GM kills more than CarPlay support, it kills choice

The software-driven vehicle is supposed to be a place of choice.

See full article...

 

[*Legion*]

GM has now also killed my potential interest in a GM car when I go EV shopping.

 

[TheJBW]

I guess I’m not their core market — I currently drive a 20y/o vehicle, but when it finally is time, I will neither consider any vehicle which requires a subscription, nor will I consider one which requires me to switch my phone platform or music platform for full functionality. Braindead move, GM.

 

[markgo]

Is this a republished article? Could we get a little more author info?

Puzzled by an editorial so quickly after the Dr. Gitlin article, I clicked on the authors name only to get a Moonshark.

 

[Siosphere]

Built in infotainments always suck, and always will suck. With CarPlay (or Android Auto), you have a user-upgradable infotainment system. Why does GM not get this? Even if they made the absolute most amazing infotainment system, it will be out-of-date in a few years, and nobody is going to buy a new car just for an updated infotainment system, they'll just be mad that they're stuck with outdated crap.

GM’s move is based on its desire to offer tighter integration with navigation and other in-car systems.

Again, built-in navigation systems suck. Google Map/Apple Maps, always far superior. They are updated more frequently, perform better, and are continually improved with new features.

There’s also the loss of apps that GM might never want in its vehicles. Alternative EV route planning apps, navigation apps, messaging apps that read messages and support voice-to-text replies, podcast apps, and anything available now that GM and Google will determine they don’t want being offered to drivers.

Why do I feel that a GM subscription plan is not that far off? BMW did it with heat seaters, GM will do it with things that are standard in CarPlay and Android Auto, but now you get the luxury to pay for crappier versions.

 

[mannyvelo]

It's all about monetization...which they can't do if they offer CarPlay.

 

[mknelson]

If they really want to have success with subscriptions they should work to make them compelling rather than mandatory. Give people a choice and work to make yours better.

Google Maps free for 8 years? They're free anyhow!

Edit: I drive a 2019 Bolt (post recall battery) and love it with Car Play. This hurts my preference for a GM EV going forward. That sucks because the Ultium battery system seems to be the only one with modular repair or upgrading in mind.

 

[Arstotzka]

I use Overcast to listen to podcasts. It's a fantastic app, with one of the better CarPlay interfaces.

...how am I going to listen to those in a brand-new GM vehicle? The same Bluetooth connection with the same experience I have in my 22-year-old vehicle? Not a good look GM.

 

[ItchyPoo]

I’m probably more picky about my phone brand than my car brand.

 

[ReductiMat]

GM Executive: "How hard could it be to make our own CarPlay? My nephew made an app with Scratch, it can't be that hard."

 

[pokrface]

Is this a republished article? Could we get a little more author info?

This is a commissioned (i.e., we asked him to write it) freelance piece by Robbie Baldwin, an excellent author we've featured many times before.

 

[Pineapple FruJu]

The article started off talking about how Toyota didn't support car play and now does. 4 years ago we bought our current car, and test drove a Toyota. We crossed it off the list specifically because at the time it didn't support car play.

 

[icwhatudidthere]

This is a commissioned (i.e., we asked him to write it) freelance piece by Robbie Baldwin, an excellent author we've featured many times before.

I like his stuff and glad to see him here. I do wish he'd interact in the comments like Gitlin does.

 

[What a nin-cow-poop]

This drive for subscriptions-for-everything is another sign of end-stage capitalism: The decision is bad for the companies' actual customers (the people buying the product), but good for the CEO's customers (the shareholders).

So they're giving eight years of support? So what. That still means any value the car has after eight years will drop significantly when the car is offered for resale. Or even sooner if those eight years are only for the original purchaser.

 

[bigmig]

As a Polestar 2 owner, I can tell you that many of us looked forward to CarPlay support...which took about 2 years to finally arrive. I haven't looked back since and have been very happy to leave the Android Automotive UI (and its "ecosystem"...if you could call it that) behind. Dumb move by GM.

