GM Says It's Nixing CarPlay to Make Drivers Safer

[darthaddie]

I personally don't like CarPlay that much. But saying taking it off for safety is a joke. GM's own software is more likely to be a safety hazard. lol. Also I will never pay a car company for their worthless software updates. They are now even charging for bug fixes, which should have been free. Yuck!!!!

 

[dvanwinkle]

Interesting, my 2015 Kia and my old 2015 Hyundai never had any problems. I don’t even remember what the built in UI looks like anymore because I only use CarPlay. With Tesla however, I don’t miss CarPlay, so GM has a possibility of a great native experience. It’s worth being open to it.

 

[Hogswarts]

This error is entirely the fault of GM.

 

[Henry S]

How stupid do they think people are. If anything, the UI of any car manufacturers own interface is unsafe and offensive to my eyes.

I've used CarPlay in several rental cars lately. It was seamless in an Outback and a Sorrento, and buggy in a Jetta. If GM says they're buggy, it's likely on the hardware side.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

We’ll see how their new implementation works out. Regardless, I won’t buy a GM or any new vehicle that doesn’t offer CarPlay. Actually, my next new vehicle may be an Apple Car! Hopefully CarPlay is offered when this is released 😉

 

[HereticalAppleConvert]

That's a great way to push your customers away from your brand and your vehicles, GM! Good job! It's one thing if your vehicles never offered CarPlay (like, say Tesla)...then people who want it will invest in 3rd party accessories to enable it if they really want it...or come up with creative workarounds. It's quite another to TAKE AWAY a feature, in favor of a competitor's product (which is most likely only being used because someone is paying GM to use it!) and from a company with a PROVEN track record of abusing their "customer" data! ("customer" in quotes, because Google's customers are the people who pay for the user data, not the people using their products!)

I am 100% SURE this will work out great for GM. Surely....

 

[polyphenol]

It’s the standard CarPlay stock photo from Apple I believe.

Sadly, due to cost cutting, cars now don’t even have that tiny amount of buttons and dials around them, and consumers are stupid enough that they think having a big cheap tablet as the car’s only control is a good thing.

Trying to adjust HVAC via a touch screen you have to look at is a much bigger issue for safety than whether a phone or the internal chip are what drives the car’s entertainment.

And the buttons round the screen demonstrate the manufacturers' poor choices in forming the legends on those buttons in mid grey on a dark grey background. Sure, they might illuminate when ignition is on, I really don't know, but as shown they can be very difficult to read in less than perfect light.

 

[Iconoclysm]

Is there a way to delete (not just disable) CarPlay from a car? I would not want it in a car.

You could ask a dealer to do that, potentially. But I can't stress how little CarPlay could do on its own.

 

[TEG]

Without having my phone apps on my screen, I will be MORE likely to look at my phone whilst driving. And I don’t want the Google Apps, I want ones that will actually work.

 

[richard13]

What a bunch of hogwash. I own a Chevy Volt and that proprietary "infotainment" interface is way distracting and poorly designed. I haven't actually used CarPlay but I'm sure it would be a big improvement over what I have now.

 

[magicschoolbus]

Hahahah what a joke. I have a wired connection to CarPlay in my Mazda.

Can count on one hand how many times I've had issues.

Good thing I have 0 intent on ever purchasing any GM branded product.

I actually ONLY buy cars with CarPlay. There are some used cars that I shop for - I use the filter on Cars.Com to filter out the years CarPlay was NOT available. If it's not available in the car; I am not buying it!

 

[The_Gream]

So, my take is, if they had just built a reliable infomate in the first place, CarPlay and Android Auto would have never been a thing. But, like many industries, they failed to make a good product across their entire product line for displaying information and thus we got tech versions. 🤔

 

[smithdr]

It's not just the loss of CarPlay that is driving me away from GM but also the overall drop in quality. Purchased a new Yukon Denali in October 2019, within the first 50,000 miles the vehicle went back to the dealer no less than 25 times to correct quality defects among the following which were:
- Failed cylinder head. When dealer replaced they installed the head gasket upside down making the vehicle buck. Job had to be re-done.
- Failed water pump.
- Failed fuel level indicator.
- Failed air mass flow sensor.
- Front facing camera failed twice.
- Bezel on rear hatch turned yellow and had to be replaced.
- At 50,000 miles all four shocks failed. Apparently magnetic ride shocks do not last a long time.
- Plus a whole lot of other issues related to using low quality trim components. And other issues that have never been and will never be resolved.

