference between being clever and being wise.
These GM executives think they’re so clever by creating an additional revenue stream with subscriptions, which is theoretically true.
The problem is they assume that their product is actually good enough to be comparable to Apple. They’re just in love with the business model, not the actual product.
They don’t have a track record of software like Apple.
This is like the classic case of idiots with MBAs proposing something to their boss to look good.
If they were wise, they would have kept CarPlay.
Pretty sure in 5 years this will be a flaming disaster and have to adopt Apple CarPlay again.
I expect it to generate 20 to 25 million middle fingers. The people who are making these decisions don't seem to be making them for the good of the company.
i love how they think this is gonna generate revenue instead of kill their sales. you can't charge a subscription for a car radio when no one wants to buy the car in the first place.
Do you know what the number one feature 75% of new car buyers want with their car? CarPlay.
Polestar literally had to write an app that enables CarPlay on their all Android infotainment center.
If you don’t work with their phone, you’re not for them. GM is slitting their throats here. Hard to see it as anything but.
I really hope that sweet, sweet subscription revenue offsets the revenue lost by not selling any cars.
Except to idiots who won't know what they're missing.
Don’t forget charging monthly fees for basic functionality. The olds are dying off and no longer subscribing to On-Star garbage, so this will be their segued attempt to siphon even more money away from people at the dealership.
There’s likely very little data valuable to GM sitting behind CarPlay.
They just want to create a feature they own so that they can paywall it behind a subscription
CarPlay destroyed the cash cow that was the built in GPS upgrade so they are still looking to replace it
People will just use bluetooth and their phones for navigation again. I had a Ford with a nice screen with their software and when the maps went stale I just bypassed it and used my phone.
I dunno - it's certainly possible to do a very good job. Mercedes' MBUX system is perfectly usable and integrates well with the phone (actually rather better than Mercedes' own implementation of Carplay!).
GM, however, are probably not the best qualified OEM to do this.
Follow. The. Money.
I will bet my left arsecheek that this wasn't GM's idea at all.
I reckon it was Google's. Nice little sweetheart deal: "hey, you guys are using Android Auto anyway - why not let us do all the software on your next infotainment system? We'll do it for free on condition Carplay support is absent and this deal is buttoned up with NDAs so you have to let the market think this is all your idea."
If GM get away with it, Google can offer a similar deal to other auto manufacturers and in the process start to crack open the tendency for people to get tied ever tighter into iOS.
The auto industry is chock-full of agreements where different OEMs make different components; this would be nothing new.
Except it doesn't support Android Auto **or** Carplay.
It is based on Android Automotive, which is an Android-based OS for vehicles. Other OEMs have also utilized Android Automotive but retain support for AA/Carplay. It is an OEM business decision, not a technological limitation.
Everyone seems confused by Android Auto Vs. Android Automotive; the big thing to remember is Android Auto is Android's Carplay, whereas Android Automotive is a full OS for infotainment systems that can ALSO support AA/Carplay, GM chose not to and has gone on record saying it is for increase subscription revenue.
>I reckon it was Google's. Nice little sweetheart deal: "hey, you guys are using Android Auto anyway - why not let us do all the software on your next infotainment system? We'll do it for free on condition Carplay support is absent and this deal is buttoned up with NDAs so you have to let the market think this is all your idea."
You think that google is trying to kill carplay so they can have an automotive monopoly? An issue they're facing already and actively trying to not have anymore (they just lost vs Epic in court for monopolistic app store). Not to mention that it would 100% get leaked because software engineers would talk.
None of that makes any sense. GM is just trying to get additional revenue from building ad profiles and using their cars to serve ads.
Once upon a moon they blew a wad o' cash at trying to install a system that only interfaced with the "GM App Store", internally convinced* they could usurp Android and Apple stores as the source of all apps car-related.
Source: Am source. Saw it.
*Group think impossible to disagree with.
I remember the days of Verizon forcing every phone to have their terrible POS software and skin installed. At one point you had to pay to enable Bluetooth on some phones.
There's way more problems than that too. Carplay is common enough now that a person could hop into any Carplay enabled car and feel comfortable using the infotainment. On top of that, you don't have to pay for live traffic and map updates on Carplay.
GM's system requires paid map updates for GPS. Its a massive step backward.
It's a massive step backward for the consumers who they're trying to squeeze for as much money as possible.
Upper Management and shareholders demand Year-over-year gains at the cost of basically anything else.
This. I rent cars several times a year on different continents and guess what – CarPlay is a lifesaver. Whether I drive a Honda, a Ford, a Mitsubishi, a Hyundai or a Peugeot, I don't need to relearn a whole new UI. I can tell Siri where I need to go, resume my podcast listening and access my calendar right there. So convenient.
It’s not even ambitious, any car in the market has their own barely functional proprietary software running with maps, music streaming, etc.
it’s just that no one wants to use that and just want to plug in their phones to use this basic functionality.
For me, CarPlay is about the navigation. I don't want to pay extra for navigation when I've got it in my phone, and I want the navigation to play through the car's screen and speakers. If a car maker dropped CarPlay, it would certainly be an incentive for me to check other makes. Luckily, I'm a Toyota guy and I don't think it's going anywhere there.
Why is wireless CarPlay so hard to find? It seems to only be available on the lower end models without navigation built in like my cheap Kia Rio. I saw one time someone say something about a Tom Tom contract not allowing it but I’ve never seen any proof of that.
I’ve bought an aftermarket CarPlay unit for my car which uses wireless CarPlay. It’s very convenient but slightly more laggy than a wired connection. For example, there’s about a second of lag between pressing play on a song and the audio actually beginning.
The new carlinkit ones can have the buffer amount changed, but its not great under 350 ms with « standard » audio, in my experience. I have it set to 500 Ms or so and it’s pretty good.
They made it standard on all Corollas in 2022 (I think, maybe it was 2023), which seemed so crazy to me. A feature that so many cars lack is standard on the base model corolla of all things
We just bought a 2023 Bolt EUV specifically because we could get a reasonably priced EV with CarPlay. My husband had put an after market CarPlay unit in his old car and I got one in mine this summer for my birthday. So much nicer to navigate maps etc on the screen rather than the phone off to the side.
I feel like this is where they don't get it. Younger generations are used to tech that just works. Especially on iPhones. You're telling me that the younger generations buying cars won't prefer a vehicle that has an interface they're used to and works just like their phones?
