GM to Remove CarPlay from All Future Vehicles, Including Gas Cars [Updated]

[xyz01]

I will likely never consider a GM so if they want to further implode sales let them. For them to say they will produce a better product, this is not likely. Would you want the first year beta software or the multi-year, proven product. Why do car makers think they are good at software development? Just look at the horrible infotainment systems across so many brands. The best approach is to partner with proven leaders.

Also, there are so many apps that support carplay. Many of them local to specific markets, like payment for parking, local radios, apps for charging, a gazillion audio apps (various podcast apps, music streaming, audio books) etc etc.

The selection on GM will be severely limited, and they'll stop updating it pretty soon too - compared to just buying a new phone to connect to the car.

This is bad for car buyers, and GM's dreams of nickling and diming car owners and application developers alike will just end with lower sales and unhappy customers.

 

[funkright]

Stupid is as stupid does. Options like CarPlay or Android Auto only open up a broader market for GM's vehicles.

 

[MidwestMacGuy]

That's OK by me. Would never consider buying a GM vehicle anyway. Perhaps that is part of their calculations. I would not be surprised to learn that fewer iPhone users buy GM vehicles in general......

 

[xmarcuswildx]

General Motors began phasing out support for CarPlay in its electric vehicles back in 2023, leading to complaints from iPhone users, but the company has no plans to back down.

In fact, GM is going further and plans to remove CarPlay from all future gas vehicles, too. In an interview with The Verge, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company opted to prioritize its platform for EVs, but the change will eventually expand across the entire GM portfolio.

When asked if users should expect that new gas cars will not support "smartphone projection" for CarPlay or Android Auto, Barra said "I think that's the right expectation. Yes."

GM Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson suggested that GM's decision to embrace its own system is a "very Jobsian approach to things" that he likened to phasing out the disk drive.

Anderson said that GM's in-house infotainment option offers a "much more immersive environment" and can "do so many more things" than CarPlay.

In EVs, General Motors transitioned to an infotainment system that it previously called "Ultifi." GM said that eliminating Apple CarPlay gave it access to direct integrations and information that it needed for its electric vehicle line, plus the company claimed that an in-house unified solution was the better option for consumers.

Starting with the 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ, GM is rolling out a centralized vehicle computing system that it says will overhaul how GM vehicles are built and how they can be updated over time. GM will share software across its portfolio, including all electric and gas-powered vehicles produced by its GMC, Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac brands.

Article Link: GM to Remove CarPlay from All Future Vehicles, Including Gas Cars

This won’t back fire at all. Idiots. Tone deaf morons. How long until you see ads on their heads up display.

 

[Tomhauber]

Sadly, if this works for GM, we will see other car brands follow suit. This is Apple and Google stepping on their turf and with CarPlay ultra, it’s Apple squeezing in even more.

Google is happy to partner with GM for the data collection, but I could see more and more car companies push back on CarPlay for their own dumb solutions full of subscriptions and data harvesting.

Sure, there’s a portion of the market that won’t buy anything without CarPlay, but there’s a very large portion of the market that doesn’t even know what that is, or buys GM fleet vehicles, etc etc.

The fact that this didn’t fail spectacularly when they made the change for just their EV’s is not a good sign and if GM pulls this off, so too will others.

Overall, I fear that Apple introducing CarPlay ultra might have been the straw the broke the camels back for these manufacturers. CarPlay was fine when they could sell it as a feature that lets you use maps or play music - but now Apple is wanting to control features that the auto makers want to charge for such as HUD, weather, seat controls, etc. these are all things they want to lock behind a paywall. Automakers don’t want to just be the body while Apple and Google monetize the brains of the car - they are pushing back.

Nah this is all about money. Apple has it and GM wants it.

 

[xyz01]

That is pretty wild. I can count off top of my head a dozen people I know who have one and they all love it and call it the best car they have ever owned. A few others just love it without "the best ever" comment.

They're mostly comparing it to other fossil cars, I've been driving EVs for almost a decade now. The instant reaction and power, no noise, no smell, and just charging easily at home instead of going to gas stations is already there.