This was the 4th of these Tahoe/Yukons I have owned. Generally, they have been reliable vehicles with very few quality issues. But what is going on with this Yukon Denali is just a real slap in the face. What have you done to GM Mary Barra? You should be fired NOW!

Loss of CarPlay is just the last nail in the coffin. No more GM for me. Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ttyRazor]

And the buttons round the screen demonstrate the manufacturers' poor choices in forming the legends on those buttons in mid grey on a dark grey background. Sure, they might illuminate when ignition is on, I really don't know, but as shown they can be very difficult to read in less than perfect light.

That’s just one of Apple’s promotional images for CarPlay. They probably just dimmed all that to deemphasize the physical controls.

 

[mike090910]

Just think how many ads they can sell

 

[canyonlight]

One more reason to never own another GM product.

 

[4tune8chance]

Earlier this year, General Motors (GM) announced plans to phase out Apple's CarPlay and Android Auto in its future electric vehicles, with the company instead relying on an infotainment system co-developed with Google. This has not been a popular decision with iPhone users, and today, GM provided some additional insight into the decision in a discussion with MotorTrend.

According to Tim Babbitt, GM's head of product for infotainment, GM has driver safety in mind. CarPlay and Android Auto can have issues like bad connections, slow response times, compatibility issues, and connectivity problems, leading drivers to be distracted from the road with smartphone troubleshooting.

Babbitt claims that drivers will be less likely to pick up their phones with a built-in system that does not rely on a service like CarPlay, leading to improved safety on the road. GM does not have any data to prove that an infotainment system is less distracting than CarPlay, nor has it done any testing.

Babbitt cited J.D. Power data suggesting issues with CarPlay and Android Auto are common complaints from vehicle owners, with customers often blaming the vehicle manufacturer rather than Apple or Google.

The infotainment system that GM plans to adopt instead of CarPlay will have integrated Google apps, including Google Maps and Google Assistant for voice commands, rather than a third-party navigation system. As MotorTrend points out, eliminating CarPlay will provide GM with more control over driver data, and it will allow GM to offer subscription services and apps that allow for purchases of food, gas, and other sundries.

Back in August, GM said that choosing not to offer CarPlay would give it more information about charge state information to assist with navigation routing and provide a better user experience.

CarPlay will be eliminated in electric vehicles under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands. Combustion vehicles from GM will continue to support CarPlay until they are phased out in favor of an all-electric lineup in 2035.

Article Link: GM Says It's Nixing CarPlay to Make Drivers Safer

No CarPlay no deal!

 

[verdi1987]

How very courageous of General Motors

 

[Jamie0003]

I would really like to see if he has any data to correlate and support his claims. Otherwise he's just speculating. And if anyone has access to the data, it's him. Complaints from vehicle owners does not equal accidents or lowered safety.

I would much rather deal with connectivity issues or whatever than a car manufacturer's dog**** infotainment implementation. I've yet to come across one that is actually good.

But i do agree - folks need to stop using their phones while driving. I see people in 2023 literally holding their phones up while driving and its crazy frustrating. The barrier to entry for carplay is not high.

I really wish Apple would go further with their do not disturb whilst driving feature. IMO your phone should lock you out completely if it knows you’re driving (ie using CarPlay or maps)

There must be a way to make this a reality. I know it can be an issue for passengers, maybe they could force you to do a more complicated tap gesture or something to unlock.

 

[magicschoolbus]

Just think how many ads they can sell

You're approaching McDonalds - Try the new Double McGriddle in 2.3 miles

What a future!

 

[DesignTime]

GM can do what they want or feel is the best. My opinion is it’s a bad idea. Just don’t use my tax money to bail them out again when they can’t sell cars or even trucks.

 

[TracerAnalog]

I can understand why GM doesn’t want to be part of another company’s ecosystem. Like Google. Which builds their new system. Which will work great with Android phones. Basically a tailor made Google CarPlay, probably running Android dressed up like GM software🤪😂

 

[Dan From Canada]

No GM cars for our family.
Toyota or Lexus for us.

 

[Jeff321]

If GM is nixing CarPlay, I'm nixing GM. My current car is a Chevy but it's absolutely a deal breaker.

 

[harvester32]

Remember folks, it is for your safety! Think of the children!
(It is not; it is about getting control of the app store; manufacturers do not like that they are just an external monitor for devices and want to drive their own subscriptions.)

Maybe they should focus on their laggy infotainment systems instead of CarPlay. Or the fact they want to save .45 by not putting in a physical volume button.