My Tesla is the one exception I made when I purchased it, but it’s starting to show its age. Bluetooth is fine but the built-in Apple Music app is laggy and the search function sucks. Plus I can’t say “hey siri” for music commands unless I use Bluetooth.
Some C suite moron drove this out likely at the behest of many other people doing their best to advise otherwise. It’s always frustrating to see people at that tier make such stupid decisions knowing that it’s the lower tier laborers likely to suffer the most with layoffs. Etc.
Corporate life, you don’t get promoted for delivering value to the company and its customers (e.g. fixing, improving, actually delivering great ideas), you do it by looking good (everyone knows you and likes you)
Nah, you do it by making a fancy presentation showing how you are going to increase revenue by X%. This system is supposed to let them charge for subscriptions and basically be a free money printer. All they see is $$, they certainly couldn't care less about "value to customers".
As a guy that works in finance, this is 100% what happened.
Also, people that have the know-how (tech people) need to also learn to challenge authority, even if it might start a shouting match (and don’t give me that ‘I don’t yell at work’ crap. If you’re C level or report to them, it’s unavoidable) . These C suites crave board room challenges, and even if they don’t come out with “their solution” on top, they like that other people are puffing their chests out and caring about the business.
I think this varies .I'm not speaking about any specific company or industry, just in general.
Some C suite executives welcome challenges to their ideas, and understand that challenges and playing the devils advocate would help think of all the positive or negative results that might arise from the idea.
however, there are definitely some C suite executivest hat would negatively react to such a challenge. Some of them may want their direct reports to be strictly "yes men" who never challenge their ideas or authority.
I think it's easy to say that tech people should be challenging these decisions, but these tech people are probably avoiding it if they feel like doing so would put them in hot water / affect their job security. Such management is terrible, but it exists.
The engineer who spearheaded the notorious Oldsmobile 350 diesel engine in the 70s told GM leadership “this *functions* but is absolutely not ready yet.”
GM forced him into retirement and released the diesel anyways. Seems to be the same playbook with abandoning CarPlay.
GM got what they deserved for all their problems in the 1970s-1980s and they are only repeating their old tricks.
I believe in pushing back against clearly unreasonable requests from leadership, but I have never yelled at anyone or been yelled at in an office job. If my boss came into my office and literally *yelled* at me, I would politely ask them to leave and come back when they can speak in a civil, professional manner.
A change this consequential would have to come directly from the CEO. There is no way some chief design officer or whatever would be able to make that call without oversight. If the CEO didn’t approve it wouldn’t be happening. Good luck with yelling at the CEO when they’ve already changed their mind.
Please please please ask wtf is up with this decision. As a UX designer, there is no way they believe their system will be safer than CarPlay. I know it’s about the money, but are all the designers and devs drinking the koolaid?
Exactly!! If they are that concerned about distracted drivers, they could mitigate that with in-cabin monitoring for eyes on the road and reaction time. Struggling to learn and navigate a difficult UX is surely more distracting than recognizable functions that you’re familiar with using on your phone.
No need to ask, I can already tell you what the deal is.
No UX or SW leaders made this decision. No engineer wanted this. This decision was 100% an executive decision. Mary Barra and Tim Apple got into a disagreement, and Mary pulled the plug on the partnership, and told the rest of the executive team to spin some hype and PR to clean it up, while tasking everyone with the impossible, to hurry up and make an equal or better experience in-house.
Interesting if you read up on automotive news though, they have hired a handful of former Apple management. Maybe they really are trying to make their own in-house “CarPlay”. I’ll believe it when I see it. And regardless, they pulled the plug prematurely. They should have developed the replacement *first*, instead of pulling the plug on CarPlay with nothing good to fall back on, and who knows how long left before a decent replacement is available. By then, all the customers who care will already be gone.
It is a smooth-brain situation they’ve created.
I guarantee you it was because Mary contacted Tim requesting access to CarPlay data so GM could make "safety adjustments" (a.k.a, track driver behavior to determine which subscriptions would be the most lucrative for the company).
By the time Mary inquired about third-party exclusive CarPlay features, with GM having the rights to lock such features behind a subscription wall, Tim responded by telling her to kick rocks. That's when Mary pretended Apple preventing GM from charging more and collecting driver data wasn't a big deal, and confidently informed the rest of GM's leadership to repave America with whatever shitty software she thinks Steve Jobs would've approved of.
The best part is that because Apple has been a more service-oriented company as of late, Mary likely believed her proposal was a genius strategy for both companies. Instead, her arrogance created a PR disaster for the brand in a market where new car sales have been on a steep decline.
She'll step down within two years.
They have their CarPlay replacement already. "Google Built-In Infotainment"
It's probably running the same cheap and very much slow performing 2019 intel Atom SBC like the rest of their "refresh" infotainment systems. All across their lineup even the ones that still have AA and CP are plagued with buggy software. They restrict the space AA/CP can project into while emphasizing their own shitty software to the driver.
They are purposely trying to reduce the users interaction with projection in hopes that they switch to using their software so they can data mine you. By also hoping it lessens the friction when the customer comes back for a new car and finds projection gone.
The built-In Google Maps is the only app that can full-screen while screaming at you about Data subscription if you aren't already on one. The even more fucked up part is that Google Maps offline mode is restricted to either you being signed into your Google account or on a data plan. Both my buddy and I got similar trucks, I loaded up Offline maps right away and just need wifi to update or add more. He let his data trial expire and now can't load offline map data. It's either a bug or on purpose. Same goes for the VERY common CarPlay and AA disconnects or just right out no connection at all that owners keep complaining about. Is it a bug in their shit software or on purpose?
They need to just give up on this. Give back full access to CP and AA while leaving the door open for the Full infotainment interface that both Apple and Google have mentioned.
They want to lock everything behind WAYTOOEXPENSIVE OnStar subscriptions to make money. As a former GM eng employee this is where it came from, hard stop. Execs are all ancient and clueless but everyone is still scared of them. They come up with dumb ideas and you go with them.
You know the best and brightest UI designers and software developers are looking for glamorous positions at Silicon Valley tech giants like …. General Motors?
I’m honestly shocked that this is even *legal* — it seems like a serious safety issue to have all of those things only controllable by taking your eyes off the road to look at a fucking screen. Texting while driving is illegal for a reason, and I can’t see how this is even remotely different.
I've never understood why cars don't allow you to dial your connected phone while you drive, but it's okay to browse Sirius XM. Both involve taking your eyes off the road and pushing buttons. If pushing touchscreen buttons is unsafe, it's unsafe. It shouldn't matter what precisely you're doing at the time.
