GM Again Attempts to Explain Its Decision to Drop CarPlay in New EVs

[Scottron]

American automaker General Motors (GM) last year announced it would be phasing out support for CarPlay and Android Auto in its new electric vehicles, in favor of its own software platform called Ultifi. The decision has been very controversial, as many drivers consider CarPlay to be a must-have feature in a new vehicle. In 2022, for example, Apple said 79% of U.S. buyers would only consider a vehicle that works with CarPlay.

To make matters worse, GM's rollout of Ultifi went rather poorly, with some early reviewers of the Chevrolet Blazer EV last year experiencing technical issues with the platform. Some of those problems have since been resolved, but it is clear that the automaker might not be as effective at developing software as a tech company like Apple.

In a statement shared with MacRumors last year, GM said its software strategy is "driven by the benefits of having a system that allows for greater integration with the larger GM ecosystem and vehicles." In other words, the automaker wants to control the entire in-vehicle experience, which is both a reasonable and a risky decision.

In a recent interview with The Verge's Nilay Patel, GM's senior vice president of software Baris Cetinok further attempted to defend the automaker's decision to phase out CarPlay. Cetinok worked at Apple between 2012 and 2021, helping to spearhead the launch of Apple Pay, Find My, iCloud Drive, and more, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Cetinok joined GM months after it announced its decision to phase out CarPlay and Android Auto, but unsurprisingly he stands by the automaker's decision. He told Patel that GM believes with "strong conviction" that creating its entire in-vehicle experience provides "a better customer experience" with "end-to-end magic."

2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV with GM's Ultifi software platform​

"But we have a strong conviction that effort pays off in a better customer experience," said Cetinok, speaking on the Decoder podcast. "You get the most out of your vehicle because now we're the company that builds the vehicle and is also creating the infotainment experience, the cluster experience, the app, and everything. We're going to build that one day and maybe a voice assistant on top of it. The only way you can create that end-to-end magic is to have a strong conviction that you want to own all of these."

He said GM wants to offer a seamless experience that does not require having to switch in and out of phone mirroring systems like CarPlay and Android Auto.

"When you want to create something so seamless, it's hard to think about getting into a car and going, 'Okay, so I'm doing highway trailering, but let me flip to a totally different user interface to pick my podcast,'" said Cetinok. "By the way, it's a single app-obsessed interface — it's still hard to believe. So I pick my podcast, flip back to trailering. Oh, now I can also do Super Cruise trailering. Let me manage that. Then, wait, we're now getting into potentially Level 3, Level 4 autonomy levels that should be deeply integrated with talking to the map where the lanes lie. But wait a minute, the map that I'm using doesn't really talk to my car."

The full transcript of the interview with more CarPlay commentary is available on The Verge.

Article Link: GM Again Attempts to Explain Its Decision to Drop CarPlay in New EVs

I know someone that just bought a KIA that has its own app of which they have to pay for after one year. Consumers are getting squeezed from every possible direction.

 

[kurtfoster]

So I have a Telsa and it's the no.1 thing I hate about an amazing car. No Car play.

However: It already has:
Apple Music
Amazon Music
Spotify,
Tidal
YouTube music
Audible.
Disney+
Netflix
Other Video sources.

Phone, Message, Calender, Siri all work pretty well and some are integrated in the the screen - Tap to read out a message for example.

Tesla maps is now very good, and accessible from iPhone. You can ping an address to the car etc. It's so integrated that it's actually better than most other maps for a car. We have overlaid weather coming so you know if it's going rain etc on a journey.

And my new favourite thing: If you enter a stupid average speed zone... it shows you, current speed, max speed AND current average speed in case you speed up or slow down.

But are GM going to remotely do all that? Nope... they'll stick a crappy chip in there - Tesla has a decent AMD chip running it all. And it'll be as bad as VW entertainment v1. And they'll make you pay for their music I bet and various other things.

Luckily GM cars are crap.

 

[kurtfoster]

i’ve been meaning to ask this of people who have Netflix and Disney+ in their automobile. It doesn’t make much sense to me that you would have any capacity to watch movies when you’re in a car? Maybe I’m just of a different generation, but it doesn’t compute for me. Do people actually want that type of stuff in a vehicle where you’re supposed to be driving and paying attention to the road? I’m genuinely curious. Thanks.