I currently have a Jaguar, my next one will probably be a Volvo, BMW, or Audi. Electric, of course.

 

[KPOM]

If it doesn’t hurt their sales enough - Absolutely, 100%. Bookmark it.

Automakers are already dropping out of CarPlay ultra after previously saying they’d support it.

If the largest auto company in the US is successful in pushing back, others will join them.

Seriously, bookmark this.

CarPlay Ultra is more like Android Automotive. Carmakers concluded that the latter, which is open source, gives them more flexibility and are using it rather than CarPlay Ultra. But Android Automotive isn’t the same as CarPlay or the confusingly named Android Auto (which is NOT a requirement to run Android Automotive). CarPlay and Android Auto provide familiar user interfaces for those who use iPhones or Android phones with Google services.

 

[seek3r]

How often do you need to replace your iPad? How often does that need shrink if you only ever launch Maps and a music player? How often is that need when the car is a computer with, not 1 but, 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon chips and gets frequent updates?

ah yes, the two qualcomm chips, that will now run local AI (https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/10/ai-and-hands-free-driving-are-coming-to-gms-vehicles/) which *totally* wont have out of date NPUs in a couple years....

And I replace my iPad substantially more often than my car too. The general average for the US there is about 5 years, which is still nearly 3 times as frequent as the average person replaces their car. Also my iPad doesnt need to work properly and not be distracting with lag or problems while I'm driving a multi-ton piece of machinery at 75mph.

 

[Zeus2018]

I love GM products but this is so stupid. They want to move to a model where they can start to charge separately for everything from maps to using your screen like other manufacturers.

Toyota’s been shifting more of their connected services-like remote start, cloud nav, and safety features-to subscription models after the initial trial period. Not everything’s paid, though; core infotainment stays free, but extras like Drive Connect can run you about ten bucks a month. It’s all about nickel and dimming the purchasers.

 

[Analog Kid]

Wouldn't have bought one anyway, but definitely wouldn't now..

I haven't kept GM high on my list for quite a while, but rise of EVs are the perfect time for people like me to rethink which brands they consider. GM clearly sees EV as a strategic move also. Why alienate half the market? That's dumb.

I dunno, maybe I'm overestimating the average car buyer. Most people probably never drive further than the grocery store and don't need the nav system, and it wouldn't surprise me if a sizeable fraction (outside this forum) never figured out how to connect CarPlay to begin with...

 

[Sowelu]

Sterling Anderson is a moron as there is clearly nothing 'Jobsian' about this decision. Jobs would've killed an inferior product that was stalled and or not well received, so, love or hate Apple, that is not CarPlay.

Funny how another overpaid suit (with a golden parachute in his desk drawer) considers himself to be a visionary like Jobs, and not just another corporate shill like the handful of ghouls who are running half the world as they sit on top of their unchecked consolidated wealth and power.

Anderson using that stupid analogy is such a douche move, too. 'Hey, look, we got rid of an Apple thing, just like the dead, revered founder of Apple would have, so that's why it's okay, see what I did there!'

Then again, save some of their EV offerings and a few cool models, GM is like the mid to late 2000's Hewlett-Packard/Compaq or Acer/Gateway computers of cars, boring, generic, badge-engineering (I know, I know, all car companies do this, I am just partial to German and Japanese cars, unless it's a Jeep, which is a whole other bag of hurt).

 

[segfaultdotorg]

And a week ago, the zeitgeist was all like "it's only the EVs! Gas/diesel vehicles will still have CarPlay!"

 

[Moondougie]

General Motors began phasing out support for CarPlay in its electric vehicles back in 2023, leading to complaints from iPhone users, but the company has no plans to back down.

In fact, GM is going further and plans to remove CarPlay from all future gas vehicles, too. In an interview with The Verge, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company opted to prioritize its platform for EVs, but the change will eventually expand across the entire GM portfolio.

When asked if users should expect that new gas cars will not support "smartphone projection" for CarPlay or Android Auto, Barra said "I think that's the right expectation. Yes."

GM Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson suggested that GM's decision to embrace its own system is a "very Jobsian approach to things" that he likened to phasing out the disk drive.