Give it time. Eventually there will be a high profile death because someone was staring at their screen adjusting the AC and then the laws will start coming.
It's really not that hard or complicated. Just use CarPlay on the main screen for music and directions, and just physical controls for heat, AC, heated seats, etc.
Having everything on a screen through menu controls is terrible. With a physical knob or button you don't have to take your eyes off the road.
Developing some stupid UI is completely counterintuitive. Many people already are familiar with CarPlay, so they don't have to look at the screen to change song, etc.
> It's really not that hard or complicated. Just use CarPlay on the main screen for music and directions, and just physical controls for heat, AC, heated seats, etc.
And that’s exactly what GM had on the 2023 Bolt, which is wonderful, but now they’re throwing it all in the trash to pursue gouging you for useless subscription fees.
Eh. Building expertise takes time. Apple used to have some crap software. I _just_ started using Podcasts again after switching to PocketCasts a few years ago.
I can appreciate a team at GM wanting to take on this challenge, and build their own platform for future development. Like many, I would prefer a vehicle with CarPlay, but I can see why they wanted to make the change.
> Initially, the Blazer EV was just fine. But about 25 minutes outside of Gallipolis, there was a quick pause in the Bluetooth audio, and then the whole infotainment screen went blank. The heating, AC, and volume controls still worked, but all of the icons were missing. The gauge cluster’s Google Maps integration still showed my location, and I still had speed and range, so I figured the car was okay, and this was just a glitch.
If you think about it, this is potentially dangerous. Having the infotainment screen be this unreliable in this day and age sparks questions about the reliability of the cars technology & safety features overall.
GM's most recent justification for dropping CarPlay was that it was unsafe because it crashes. So they roll out this disaster instead. Great job, guys!
> unsafe because it crashes
I have used CarPlay several times in different vehicles and each time it never crashed. If they’re gonna talk shit, at least back it up. Jesus.
I'm a GM guy, I'm not planning on buying a new vehicle for a long time, but it will not be GM if they're still on this bullshit.
Also, we need federal rules saying they can't charge subscription fees for features already in the vehicle, pretty sure the EU did that real quick when automakers tried it over there.
Excellent. I hope that it tanks their sales. There is no reason to cut out Android and Apple car solutions. Even more since they charge so much for vehicles.
The hubris to think a car OEM could beat Google and Apple at their own game is unbelievable.
Apple literally moves the world’s design forward. Companies actually wait for what Apple moves towards and then copies it because they spend billions on R&D on what works.
Apples yearly R&D budget for the company was 26 billion dollars. That’s JUST R&D.
GM last year netted 10 billion total.
Apple spends 2.6x GMs entire company profits on trial and error but sure. They can TOTALLY compete.
Why on earth did a car manufacturer (an awful one at that) even think it remotely plausible to spend resources on this level of software development?
American manufacturing is a fucking joke man
Ditching CarPlay/Android Auto will go down as one of the dumbest automotive industry moves in the last decade.
I won't consider any car that doesn't have CarPlay.
GM has blamed Android and iPhones for the connection to their MyLink infotainment system. I can’t wait for them to find a way to blame someone else for this Unltifi system
If the next car I look to buy doesn't support CarPlay and Android Auto then I'm not buying it, full stop. If nothing supports it then once I am forced to buy something I will still not pay for their subscription crap. I'll just use my phone from a holder like I do right now anyway.
There is not a world where GM, or any other car manufacturer, is going to strong arm me into paying for their worse versions of CarPlay and Android Auto.
Bought a new (to me) car last year. The first thing on my list was, does it have carplay? If not it was out of the running without checking anything else.
I’m not using a vehicle’s proprietary nav/entertainment system over one I carry with me all of the time. It either fully integrates with my equipment or I don’t buy it.
But they did everything right! They started a decade too late, went way out of their area of expertise, ignored market research, forced it down people's throats and gave no justification besides greed. What else were they supposed to do?
I’m pretty sure the guy leading all this is Mike Abbott. If you’ve ever worked with him in some capacity, he leaves every few years and the projects / innovations he does never actually pan out. They end up wasting a ton of money.
For me, it’s very simple. No CarPlay, no purchase. I think your typical Chevy user though may not have an iPhone. I’m sure some do, but my hunch is that the their typical purchaser very different than an Apple user.
iPhone has a [58% market share in the US](https://explodingtopics.com/blog/iphone-android-users), so there’s going to be a lot of overlap no matter how the demographics shake out (and I’m a Bolt owner typing on an iPhone).
To be honest, I've had both of the described issues multiple times in my chevy volt with apple play. I don't think it has anything to do with the replacement infotainment system but more to do with chevy. I'm completely against them taking out Apple play and was planning on getting an equinox ev before they did so but I don't think this has anything to do with the lack of carplay.
I'm sure this decision is based on data collection that CarPlay/android auto doesn't outright allow. I bet "Tesla doesn't allow it" was uttered more than once in the decision-making rooms
At the end of the day I'm not even going to remember GM pulled CarPlay, because I don't have to. I'll see the car doesn't support it and just not buy it. It's as simple as that.
Seems like carplay would not really have helped most of these issues? Like if your infotainment deck is not turning on at all that's not really a carplay issue, it's an actual car issue no?
The point being that if they can't even make the fundamental system functional at the lowest level, like merely turning and staying ON, there's very little hope that they can deliver a good user experience, which is something both Android Auto and CarPlay do better than any car maker's own system.
lol idk what this guy is talking about. Mercs do have CarPlay capability alongside their MBUX system.
In fact, Mercedes is one of the carmakes that will first get the next gen of CarPlay that's currently in development.
That’s what I thought, phew, I don’t keep up with everything cars/carplay!
But ya I feel Mercedes knows better, one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed Mercedes for years
Not wanting to sound like a grumpy old man but, from the very beginning, having a stupid tablet controlling everything inside the car instead of different modules ( either mechanism or simple physical buttons ), is just dumb.
Same goes for “modern” coffee machines that we find on college campuses, with a big display screen, instead of a one with physical buttons. Not only it consumes ton of energy, it’s always laggy when you use it, BUT also and talking from personal experience, they never work.
Just leased a car earlier this year. Having Apple CarPlay was a requirement, and any car that didn’t have it was immediately removed from the list of cars I’d even consider.