 

[person s]

So I have a Telsa and it's the no.1 thing I hate about an amazing car. No Car play.

However: It already has:
Apple Music
Amazon Music
Spotify,
Tidal
YouTube music
Audible.
Disney+
Netflix
Other Video sources.

Phone, Message, Calender, Siri all work pretty well and some are integrated in the the screen - Tap to read out a message for example.

Tesla maps is now very good, and accessible from iPhone. You can ping an address to the car etc. It's so integrated that it's actually better than most other maps for a car. We have overlaid weather coming so you know if it's going rain etc on a journey.

And my new favourite thing: If you enter a stupid average speed zone... it shows you, current speed, max speed AND current average speed in case you speed up or slow down.

But are GM going to remotely do all that? Nope... they'll stick a crappy chip in there - Tesla has a decent AMD chip running it all. And it'll be as bad as VW entertainment v1. And they'll make you pay for their music I bet and various other things.

Luckily GM cars are crap.

I’m also a Tesla owner
Apple Music has been good - I just wish for a better, more Carplay-like interface

 

[svish]

Not a nice move to not have CarPlay on the vehicles.

 

[subjonas]

i’ve been meaning to ask this of people who have Netflix and Disney+ in their automobile. It doesn’t make much sense to me that you would have any capacity to watch movies when you’re in a car? Maybe I’m just of a different generation, but it doesn’t compute for me. Do people actually want that type of stuff in a vehicle where you’re supposed to be driving and paying attention to the road? I’m genuinely curious. Thanks.

I believe it's for when you're charging your car or otherwise sitting in your car. I don't think it even will let you play video on the front dash screen while driving, only on the back seat screen if it has it.

 

[Velli]

I think it’s hilarious how GM is trying to say that they can build better experiences by “taking control” of the software stack, and then builds it all around Google services!

No Carplay, no sale.

This interview only highlights that GM is a dinosaur. He specifically mentions how he sees the car as the centerpiece of people’s lives. It’s not. The smartphone is, like it or not. This is why products such as Humane pin have and always will fail: If it’s not accepting the smartphone as the revolving point of our technological lives, people don’t want it.

 

[Velli]

GM sucks for sure. But carplay is overrated by so many.

Go test drive a Tesla, play with Tesla's actually vertically integrated infotainment system.

I’m not getting a Tesla for various reasons, but I’m genuinely curious because I don’t know: How do Tesla users play a podcast in their car, and then pick up where they left off when they step out of the car and put in headphones?

This is literally 90% of my use of a car’s entertainment system. Even if possible, I still prefer to use my podcast app of choice through CarPlay, but it can’t be impossible?

 

[Velli]

I really don't get the "I won't buy a car without carplay" crowd... It's really not that amazing. I must be missing something, but carplay is not so mind blowing that it should preclude people from buying a vehicle. There's so much more to a car. the interface in my Tesla is Eons better than carplay, it's not even close.

Because it’s not about how good or bad the car experience is. It’s about how well the car integrates into my smartphone experience. Which is NOT the same as how well the smartphone integrates into my car experience. I spent a (for me) non-trivial amount of money to get a “fun” car, so it’s not that my car is just a transportation device. But still, my technological life revolves around my smartphone, not around my car.

 

[Velli]

But what incentive do they have to add car systems to CarPlay? Would they also need to do the same for the Android side of the market?

The way I see it, there are a lot of variations in vehicle equipment and safety/driver aid systems, even among models offered by a single manufacturer. For example, amount of possible settings for vehicle systems available in my car (BMW) alone is quite large. Duplicating all that in CarPlay, or any other phone-based layer benefits no one because the consistency iPhone users like about CarPlay can only realistically extend to the things the iPhone is good at: Navigation, phone, messages, entertainment apps. The things folks would probably also use when not in the car.

Allowing us to, for example, set cabin lighting colors or preferences for a custom “sport” driving mode, or custom lane keeping sensitivity in CarPlay is useless if you get into a vehicle that lacks such things, or offers the most basic versions of each. This is what the quote in the article that referenced “trailering” is about.