 

[LeftCoastRusty]

I blame Apple for this. Their royalties must be too high or software restrictions too tight. Apple probably highly discourages allowing Android support on the infotainment systems.
You really only need bluetooth to stream audio and calls.

So despite not knowing royalty rates, you just blame Apple. If you read the whole article, you’ll see reference to other auto brands (Toyota was mentioned) that allow both. Which kind of sinks your statement that Apple discourages Android support.

 

[graylshaped]

My wife just crossed a RV4 off her list.

 

[4XjrPz6t]

They just really REALLY don't get it. Who is making these decisions? An 85yr old man who doesn't know how to use a smartphone?

 

[skiguy]

I was seriously considering a Lyriq. Guess I'll have to wait for the Audi Q6.

This will go down as one of the worst decisions in automotive history.

 

[icwhatudidthere]

The article started off talking about how Toyota didn't support car play and now does. 4 years ago we bought our current car, and test drove a Toyota. We crossed it off the list specifically because at the time it didn't support car play.

Yeah, there are plenty of stories from that time frame about manufacturers fighting back and ultimately relenting.

I have to wonder what GM's models look like. They have to have usage numbers and some exec ultimately decided that there was more money to be made getting rid of it than the potential loss in sales from people skipping GM.

 

[bakerzdosen]

The irony to me is that I (the son and grandson of lifetime GM employees) was finally considering purchasing a GM vehicle with the Bolt EUV or possibly waiting for next year’s Equinox.

I’ll simply say this: my next vehicle purchased will have Apple CarPlay in it.

Full stop.

So GM just made my decision for me: I will either get one of the last Bolt EUVs to roll off the line or I’ll get something else.

 

[DNick]

This would deter me from buying GM even though my current phone is Android. I'm not so loyal to Android that I can guarantee not to switch at some point in the life of my next car.

 

[Dr Gitlin]

I like his stuff and glad to see him here. I do wish he'd interact in the comments like Gitlin does.

Robbie is far too smart to read the comments

 

[Ruefus]

One less family of brands to worry about in my next search.

 

[MysteryMii215]

The other big issue is that GM and Google can create the best infotainment system in the world today, but in 8 years (which is how much free cellular data they're giving to new vehicles in order to access everything), it's gonna be severely out-dated, and there are no guarantees that GM and Google will provide software updates for that long (or beyond). With CarPlay, since the only thing that's the limiting factor is how long a phone will get feature updates, you just need to buy a new phone once the current phone stops getting feature updates (which is significantly cheaper than buying a new car) to stay up to date.

 

[Martin Blank]

A few months ago, I had to escalate a failure by Intuit to refund $17 because of a goof on their part for my small business. I didn't get upset over the goof (it was understandable), just that they decided to only refund me after the date that I brought it up, a few days after I got the bill. I threatened to kill $2400 in annual revenue over this $17. That finally made them pay attention.

It's a similar situation here. I will soon be in the market for an EV. GM was toward the top of my list because of the Buick EVs coming out. My family has bought almost exclusively GM vehicles for decades. I have a 2002 Camaro in the garage. I was planning to spend $40K+ on a new car, quite possibly from GM.

Not now.

I don't want the display to do anything fancier than allow me access to the radio, vehicle settings, and whatever is on my phone, regardless of the platform. That's it. Without the phone display using the tech that Apple and Google develop, I'm not interested.

GM has lost a good sale for sake of a few bucks.

 

[Sifaka]

I posted in the other article, but I will repost here as well. I will not buy or rent a car that does not support CarPlay. I don't trust a rental car with my logins and I wouldn't trust GM to keep a car I bought updated for the time I owned the car.

The irony here is that by removing choice, they remove the trust I need in order to see how good their solution is. If they want more folks to use there software they should be out competing the market, not locking other solutions out.

 

[Ruefus]

I blame Apple for this. Their royalties must be too high or software restrictions too tight. Apple probably highly discourages allowing Android support on the infotainment systems.
You really only need bluetooth to stream audio and calls.