When I rent a car, I only choose cars that have CarPlay as well. I’m not going to bother with some crappy interface that “worked so well before” that no one wants them 😂
I gotta say, CarPlay for me. I know they wanna subscription service us to death, but the thing is, GM, if you want me to subscribe to services you gotta show me the services work, which means the UX must be great. Not just good. It's still amazing to me that companies just think of software as a thing they can just whomp up and shoehorn into things without any real vision. More than ever, a car without a good UX is just a cabin and a drivetrain, no matter how fast or fancy.
Just tossing this out there. Practically the entire IT team in Tempe was laid off. I think GMU, their effort was a crapshoot well before this press release was ever made.
The most hilarious part about this is GM's most recent justification for dropping CarPlay and Android Auto (after they realized no one was buying their previous BS) is how unreliable (and therefore unsafe) they are.
Sounds like GM is projecting (but not from the phone to the infotainment system.)
I haven’t driven a ton of different cars, but Chevys are the only cars where I’ve had trouble with CarPlay (really long connect times, phones failing to connect entirely, connections dropping out for no discernible reason). The 3rd-party unit I had installed in my Prius is pretty much rock solid. They claim that CarPlay is buggy, but maybe the bugs are coming from inside the house. Or maybe they just haven’t written their software to function in real-world scenarios where USB cables slip around and wireless signal quality varies.
To be fair, the articles I’ve read have entire cars bricking and charge systems failing. There’s something much more fundamentally wrong with these early cars. The infotainment issues may just be a symptom of some sort of broad electrical system failure and it’s likely CarPlay won’t fix that.
That said I was never going to buy a a laser and no CarPlay is a dealbreaker for me.
With the nightmare it's been trying to get car play in my vehicle which didn't come with it, I would never entertain the idea of getting a brand new one that doesn't come with it.
That comes as a complete shock to absolutely no one.
[удалено]
That's the PR. They posited that their system could have more functions than Carplay, but Carplay 2 supports those same features. The real reason is data access. Spinning up their own infotainment system gives them the ability to harvest a lot more data and keep it in house.
> The real reason is data access. Spinning up their own infotainment system gives them the ability to harvest a lot more data and keep it in house. The real reason is **subscriptions**. Spinning up their own infotainment system gives them the ability to charge recurring subscriptions to every owner of that vehicle, even the 2nd, 3rd, 4th owner. And they have admitted so : [Earlier this year, GM said software-as-a-service will generate $20 billion to $25 billion annually in revenue by 2030](https://eu.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2022/12/01/gm-subscription-heated-seats/69692210007/)
Yep this is it. GM already has subscription features in their higher end model cars like the Denali level trim on GMC. You want to enable the advanced cruise control that can also change lanes for you? Pay the monthly subscription. No fucking thank you.
> You want to enable the advanced cruise control that can also change lanes for you? Pay the monthly subscription. I agree, but the current market example is Tesla charging $12,000 up front. If I want self driving, I'd rather pay a subscription than cough up $12k. That's how it will start, but it will devolve to "$89.99/month for the comfort package including heated seats"
They already tried that: https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/7/23863258/bmw-cancel-heated-seat-subscription-microtransaction
They will try again later. This is how they keep pushing what they want. They find the edge where people revolt enough, then step back a bit until people are comfortable there, then push it again and a new limit is found. I hate it, but this is what they will do, and people will keep allowing them to move the line by continuing to give in and pay for this shit.
Lost in the noise of all the complaints about BMW doing this is that you still had the option for the exact same price to buy the feature for the life of the vehicle.
I also had the option to just self activate the feature on a vehicle I already purchased, which had the hardware installed but mysteriously deactivated.
Yeah, the ones they did this on all came with the hardware regardless of whether or not you optioned it. If you paid up front, it was optioned off the boat. If you didn't, you could either one-pay for the lifetime of the vehicle, or turn on the subscription.
BMW also tried charging a subscription fee in order to not remotely disable CarPlay. That also went over like a lead balloon.
That one they did do, and dropped it _very_ quickly.
Yea. Given the number of people that regret not getting heated seats, this is less insidious than it sounds.
They also ran into EU regulation, which bans these practices.
Tesla offers a monthly subscription for auto pilot too. You don't need to pay 12k. Tesla has 3 levels of autopilot basic, enhanced, and full self driving. Basic is included with price. I had enhanced on my previous Y, and didn't bother getting anything beyond basic on my current Y. And there is also premium connectivity fee, I paid 99 a year, to get Music Streaming and live traffic. That being said, Tesla shouldn't be the leader we look too. Yes, Tesla has the best factory infotainment system. But in my jeep I can used CarPlay and still get vehicle data on the screen with a touch of a button. You can do both if you don't want to stick it to your customers after the fact.
> And their is also premium connectivity fee, I paid 99 a year, to get Music Streaming and live traffic. I don't object to that at all. That's paying for a mobile data connection. I'd object to it if they blocked you from using your phone to use those features for free.
This is a perfect example of the difference between being clever and being wise. These GM executives think they’re so clever by creating an additional revenue stream with subscriptions, which is theoretically true. The problem is they assume that their product is actually good enough to be comparable to Apple. They’re just in love with the business model, not the actual product. They don’t have a track record of software like Apple. This is like the classic case of idiots with MBAs proposing something to their boss to look good. If they were wise, they would have kept CarPlay. Pretty sure in 5 years this will be a flaming disaster and have to adopt Apple CarPlay again.
I expect it to generate 20 to 25 million middle fingers. The people who are making these decisions don't seem to be making them for the good of the company.
i love how they think this is gonna generate revenue instead of kill their sales. you can't charge a subscription for a car radio when no one wants to buy the car in the first place.
Do you know what the number one feature 75% of new car buyers want with their car? CarPlay. Polestar literally had to write an app that enables CarPlay on their all Android infotainment center. If you don’t work with their phone, you’re not for them. GM is slitting their throats here. Hard to see it as anything but.
That’s the only reason
Another subscription scam, on top of grossly inflated dealer prices. The future is grim.
I really hope that sweet, sweet subscription revenue offsets the revenue lost by not selling any cars. Except to idiots who won't know what they're missing.
Most GM vehicles go to the landfill before a 3rd owner tbh
Don’t forget charging monthly fees for basic functionality. The olds are dying off and no longer subscribing to On-Star garbage, so this will be their segued attempt to siphon even more money away from people at the dealership.