Anderson said that GM's in-house infotainment option offers a "much more immersive environment" and can "do so many more things" than CarPlay.

In EVs, General Motors transitioned to an infotainment system that it previously called "Ultifi." GM said that eliminating Apple CarPlay gave it access to direct integrations and information that it needed for its electric vehicle line, plus the company claimed that an in-house unified solution was the better option for consumers.

Starting with the 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ, GM is rolling out a centralized vehicle computing system that it says will overhaul how GM vehicles are built and how they can be updated over time. GM will share software across its portfolio, including all electric and gas-powered vehicles produced by its GMC, Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac brands.

Article Link: GM to Remove CarPlay from All Future Vehicles, Including Gas Cars

I guess they’re removing me as a potential customer…

 

[DesignTime]

This isn’t the first time GM has made a bad decision. Hopefully the US tax payer doesn’t have to bail them out again when they go broke.

 

[Plutonius]

Its own platform = GM subscription.

 

[gaximus]

A lot of it depends on when you do an update to that vehicle. When you look at the fact that we have over 40 models across our portfolio, you don't just do this and they all update. As we move forward with each new vehicle and major new vehicle launch, I think you're going to see us consistent on that. We made a decision to prioritize our EV vehicles during this timeframe, and as we go forward, we'll continue across the portfolio.

This is exactly why you need CarPlay it updates every year, your horrible product will never get updated after you release it.

 

[apple2022]

We are nowhere near close to non-supervised FSD as a general solution. It can be done rather well in relatively controlled conditions (premapped areas that are constantly rescanned, restricted based on weather, expected type of use, etc, see: the waymo self driving cabs in austin, though not Tesla's because those arent actually self driving most of the time, they're remotely driven right now most of the time, and significantly more restricted in where they go), turning the same systems loose as a general solution to novel driving situations doesnt work nearly as well.

I'm not interested in getting in an argument but your perception of the current state of Tesla tech is inaccurate. You are correct in your assessment of Waymo, which is a somewhat "fake" technology. It is scanned, rescanned, etc and is restricted to very specifically mapped areas. Waymo relies also on expensive cars retrofitted with expensive sensors. There really is no role-out plan for Waymo across the world for that reason. Tesla FSD (supervised) is very impressive tech that is ready to go across everywhere in the USA. Unsupervised FSD obviously is rolling it out in a select test market for technical and legal reasons. However, the it's a patch away from the whole fleet on Hardware 4 and beyond. I'm not sure if you have any personal biases against Musk himself (genuinely I don't know if there is anyone left who likes him personally), but it's simply not accurate to say that the Teslas that have been part of the unsupervised tests are "not actually self driving most of the time". The tele-operators and in car monitors are part of the legal requirements and/or safety protocols during this early test. There is a very clear path to roll out unsupervised for Tesla and literally no company is anywhere close to what they will achieve and at scale. You don't need to answer this but if you have not tried FSD 14, I encourage you to do so. You can book a test drive and be in the car within an hour probably most days. It's the only way to actually get what's happening. I've noticed it's hard to convince people on this tho. Just set a date on your iCal 3 years from now and come back to read this then.

 

[michaelsaxon]

I will not buy a new car without CarPlay so best of luck GM!

 

[lovehateapple]

The market will sort this out. It won't take long...

 

[dampfnudel]

I get car manufacturers not wanting Car Play Ultra but regular Car Play WHUT??

I understand how car manufacturers may not want a third-party system that’s as intrusive as CarPlay Ultra, but I’m a little worried that the removal of standard CarPlay could become a trend among manufacturers. If GM feels comfortable doing it, others may follow. Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and German manufacturers may decide to do it too. If that happens, CarPlay is cooked.

 

[BC2009]

I guess what I am saying is that we are very very close (and I encourage anyone who has not driven FSD 14 to do so immediately) to NON-supervised FSD. At that point just bring your ipad, macbook, and iphone in the car and do whatever you want on your commute. When the average consumer finds out they need to choose between similarly priced cars, one that dives you around while you watch tiktok and any other option then all other options will just go away. It's going to be like the death of certain phone companies when the iphone dropped.