I just don’t see a financial incentive for auto manufacturers to invest in extending CarPlay (or any other phone-based layer) beyond what it already is, and I don’t see a benefit to the consumer in doing it because there can’t be consistency between vehicle models or brands for the more sophisticated systems in modern cars anyway.

In a perfect world, the incentive should be to provide the user with a better experience than their competitors, which would make the customers choose their products over competition. But, unfortunately we live in a world where delivering the best customer experience is rarely how you make the most money.

 

[Velli]

It’s true. I’m fortunate to have two vehicles. One has CarPlay and one is an EV without CarPlay. I drive the EV more these days and when I get back into the vehicle with CarPlay, I don’t even bother using it anymore. It’s not a necessity, or as you stated, a deal breaker. I get in the car to drive, not get into the car to have 20 phone apps, text messages directly in front of me, etc as distractions.

Sure, if you don’t use a product, it doesn’t matter if the product is good. But it also renders your opinion about it irrelevant.

 

[Velli]

I disagree. CarPlay is SUPER limited. If I just want to listen to the regular radio I have to leave it. No way to adjust EQ settings... at least in the version I have. I can't imagine it is going to suddenly adjust temp and show your gas mileage.

But this is only because the car manufacturers are pushing back on giving you that. Apple has specifically presented a solution for that, but the manufacturers don’t want it.

(And by the way, why the hell would you want to adjust EQ settings more than once?)

 

[Velli]

When idiots meet: let's see how this gross injustice of "no choice" flies in the EU.

GM cars generally don’t fly in the EU…

 

[Velli]

The difference is that I wouldn't buy a GM car, just like I wouldn't buy an HP computer. One should consider the whole package - the hardware, the underlying software, and the experience the sum of those deliver - when shopping for a car just like one would when shopping for a computer.

Where are the hoards of complaints from Rivian and Tesla owners? Surely, if a carmaker could not make good software that excludes CarPlay, we would hear more noise from the owners of those vehicles about it?

What on earth are you talking about? No carplay is the main criticism (apart from politics) of Tesla. Of course you don’t hear complaints from the people who bought it, because those of us considering no CarPlay a dealbreaker didn’t… what’s more interesting is how many more would buy it if it did support CarPlay?

Tesla’s magnificent entertainment system doesn’t help me when I’m driving my wife’s Mercedes.

 

[Velli]

Surprised that driving the car is not most important to you. To me the driving experience is paramount. The infotainment is system is very secondary. Most cars have more than adequate 'normal' displays etc. Apple's Car Play is nice but not essential to the experience of owning car. Handling, power, seating, finish are way above whether it supports Car Play. At least it is to me. The only thing I might have issues with, that is not a core part of the experience, is the sound system, and again that has nothing to do with whether it supports Car Play.

Unless you’re driving a Corvette, it’s trivial to find an alternative that drives equally well or better, with CarPlay.

We all have our stupid little pet peeves that qualifies or disqualifies a car. For you, apparently the sound system. My wife will never get a car without keyless entry, no matter what. The key here is that CarPlay is A: Something a very high amount of new car buyers agree is desirable, and B: something that can be implemented without sacrificing any other aspect of the entertainment system - other than the ability for the car manufacturer to suck data and money from you.

 

[Velli]

Is there a practical, technical, reason why they can’t offer multiple options?

Nope.

 

[philstubbington]

Yeah, “end to end magic” - that’s what I look for 😂

 

[kyykesko]

So all I have to do to achieve this seamless experience is to live in my car 24/7 because if I exit it, what happens to that seamless ecosystem..? When I exit the car, I still have my phone with me. Which one of those does GM think is more important to me?

This affected my decision to phase out all GM related products from my life.

 

[pankajdoharey]

We dont care about your conviction, we just want to play our preferred content, purchased and otherwise from our devices in our cars without going through repurchasing process. Nor do we care about your hardware. We just want simple setup that works, picks our phones , reads message and provides familiar interface. All of which your Ultifi will not be.

 

[Brian_v11]

Thats insane, no way in hell I would pay $50 a month

Audi charges $87/mo.

 

[SnowCrocodile]

What on earth are you talking about? No carplay is the main criticism (apart from politics) of Tesla. Of course you don’t hear complaints from the people who bought it, because those of us considering no CarPlay a dealbreaker didn’t… what’s more interesting is how many more would buy it if it did support CarPlay?