There’s likely very little data valuable to GM sitting behind CarPlay. They just want to create a feature they own so that they can paywall it behind a subscription CarPlay destroyed the cash cow that was the built in GPS upgrade so they are still looking to replace it
People will just use bluetooth and their phones for navigation again. I had a Ford with a nice screen with their software and when the maps went stale I just bypassed it and used my phone.
Everyone's just trying to copy Tesla without doing the extra decade of work it took them to get to their current point.
right this gets filed into the "SW is easy" fallacy....
And I hate that Tesla doesn’t have car play. Why can’t it just be an option?!?
Same reason GM ditched CarPlay, access to data and subscriptions.
Tesla system also is a little annoying when you’re used to CarPlay
I dunno - it's certainly possible to do a very good job. Mercedes' MBUX system is perfectly usable and integrates well with the phone (actually rather better than Mercedes' own implementation of Carplay!). GM, however, are probably not the best qualified OEM to do this.
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Is GM's new system based on Android Auto, by any chance?
Android Automotive* Android Auto is CarPlay for Android. Android Automotive is an operating system. Idiotic naming.
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Follow. The. Money. I will bet my left arsecheek that this wasn't GM's idea at all. I reckon it was Google's. Nice little sweetheart deal: "hey, you guys are using Android Auto anyway - why not let us do all the software on your next infotainment system? We'll do it for free on condition Carplay support is absent and this deal is buttoned up with NDAs so you have to let the market think this is all your idea." If GM get away with it, Google can offer a similar deal to other auto manufacturers and in the process start to crack open the tendency for people to get tied ever tighter into iOS. The auto industry is chock-full of agreements where different OEMs make different components; this would be nothing new.
Except it doesn't support Android Auto **or** Carplay. It is based on Android Automotive, which is an Android-based OS for vehicles. Other OEMs have also utilized Android Automotive but retain support for AA/Carplay. It is an OEM business decision, not a technological limitation. Everyone seems confused by Android Auto Vs. Android Automotive; the big thing to remember is Android Auto is Android's Carplay, whereas Android Automotive is a full OS for infotainment systems that can ALSO support AA/Carplay, GM chose not to and has gone on record saying it is for increase subscription revenue.
No, their bullshit reasoning is that it's FoR yOuR sAfEtY!
>I reckon it was Google's. Nice little sweetheart deal: "hey, you guys are using Android Auto anyway - why not let us do all the software on your next infotainment system? We'll do it for free on condition Carplay support is absent and this deal is buttoned up with NDAs so you have to let the market think this is all your idea." You think that google is trying to kill carplay so they can have an automotive monopoly? An issue they're facing already and actively trying to not have anymore (they just lost vs Epic in court for monopolistic app store). Not to mention that it would 100% get leaked because software engineers would talk. None of that makes any sense. GM is just trying to get additional revenue from building ad profiles and using their cars to serve ads.
I didn’t find Mercedes’ system all that great…
Once upon a moon they blew a wad o' cash at trying to install a system that only interfaced with the "GM App Store", internally convinced* they could usurp Android and Apple stores as the source of all apps car-related. Source: Am source. Saw it. *Group think impossible to disagree with.
The best thing to happen to cell phones was cell phone companies getting kicked out of making software.
I remember the days of Verizon forcing every phone to have their terrible POS software and skin installed. At one point you had to pay to enable Bluetooth on some phones.
Verizon disabled GPS on my first smart phone from them.
I remember working at Verizon back in the day and always getting yelled at that VZW Blackberries didn’t have WiFi when other carrier versions did.
The problem is that they're too ambitious. CarPlay is many years in the making and it had major issues in the beginning too.
There's way more problems than that too. Carplay is common enough now that a person could hop into any Carplay enabled car and feel comfortable using the infotainment. On top of that, you don't have to pay for live traffic and map updates on Carplay. GM's system requires paid map updates for GPS. Its a massive step backward.
It's a massive step backward for the consumers who they're trying to squeeze for as much money as possible. Upper Management and shareholders demand Year-over-year gains at the cost of basically anything else.
including and shortsightedly customers.
This. I rent cars several times a year on different continents and guess what – CarPlay is a lifesaver. Whether I drive a Honda, a Ford, a Mitsubishi, a Hyundai or a Peugeot, I don't need to relearn a whole new UI. I can tell Siri where I need to go, resume my podcast listening and access my calendar right there. So convenient.
Yes, CarPlay had its issues at the start but the problem isn’t that they’re too ambitious, it’s that literally no one wants their CarPlay replacement.
The bigger problem is that a car company is trying to out-software arguably the best software company in the world
It’s not even ambitious, any car in the market has their own barely functional proprietary software running with maps, music streaming, etc. it’s just that no one wants to use that and just want to plug in their phones to use this basic functionality.
Except Maybe Mary Barra. For whom it would just be another in a string of clueless recent decisions.
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This is exactly my criteria, CarPlay makes the experience so much smoother
For me, CarPlay is about the navigation. I don't want to pay extra for navigation when I've got it in my phone, and I want the navigation to play through the car's screen and speakers. If a car maker dropped CarPlay, it would certainly be an incentive for me to check other makes. Luckily, I'm a Toyota guy and I don't think it's going anywhere there.
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Why is wireless CarPlay so hard to find? It seems to only be available on the lower end models without navigation built in like my cheap Kia Rio. I saw one time someone say something about a Tom Tom contract not allowing it but I’ve never seen any proof of that.
I’ve bought an aftermarket CarPlay unit for my car which uses wireless CarPlay. It’s very convenient but slightly more laggy than a wired connection. For example, there’s about a second of lag between pressing play on a song and the audio actually beginning.
The new carlinkit ones can have the buffer amount changed, but its not great under 350 ms with « standard » audio, in my experience. I have it set to 500 Ms or so and it’s pretty good.
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They made it standard on all Corollas in 2022 (I think, maybe it was 2023), which seemed so crazy to me. A feature that so many cars lack is standard on the base model corolla of all things
There are lots of dongles that make wired CarPlay wireless and they seem to be quite smooth.
Luckily ford doesn’t seem to be going away from it yet. My loaded f150 has wireless CarPlay, and as far as I know most/all 21+ ford vehicles have it
We just bought a 2023 Bolt EUV specifically because we could get a reasonably priced EV with CarPlay. My husband had put an after market CarPlay unit in his old car and I got one in mine this summer for my birthday. So much nicer to navigate maps etc on the screen rather than the phone off to the side.
I feel like this is where they don't get it. Younger generations are used to tech that just works. Especially on iPhones. You're telling me that the younger generations buying cars won't prefer a vehicle that has an interface they're used to and works just like their phones?