That's an interesting thought. Last I tried FSD was about 2 years ago in my brother-in-law's Model X. I cannot say I was terribly impressed then and while fancier, it was not much more capable than the Nissan Pro Pilot software in highway driving. Both did things I was unimpressed with and made me nervous -- the worst of which was the sudden braking for no reason that occurred at the crest of a hill (Nissan would do this at the start steep incline whereas the Tesla would do it at the top). But another problem was whenever a highway exit opened up on the right lane and the right lane widened as you approached, the vehicle would re-center by straddling the right lane and the forming exit lane and then abruptly switch back to the right lane when the start of the lane separator between the right lane and the exit lane came into view. It was very jarring and all I could think was that if cannot handle this basic common highway feature that there was no way it would handle city driving without giving me a heart attack. For clarification, Nissan's Pro Pilot (at least in my Leaf) only does highway driving with lane keeping and adaptive cruise control (no city driving), but still drifts towards the exit lane as the right lane widens. The unfortunate thing is that the software in my Leaf updates so rarely that it might as well never update -- I believe it will get an update soon due to a recall on fast-charging battery temperature management.

Anyway, if FSD has come that far then I will have to ask my brother-in-law if we could go for a ride in his Model X and give it a go.

 

[BC2009]

I understand how car manufacturers may not want a third-party system that’s as intrusive as CarPlay Ultra, but I’m a little worried that the removal of standard CarPlay could become a trend among manufacturers. If GM feels comfortable doing it, others may follow. Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and German manufacturers may decide to do it too. If that happens, CarPlay is cooked.

Toyota lost a lot of sales due to not having CarPlay and eventually caved. I think manufacturers who continue to support CarPlay will enjoy the boost in sales. I have noticed that Hyundai/Kia are usually at the fore-front of adopting technology in the cabin -- especially CarPlay and Android Auto -- but other technologies too. I would not be surprised if my next car is a Kia -- the guys who design the ergonomics of their cabins tend to put controls exactly where I would expect them to be -- very intuitive. Volkswagen is the worst for that in my book (at the very least, their designers think very differently than I do) -- everything felt wrong when I test drove an ID.4 -- especially the single left/right control for the power windows that had a touch-sensitive capacitive button to toggle that single control from front to rear windows -- fiddling with that (especially with no tactile feedback on the capacitive toggle) while driving was insanely bad in my opinion.

 

[seek3r]

I'm not interested in getting in an argument but your perception of the current state of Tesla tech is inaccurate. You are correct in your assessment of Waymo, which is a somewhat "fake" technology. It is scanned, rescanned, etc and is restricted to very specifically mapped areas. Waymo relies also on expensive cars retrofitted with expensive sensors. There really is no role-out plan for Waymo across the world for that reason. Tesla FSD (supervised) is very impressive tech that is ready to go across everywhere in the USA. Unsupervised FSD obviously is rolling it out in a select test market for technical and legal reasons. However, the it's a patch away from the whole fleet on Hardware 4 and beyond. I'm not sure if you have any personal biases against Musk himself (genuinely I don't know if there is anyone left who likes him personally), but it's simply not accurate to say that the Teslas that have been part of the unsupervised tests are "not actually self driving most of the time". The tele-operators and in car monitors are part of the legal requirements and/or safety protocols during this early test. There is a very clear path to roll out unsupervised for Tesla and literally no company is anywhere close to what they will achieve and at scale. You don't need to answer this but if you have not tried FSD 14, I encourage you to do so. You can book a test drive and be in the car within an hour probably most days. It's the only way to actually get what's happening. I've noticed it's hard to convince people on this tho. Just set a date on your iCal 3 years from now and come back to read this then.

Ah yes, Tesla, famous for their self driving reliability, is better than Waymos because of ::checks notes:: *less* sensors

Also Tesla: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/10/tesla-fsd-gets-worse-at-driving-nhtsa-opens-new-investigation/

 

[elvisimprsntr]

Plenty of aftermarket Android Auto and CarPlay displays to fill the gap.

 

[coolkid93]