Tesla’s magnificent entertainment system doesn’t help me when I’m driving my wife’s Mercedes.

Tesla is a unique case because they had no competition for years when they started selling their cars. If you wanted an EV that could be used as a daily driver, it was pretty much Tesla or nothing. (Well, there was Nissan Leaf…) The lack of CarPlay didn’t matter. They offered a product that the customers wanted to buy, and nobody else sold it.

Lucid offers CarPlay. Ever wonder why?

Audi charges $87/mo.

And is probably losing some sales because of it. However, Audi has snob appeal that GM cars don’t have. They are a recognized luxury brand after all (the jury is still out on Cadillac’s luxury status). Volkswagen (Audi’s parent company) doesn’t charge for CarPlay, as far as I know.

 

[Brian_v11]

Tesla is a unique case because they had no competition for years when they started selling their cars. If you wanted an EV that could be used as a daily driver, it was pretty much Tesla or nothing. (Well, there was Nissan Leaf…) The lack of CarPlay didn’t matter. They offered a product that the customers wanted to buy, and nobody else sold it.

Lucid offers CarPlay. Ever wonder why?

And is probably losing some sales because of it. However, Audi has snob appeal that GM cars don’t have. They are a recognized luxury brand after all (the jury is still out on Cadillac’s luxury status). Volkswagen (Audi’s parent company) doesn’t charge for CarPlay, as far as I know.

Audi's monthly charge is for their proprietary entertainment systems, navigation, and hotspot. You can have Apple CarPlay for free.

 

[Velli]

Tesla is a unique case because they had no competition for years when they started selling their cars. If you wanted an EV that could be used as a daily driver, it was pretty much Tesla or nothing. (Well, there was Nissan Leaf…) The lack of CarPlay didn’t matter. They offered a product that the customers wanted to buy, and nobody else sold it.

"Some customers", but yes, agree.

Lucid offers CarPlay. Ever wonder why?

No, they are not on my radar, because they don't sell to my country as far as I know - and don't make the type of car I like. But I'd guess it's to pick up some of those customers that are unhappy that Tesla doesn't.

I own a Mini Cooper electric. It's a very specific car, with a very specific appeal, yet I would at the very least consider something else if it didn't have Carplay, because half the time I drive my wife's car and I like having a similar experience in the two.

To be fair, lack of Carplay is not why I did not choose a similarly-priced Model 3, so Tesla wouldn't gain me as a customer even if they did support it.

 

[Chungry]

"Some customers", but yes, agree.

No, they are not on my radar, because they don't sell to my country as far as I know - and don't make the type of car I like. But I'd guess it's to pick up some of those customers that are unhappy that Tesla doesn't.

I own a Mini Cooper electric. It's a very specific car, with a very specific appeal, yet I would at the very least consider something else if it didn't have Carplay, because half the time I drive my wife's car and I like having a similar experience in the two.

To be fair, lack of Carplay is not why I did not choose a similarly-priced Model 3, so Tesla wouldn't gain me as a customer even if they did support it.

You dodged a bullet, Tesla is a late model Carolla masquerading as a higher end car. I don’t see the appeal of Tesla compared to a nice car like a Lucid or Rivian.

 

[Chevysales]

Having spent the past 23 years with GM/Chevrolet selling Chevys at same dealership and becoming ops manager (owners problem solver) before my retirement.

Say all they (GM) want I have zero confidence in GM’s ability to develop infotainment/operational software in house or service it at 3,000 plus dealerships. Period. Full stop.

Being a retired GM employee and taking advantage of such in our 4 car (Chevrolet) family for decades. I will never ever buy a GM of any type without CarPlay.

Now if they prove to me over 3 years minimum that they magically came out with comparable or better software I’ll be back in.

But I’ve been involved to deeply to have any faith in that over my life time.

Good luck with that. On top of hiring enough engineers to work in the trouble shooting end with service techs. It’s hard enough to do that on manufacturing we excel at let alone something new. I feel bad for those early buyers.

Just to add I refer anyone to early mid 90’s “Infotainment” software by GM😂 and worse than that the 25 step button press for “DVD Navigation” also a clusterxxxx.
Two absolutely terrible pieces of software developed in-house. Junk.