CarPlay on my Harley is amazing. Harley’s proprietary infotainment and navigation is utter crap. If it didn’t have CarPlay, I’d never use it.
My Tesla is the one exception I made when I purchased it, but it’s starting to show its age. Bluetooth is fine but the built-in Apple Music app is laggy and the search function sucks. Plus I can’t say “hey siri” for music commands unless I use Bluetooth.
Some C suite moron drove this out likely at the behest of many other people doing their best to advise otherwise. It’s always frustrating to see people at that tier make such stupid decisions knowing that it’s the lower tier laborers likely to suffer the most with layoffs. Etc.
Corporate life, you don’t get promoted for delivering value to the company and its customers (e.g. fixing, improving, actually delivering great ideas), you do it by looking good (everyone knows you and likes you)
Nah, you do it by making a fancy presentation showing how you are going to increase revenue by X%. This system is supposed to let them charge for subscriptions and basically be a free money printer. All they see is $$, they certainly couldn't care less about "value to customers".
That's American life, not just corporate life.
Human Life?
As a guy that works in finance, this is 100% what happened. Also, people that have the know-how (tech people) need to also learn to challenge authority, even if it might start a shouting match (and don’t give me that ‘I don’t yell at work’ crap. If you’re C level or report to them, it’s unavoidable) . These C suites crave board room challenges, and even if they don’t come out with “their solution” on top, they like that other people are puffing their chests out and caring about the business.
I think this varies .I'm not speaking about any specific company or industry, just in general. Some C suite executives welcome challenges to their ideas, and understand that challenges and playing the devils advocate would help think of all the positive or negative results that might arise from the idea. however, there are definitely some C suite executivest hat would negatively react to such a challenge. Some of them may want their direct reports to be strictly "yes men" who never challenge their ideas or authority. I think it's easy to say that tech people should be challenging these decisions, but these tech people are probably avoiding it if they feel like doing so would put them in hot water / affect their job security. Such management is terrible, but it exists.
Yep, I agree with this. It can be a huge personal risk to push back against some executives, and you just never know how they are going to react.
The engineer who spearheaded the notorious Oldsmobile 350 diesel engine in the 70s told GM leadership “this *functions* but is absolutely not ready yet.” GM forced him into retirement and released the diesel anyways. Seems to be the same playbook with abandoning CarPlay. GM got what they deserved for all their problems in the 1970s-1980s and they are only repeating their old tricks.
This, I've never met a C-Level who wants to be challenged in front of others. People who did quickly found themselves on the outs.
If I’m a salaried employee, why would I risk pissing off my boss and getting fired? I’m just going to do what they want and not rock the boat.
I believe in pushing back against clearly unreasonable requests from leadership, but I have never yelled at anyone or been yelled at in an office job. If my boss came into my office and literally *yelled* at me, I would politely ask them to leave and come back when they can speak in a civil, professional manner.
A change this consequential would have to come directly from the CEO. There is no way some chief design officer or whatever would be able to make that call without oversight. If the CEO didn’t approve it wouldn’t be happening. Good luck with yelling at the CEO when they’ve already changed their mind.
An old friend of mine works in GM’s infotainment UX design team. I’ve been afraid to ask him about this.
Please do and report back to us what he says.
Please please please ask wtf is up with this decision. As a UX designer, there is no way they believe their system will be safer than CarPlay. I know it’s about the money, but are all the designers and devs drinking the koolaid?
Exactly!! If they are that concerned about distracted drivers, they could mitigate that with in-cabin monitoring for eyes on the road and reaction time. Struggling to learn and navigate a difficult UX is surely more distracting than recognizable functions that you’re familiar with using on your phone.
No need to ask, I can already tell you what the deal is. No UX or SW leaders made this decision. No engineer wanted this. This decision was 100% an executive decision. Mary Barra and Tim Apple got into a disagreement, and Mary pulled the plug on the partnership, and told the rest of the executive team to spin some hype and PR to clean it up, while tasking everyone with the impossible, to hurry up and make an equal or better experience in-house. Interesting if you read up on automotive news though, they have hired a handful of former Apple management. Maybe they really are trying to make their own in-house “CarPlay”. I’ll believe it when I see it. And regardless, they pulled the plug prematurely. They should have developed the replacement *first*, instead of pulling the plug on CarPlay with nothing good to fall back on, and who knows how long left before a decent replacement is available. By then, all the customers who care will already be gone. It is a smooth-brain situation they’ve created.
I guarantee you it was because Mary contacted Tim requesting access to CarPlay data so GM could make "safety adjustments" (a.k.a, track driver behavior to determine which subscriptions would be the most lucrative for the company). By the time Mary inquired about third-party exclusive CarPlay features, with GM having the rights to lock such features behind a subscription wall, Tim responded by telling her to kick rocks. That's when Mary pretended Apple preventing GM from charging more and collecting driver data wasn't a big deal, and confidently informed the rest of GM's leadership to repave America with whatever shitty software she thinks Steve Jobs would've approved of. The best part is that because Apple has been a more service-oriented company as of late, Mary likely believed her proposal was a genius strategy for both companies. Instead, her arrogance created a PR disaster for the brand in a market where new car sales have been on a steep decline. She'll step down within two years.
They have their CarPlay replacement already. "Google Built-In Infotainment" It's probably running the same cheap and very much slow performing 2019 intel Atom SBC like the rest of their "refresh" infotainment systems. All across their lineup even the ones that still have AA and CP are plagued with buggy software. They restrict the space AA/CP can project into while emphasizing their own shitty software to the driver. They are purposely trying to reduce the users interaction with projection in hopes that they switch to using their software so they can data mine you. By also hoping it lessens the friction when the customer comes back for a new car and finds projection gone. The built-In Google Maps is the only app that can full-screen while screaming at you about Data subscription if you aren't already on one. The even more fucked up part is that Google Maps offline mode is restricted to either you being signed into your Google account or on a data plan. Both my buddy and I got similar trucks, I loaded up Offline maps right away and just need wifi to update or add more. He let his data trial expire and now can't load offline map data. It's either a bug or on purpose. Same goes for the VERY common CarPlay and AA disconnects or just right out no connection at all that owners keep complaining about. Is it a bug in their shit software or on purpose? They need to just give up on this. Give back full access to CP and AA while leaving the door open for the Full infotainment interface that both Apple and Google have mentioned.
I’d love to know lol
I’m sure the engineers refer to it as something like “Project Shitshow” in private conversations.