Ahem

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/news...ecursor-to-apple-car-wwdc-2022-recap-l4bczhc6
FTA:

Today, Apple doesn’t collect royalties or fees from automakers that use CarPlay.

 

[bigmig]

This would deter me from buying GM even though my current phone is Android. I'm not so loyal to Android that I can guarantee not to switch at some point in the life of my next car.

To be clear, using Android in no way makes you immune from this decision. If they're dropping CarPlay support, it means they're dropping Android Auto support too. I.e. they are going to introduce a lot more friction between your vehicle and your phone, and will eventually make you pay for connectivity if you want the software to do anything useful at all.

From their language it sounds like the payment comes sooner rather than later. In the other article they state, "...standard connectivity that allows customers to access Google Maps and Google Assistant, at no additional cost, for eight years beginning at time of vehicle purchase." That strongly suggests that for any functionality other than Maps you'll need to pay.

 

[tumblrfan69]

This would deter me from buying GM even though my current phone is Android. I'm not so loyal to Android that I can guarantee not to switch at some point in the life of my next car.

Oh they'd kill Android Auto too becuase it's another way around their subscription service. CarPlay is just the more well known car interface and thus draws the clicks

 

[tumblrfan69]

Apple carplay (like iOS) is 2012's tech..TODAY!

who wants a decades-old walled garden where you have to rebuy all your content, can never leave AND it has an interface that should have died out with the early 2010s?

Everything you attributed to Apple is literally what car manufacturer interfaces are.

 

[lp0_on_fire]

This seems like a very dangerous path to follow.

I spent last Sunday installing a $200 (plus about $100 in installation accessories) Sony XAV-AX1000 after-market stereo in a beat-up 2012 Hyundai Veloster because the only feature the seventeen year old girl who would be receiving the car cared about was CarPlay. She was pushing her parents to buy a Toyota Rav4 that had been written off due to hail damage just because it already had a Pioneer CarPlay unit installed. The preference was that strong.

 

[ryanja]

I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. This is one of the primary reasons why I am so hesitant to buy a new car. With my current mid-2010's vehicle, the stereo is a standalone unit that uses the DIN configuration. Stereo dies? Easy to replace it. New stereo comes out with more features? Replace it! Want to install a 10" Android head unit with a 4G sim card that has any app I want on it and can monitor my car's vitals with an OBDII reader? Do it!

New cars, you are going to feel the pressure to get the most advanced one out there since it is so embedded into the car, you will hopefully get something worth a damn for the 7-10 (or more) years you plan on keeping it. In more and more modern cars, that one unit is more embedded than ever, so upgrading it or replacing it is no longer something that can be done in your driveway and a couple hours. New version of Bluetooth comes out that a new phone uses but your stereo doesn't support it? Oh well! The next generation mobile data becomes commonplace enough that you want to utilize it in your car? Prepare to spend a few month's mortgage on an upgrade! Car manufacturer decides to push an update that kills features to what you paid for? Sucks to be you, should've read the TOS!

 

[mikedt]

Hypothetically, if I ever got an inkling to buy a GM product this move killed it. First, I use an iPhone, second the odds of this software getting a single update, let alone continuous development is probably nil. I don't trust GM or Google in this regard.

 

[Tarkanian]

Argh! I was literally, literally just now looking for a new car and I come across this. Guess I may as well take the Bolt off my comparison spreadsheet. Harrumph.

EDIT: aha, just realized the 2024 model will still have CarPlay, so I'm somewhat less irritated but still grumpy I guess?

 

[Ishkabibbel]

Disappointed, but not really all that surprised. The in-car experience is too valuable (to GM) to hand over to other companies.

The problem is UI is central to everything - cars, phones, TVs, and there’s a reason Apple and Google interfaces are pervasive - the infotainment UI in my 2017 GM vehicle is a great example of why. Add that I take pains to avoid Google and, well, GM has reinforced my decision not to buy one of their EVs.