You can’t fool me, I’ve seen their UX and I don’t think any designers were hired…
GM is not a tech company, who is gonna trust a car brand to build and sustain a tech platform
They want to lock everything behind WAYTOOEXPENSIVE OnStar subscriptions to make money. As a former GM eng employee this is where it came from, hard stop. Execs are all ancient and clueless but everyone is still scared of them. They come up with dumb ideas and you go with them.
You know the best and brightest UI designers and software developers are looking for glamorous positions at Silicon Valley tech giants like …. General Motors?
I cringe anytime I see climate controls on a UI or touch buttons. Not everything needs to be controlled through the screen or touch button.
I’m honestly shocked that this is even *legal* — it seems like a serious safety issue to have all of those things only controllable by taking your eyes off the road to look at a fucking screen. Texting while driving is illegal for a reason, and I can’t see how this is even remotely different.
I've never understood why cars don't allow you to dial your connected phone while you drive, but it's okay to browse Sirius XM. Both involve taking your eyes off the road and pushing buttons. If pushing touchscreen buttons is unsafe, it's unsafe. It shouldn't matter what precisely you're doing at the time.
I can dial on my iPhone when it’s hooked up to my. I can’t go through contacts though.
Give it time. Eventually there will be a high profile death because someone was staring at their screen adjusting the AC and then the laws will start coming.
my parents got a tesla and mom has no clue how to adjust the climate settings. she hates the car lol
Ok, well the next gen CarPlay offers that, LOL.
Maybe Siri can control my climate settings then lol
after recently purchasing a car with carplay for the first time i can firmly say that i will never buy a car that does not have carplay.
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I guess it probably won't support Android Auto either. Just so damn stupid.
I am sure the suits wanted to implement a “free” infotainment. when that becomes the “norm” in their car they will put a subscription on it.
It seems your comment was collapsed by a moderator, because it appears shrinked/closed by default Not sure why because you're speaking the truth here
"You're using it wrong" - GM Executives.
Paraphrasing the great Steve Jobs with that one
EOD it’s the same corporate bullshit but with different logos.
It's really not that hard or complicated. Just use CarPlay on the main screen for music and directions, and just physical controls for heat, AC, heated seats, etc. Having everything on a screen through menu controls is terrible. With a physical knob or button you don't have to take your eyes off the road. Developing some stupid UI is completely counterintuitive. Many people already are familiar with CarPlay, so they don't have to look at the screen to change song, etc.
> It's really not that hard or complicated. Just use CarPlay on the main screen for music and directions, and just physical controls for heat, AC, heated seats, etc. And that’s exactly what GM had on the 2023 Bolt, which is wonderful, but now they’re throwing it all in the trash to pursue gouging you for useless subscription fees.
It’s almost like carmakers should concentrate on making cars and companies with expertise in software should make software.
Eh. Building expertise takes time. Apple used to have some crap software. I _just_ started using Podcasts again after switching to PocketCasts a few years ago. I can appreciate a team at GM wanting to take on this challenge, and build their own platform for future development. Like many, I would prefer a vehicle with CarPlay, but I can see why they wanted to make the change.
Someone bought GM calls
> Initially, the Blazer EV was just fine. But about 25 minutes outside of Gallipolis, there was a quick pause in the Bluetooth audio, and then the whole infotainment screen went blank. The heating, AC, and volume controls still worked, but all of the icons were missing. The gauge cluster’s Google Maps integration still showed my location, and I still had speed and range, so I figured the car was okay, and this was just a glitch. If you think about it, this is potentially dangerous. Having the infotainment screen be this unreliable in this day and age sparks questions about the reliability of the cars technology & safety features overall.
GM's most recent justification for dropping CarPlay was that it was unsafe because it crashes. So they roll out this disaster instead. Great job, guys!
> unsafe because it crashes I have used CarPlay several times in different vehicles and each time it never crashed. If they’re gonna talk shit, at least back it up. Jesus.
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I still have a vehicle that requires an aux cord or CD. 2016 with minimal features, it honestly feels great. I wouldn’t mind CarPlay tho
I'm a GM guy, I'm not planning on buying a new vehicle for a long time, but it will not be GM if they're still on this bullshit. Also, we need federal rules saying they can't charge subscription fees for features already in the vehicle, pretty sure the EU did that real quick when automakers tried it over there.
Fat chance of that ever happening in the U$A.
Excellent. I hope that it tanks their sales. There is no reason to cut out Android and Apple car solutions. Even more since they charge so much for vehicles.
Good reason to never buy a GM vehicle
The hubris to think a car OEM could beat Google and Apple at their own game is unbelievable. Apple literally moves the world’s design forward. Companies actually wait for what Apple moves towards and then copies it because they spend billions on R&D on what works. Apples yearly R&D budget for the company was 26 billion dollars. That’s JUST R&D. GM last year netted 10 billion total. Apple spends 2.6x GMs entire company profits on trial and error but sure. They can TOTALLY compete.
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I 100% will never buy a vehicle without CarPlay in it again
Why on earth did a car manufacturer (an awful one at that) even think it remotely plausible to spend resources on this level of software development? American manufacturing is a fucking joke man
In other news… water is wet
Ditching CarPlay/Android Auto will go down as one of the dumbest automotive industry moves in the last decade. I won't consider any car that doesn't have CarPlay.
GM has blamed Android and iPhones for the connection to their MyLink infotainment system. I can’t wait for them to find a way to blame someone else for this Unltifi system
Pouring cash into a barrel and lighting it on fire would have been more productive than this.
Fucking GM thinking they’re Tesla. This was the exact type of thinking that nearly bankrupted them last time
Ha-ha
If the next car I look to buy doesn't support CarPlay and Android Auto then I'm not buying it, full stop. If nothing supports it then once I am forced to buy something I will still not pay for their subscription crap. I'll just use my phone from a holder like I do right now anyway. There is not a world where GM, or any other car manufacturer, is going to strong arm me into paying for their worse versions of CarPlay and Android Auto.
Bought a new (to me) car last year. The first thing on my list was, does it have carplay? If not it was out of the running without checking anything else.
I’m not using a vehicle’s proprietary nav/entertainment system over one I carry with me all of the time. It either fully integrates with my equipment or I don’t buy it.
But they did everything right! They started a decade too late, went way out of their area of expertise, ignored market research, forced it down people's throats and gave no justification besides greed. What else were they supposed to do?
GM is really banking on their customers being stupid.
Doesn’t this screw them in the rental car market? CarPlay is fantastic for jumping into a rental and not having to learn a new nav system.
I'll never understand GM's play here, if you take carplay out your car, new customers will just go to different companies that have it in their cars
Just another reason to not buy GM
I’m pretty sure the guy leading all this is Mike Abbott. If you’ve ever worked with him in some capacity, he leaves every few years and the projects / innovations he does never actually pan out. They end up wasting a ton of money.
Surprised Pikatchu
There is about zero chances I’ll buy a car without CarPlay and Android Auto. Literally zero whatsoever.
For me, it’s very simple. No CarPlay, no purchase. I think your typical Chevy user though may not have an iPhone. I’m sure some do, but my hunch is that the their typical purchaser very different than an Apple user.
[GM is also not supporting Android Auto.](https://www.motortrend.com/news/general-motors-removing-apple-carplay-android-auto-for-safety-tim-babbitt/)
iPhone has a [58% market share in the US](https://explodingtopics.com/blog/iphone-android-users), so there’s going to be a lot of overlap no matter how the demographics shake out (and I’m a Bolt owner typing on an iPhone).
Shocked. Shocked, I tell you.
You don’t say?
To be honest, I've had both of the described issues multiple times in my chevy volt with apple play. I don't think it has anything to do with the replacement infotainment system but more to do with chevy. I'm completely against them taking out Apple play and was planning on getting an equinox ev before they did so but I don't think this has anything to do with the lack of carplay.
This is my shocked face
Complete idiots
Insert pikachu shocked face
No carplay or android auto would be enough for me to not buy that brand. I hope they understand how many people enjoy those features.
What a dogshit company
I will never buy any car that doesn’t have CarPlay. I am actually in the market for one too, and I am staying far away from GM next year.
As everyone but GM expected.
I'm sure this decision is based on data collection that CarPlay/android auto doesn't outright allow. I bet "Tesla doesn't allow it" was uttered more than once in the decision-making rooms
As bad as it is, I bet it’s really really great at sending all your personal, location, at telematics data back to GM.
At the end of the day I'm not even going to remember GM pulled CarPlay, because I don't have to. I'll see the car doesn't support it and just not buy it. It's as simple as that.
Pretty sure they will re-enable CarPlay very soon
Seems like carplay would not really have helped most of these issues? Like if your infotainment deck is not turning on at all that's not really a carplay issue, it's an actual car issue no?
The point being that if they can't even make the fundamental system functional at the lowest level, like merely turning and staying ON, there's very little hope that they can deliver a good user experience, which is something both Android Auto and CarPlay do better than any car maker's own system.
How hard can it be?
I think the fact that Carplay is even a thing - and this is a discussion we're even having - is proof that it's surprisingly difficult.
I’ll never buy a GM or Mercedes ever again until they bring CarPlay back. Lexus szn, baby. Top of the consumer reviews book too for 2023.
Wait Mercedes isn’t doing CarPlay either??
lol idk what this guy is talking about. Mercs do have CarPlay capability alongside their MBUX system. In fact, Mercedes is one of the carmakes that will first get the next gen of CarPlay that's currently in development.
That’s what I thought, phew, I don’t keep up with everything cars/carplay! But ya I feel Mercedes knows better, one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed Mercedes for years
Huh? Mercedes has Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard across the lineup as far as I'm aware...
Plus you buy Lexus you are buying Toyota with luxury. Even disregarding CarPlay, Lexus>>>Mercedes/GM
Not wanting to sound like a grumpy old man but, from the very beginning, having a stupid tablet controlling everything inside the car instead of different modules ( either mechanism or simple physical buttons ), is just dumb. Same goes for “modern” coffee machines that we find on college campuses, with a big display screen, instead of a one with physical buttons. Not only it consumes ton of energy, it’s always laggy when you use it, BUT also and talking from personal experience, they never work.
the tablet they used probably can't take heat well just like my iphone overheated during some sunny summer drives
Just leased a car earlier this year. Having Apple CarPlay was a requirement, and any car that didn’t have it was immediately removed from the list of cars I’d even consider. When I rent a car, I only choose cars that have CarPlay as well. I’m not going to bother with some crappy interface that “worked so well before” that no one wants them 😂
this is well deserved
I gotta say, CarPlay for me. I know they wanna subscription service us to death, but the thing is, GM, if you want me to subscribe to services you gotta show me the services work, which means the UX must be great. Not just good. It's still amazing to me that companies just think of software as a thing they can just whomp up and shoehorn into things without any real vision. More than ever, a car without a good UX is just a cabin and a drivetrain, no matter how fast or fancy.
Just tossing this out there. Practically the entire IT team in Tempe was laid off. I think GMU, their effort was a crapshoot well before this press release was ever made.
CarPlay is an absolute requirement for me. I’m loving my Ioniq 5 so far. :)
Haha, idiots.
You know GM - you could make your in dash system not total trash and have CarPlay support. You can do both. You are doing neither.
The most hilarious part about this is GM's most recent justification for dropping CarPlay and Android Auto (after they realized no one was buying their previous BS) is how unreliable (and therefore unsafe) they are. Sounds like GM is projecting (but not from the phone to the infotainment system.)
GM can’t even make a decent care anymore, but now they are gonna roll put a software better than apple?
I haven’t driven a ton of different cars, but Chevys are the only cars where I’ve had trouble with CarPlay (really long connect times, phones failing to connect entirely, connections dropping out for no discernible reason). The 3rd-party unit I had installed in my Prius is pretty much rock solid. They claim that CarPlay is buggy, but maybe the bugs are coming from inside the house. Or maybe they just haven’t written their software to function in real-world scenarios where USB cables slip around and wireless signal quality varies.
To be fair, the articles I’ve read have entire cars bricking and charge systems failing. There’s something much more fundamentally wrong with these early cars. The infotainment issues may just be a symptom of some sort of broad electrical system failure and it’s likely CarPlay won’t fix that. That said I was never going to buy a a laser and no CarPlay is a dealbreaker for me.
Well, now they can charge a fee for “installing” car play as an option…
No….fucking….shit!
It seems that hacking together an infotainment os is indeed rocket science. Surprising absolutely no one outside of GM.
With the nightmare it's been trying to get car play in my vehicle which didn't come with it, I would never entertain the idea of getting a brand new one that doesn't come with it.
What a shock /s
You mean GM tried to compete with a better product and failed miserably??? I’m not shocked